Negatives and Positives When Shopping at Aldi
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382246)
Rockingham, Australia
April 24, 2016 2:26am CST
I wrote about the big grocery chain Aldi which will soon be opening four stores in Perth, Western Australia.
Today I read an article written by a woman who went along to an Aldi to find out more about the shopping experience in these stores.
Firstly you have to pay a deposit on shopping trolleys. You can also purchase a token for $19 (I think that is the right amount) which you can then keep on your key-ring. This saves you needing change each time you shop. Once you enter the store proper there are no baskets. If you don't have a trolley, you'll have to carry your purchases.
Some items were available in one or two sizes only. These were mostly larger sizes. I remember this from the Aldi stores we shopped in when we were overseas. Some quite common articles were not available at all so completing your shopping at Aldi might be a bit difficult.
When you reach the check-out and pay for your purchases, there are no free plastic bags so you need to take your own each time or you can purchase plastic or other reusable bags at the check-out if you so desire. So there's a few negatives and positives there. As I think I said last post about Aldi, I wonder how they'll go?
38 people like this
40 responses
@epiffanie (11327)
• Australia
24 Apr 16
We have been doing our weekly grocery shopping at Aldi for the past 16 years ..That token only costed us $1.95 which is the same size as the $2 coin .. it's convenient to have it.. We don't mind bringing our own shopping bags .. We can't get everything we need at Aldi so we go to Woolworth for those items .. We found that we actually save 30 to 50 dollars a week shopping at Aldi .. and their products are of good quality..
4 people like this
@epiffanie (11327)
• Australia
27 Apr 16
@JudyEv Yes indeed .. when we go to other shops such as Woolworth and Coles, we noticed that they have lower their prices too.. and we only buy items that are on sale .. competition between the stores benefit consumers ..
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@JudyEv (382246)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 Apr 16
@epiffanie I don't like Coles' ethics at all. I won't shop there unless I have to.
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@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
24 Apr 16
mercy :( that's quite the odd store? don't reckon i've e'er been some place where they charge folks fer the use'f their trolley. one'd think they'd be happy to pass 'em out so's folks'd buy more? i've my own bags, so that part'd be no trouble. 'course the hubs'll not use 'em...
i'd not shop there myself, 'nless was'n only option :(
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (169490)
• United States
25 Apr 16
You get your quarter back. I like it. You never have to dodge loose carts in the parking lot. I have met people who do not take their carts back, and they just lose their deposit. They do not care, at times, because it is hard to put the empty cart up for them.
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@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
25 Apr 16
@GardenGerty that's great to hear that such's returned, but i fear i'd still not be happy to be shoppin' there from what ms. judy writes.
i've seen many a fit person jest leave their carts wheree'er - drives me a bit wonkers. 'n the rare times i do make't into town, i'm the weirdo who arrives't the door with 'bout 20 carts i've gathered 'long the way.
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
25 Apr 16
I love Aldi. It did take some time to remember to keep a quarter handy for the cart, and also to bring bags to load up the groceries. There are no bulk items in our store. I save a lot of money shopping at Aldi. It is the first store on my grocery day that I visit.
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
26 Apr 16
@JudyEv I keep my bags in my car. Not only do I use them when I shop for myself, I use them when shopping for my clients too.
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@JudyEv (382246)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Apr 16
@ElusiveButterfly That's a good idea. I bring the shopping in then I never get round to putting them back in the car.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382246)
• Rockingham, Australia
1 May 16
@MsTickle I wasn't sure from your first comment whether you meant you shop there when you can or what. 
You are certainly in the backblocks aren't you? That is a long way to go to shop. What facilities do you have in the town? Any at all? I'm just curious. You don't have to tell me. :)
You are certainly in the backblocks aren't you? That is a long way to go to shop. What facilities do you have in the town? Any at all? I'm just curious. You don't have to tell me. :)1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
24 Apr 16
i was surprised but happy when a big supermarket opened nearby, but i noticed that there are brands and products they don't carry. so once in a while, i will commute to the other supermarket chain to buy them.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
24 Apr 16
Another negative, at least for me, is that they do not necessarily carry the same products all the time. That would make me crazy.
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@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Apr 16
@JudyEv I dislike shopping. The whole process is mind numbing and often frustrating. So I do most of it online, and pick up the rest locally, when necessary.
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@JudyEv (382246)
• Rockingham, Australia
25 Apr 16
@ElizabethWallace I never go shopping just for the sake of going shopping. Online isn't really an option here as we're 7 kms (5 miles roughly) from the nearest supermarket. Vince goes in and out fairly regularly, mostly for golf, and he is always happy to pick up whatever we need. And we do a big 'shop' when we get low on lots of stuff or just before a concert.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
24 Apr 16
I find that Also tend to stock many unknown brands and the variety available does vary to a fair degree. It would not be practical trying to do all your grocery shopping there, but you can still save money buying the items that suit you.
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@youless (114117)
• Guangzhou, China
28 Mar 17
Here the trolley is free of charge. You can use it until the gate of the building. I must say that it really surprised me you needed to pay for the deposit so that you could use the trolley in Singapore. I don't really agree to it because the supermarket shall be nice to the customers and offer more convenience to them.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
24 Apr 16
such practices are common at many UK supermarkets
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@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
25 Apr 16
@JudyEv there is a long standing problem here of shopping trolleys ending up tipped in the local canals
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@JudyEv (382246)
• Rockingham, Australia
25 Apr 16
@arthurchappell That happens here too. You see them miles from a shop sometimes.
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@Juliaacv (56325)
• Canada
24 Apr 16
We do not have this chain in our area here. But we a low end of the Loblaws chain, called No Frills, and they operate similar practises. They have carts (trolleys) outside and you need to bring a dollar along to put the coin into the cart to use it. They do have small plastic baskets inside of the store that you can use for no charge.
All of the grocery stores in our area charge for the plastic bags that are at the check-outs, only Walmart, which is an American chain, gives the bags out for free. The attempt of charging for the bags is to recycle them, and keep them from the landfills as they do take a lot of years to break down.
The store puts the boxes near the check outs so that people can take those to pack groceries in for no charge.
I don't shop at that store because there isn't enough choice for me.
1 person likes this
@Juliaacv (56325)
• Canada
25 Apr 16
@JudyEv I take canvas bags and recycle some of the plastic ones that I've saved over the years. But I don't know if the majority of us would have started doing this had they not started to charge us for the bags. We've been doing this for years now, it is a bylaw.
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@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
24 Apr 16
you get used to the deposit cart thing, it was like that for YEARS growing up (so in America they did that back in the late 80s and 90s at least if not earlier).
It helps people return their carts and not leave them just rolling loose in the parking lot. We always carried a quarter for them. We also knew to bring our own bags, another cost saving feature. They have lower prices because they don't pay for bags and dont have to pay people to man the carts
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@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
25 Apr 16
@JudyEv their lot never had a free rolling cart, anyone that saw one would return it to get the deposit!
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@JudyEv (382246)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Apr 16
@Jessicalynnt And that's a good thing.
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@Dragonairy1 (1722)
• Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
24 Apr 16
I didn't realise they had become so international, but it sounds like they are all very similar, although I'm pretty sure ours have baskets.
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@Dragonairy1 (1722)
• Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
26 Apr 16
@JudyEv my husband came back from the shop with a 5 p bag today, I forgot to give him a canvas one and somehow he'd forgotten we charge 
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@shaggin (74987)
• United States
27 Mar 17
Aldi's have been around in our area for many many years. They usually only have one or two cashier's working at a time so the lines are long. Due to that I stopped going. I save so much money going there that I really wish I hadn't stopped years ago. It is not a one stop shop for me though I have to get about half my grocery list there and half at Walmart. Aldi's has really yummy food for low cost so it is really helpful for me and my family.
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
24 Apr 16
I think they cut out on free plastic bags, and trolleys to lower cost for the consumers.
The larger size is good for those who want to stock up items at a lower price too.
Perhaps this will encourage people to make fewer trips but they have to buy more when they do go there to shop.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
24 Apr 16
I go to Aldi once in a while just to see what prices are like on a few items but I prefer our local IGA store which may be a little more expensive but has everything and no charge for the trolley.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
27 Apr 16
@JudyEv Oh yes our local store is an IGA and it is where I prefer to go. They have a nice bakery and good meat.
@Hate2Iron (15724)
• Canada
8 Mar 17
WE had Aldi's close to where we used to live and while I didn't think that it was all that interesting in the beginning, I loved the houseware/toy aisle. Hubby would go around and do the shopping and I would look to see what we could find for our granddaughter.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382246)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Mar 17
Sounds a good way to organise a shopping trip! Very creative.
@CRK109 (14556)
• United States
24 Apr 16
I just read today that some keys fit in the coin slot of those carriages so some people don't need to use coins. They just have to remember to remove their keys before they leave! We have an Aldi not far from me, but it's a very small store and doesn't have a lot of of what I want. So I've stopped shopping there.
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