Good and Bad Buying at Lidl and Aldi (***Please don't expire***)

Owain_Moneysaver

Aldi: Dymo Letratag labelmaker. £14.99 with 3 year warranty.  Must be old stock as I found it (there was only one) last week without a shelf label, but by this week it had acquired a price. Cheapest on Amazon is £25.96. 

Cornucopia

I tried the Aldi frozen Vegan non-meatballs that I mentioned last week.   At 99p for 12 they are good VFM.   They're pretty similar to other vegetarian non-meatballs I've had in the past - firm, meaty texture and savoury flavour.   I suspect that with a good sauce & pasta, they would be indistinguishable from the real thing.

Verdict:     So tasty they've now sold out.   Let's hope they get some more soon.  

mikb

Owain_Moneysaver said:

Aldi: Dymo Letratag labelmaker. £14.99 with 3 year warranty.  Must be old stock as I found it (there was only one) last week without a shelf label, but by this week it had acquired a price. Cheapest on Amazon is £25.96. 

Not sure they are old stock, as I saw a small pile of these in our local Aldi too on 30th Jan. Priced! ... they are a good deal, but I already have a similar one + tapes, so passed on it.

Ken68

Have not done a full shop at Lidl for several weeks, just get a few basics and then shop around at the smaller places. Too much foreign and prepared stuff.
 Like the middle aisle though.

maman

Ken68 said:

Have not done a full shop at Lidl for several weeks, just get a few basics and then shop around at the smaller places. Too much foreign and prepared stuff.
 Like the middle aisle though.

What sort of 'foreign' stuff are you objecting to? All supermarkets are full of foreign stuff particularly the out of season fruit and veg. As for 'prepared' stuff, do you mean ready meals? The discounters are absolute novices when it comes to ready meals compared with other supermarkets. 

If by 'smaller places' you mean small independent shops or 'corner' shops then they tend to be far more expensive than Lidl or Aldi.

elljay

I love the 'foreign stuff' at Lidl.  It's a great way to try new things,had some lovely tinned artichokes with rice in a garlicky sauce a bit back. Oooh and some stunning dutch chocolate.  Yum. I was worried that these would stop after Brexit but not so far. Since Lidl opened in our town last year I've become a huge fan.  I don't buy ready meals anyway but the fruit and veg (£1.50 mixed boxes are fun when you can get them), the bakery, cheeses and everything else are fine. Lidl does seem to do more well known brands than Aldi but I'm not bothered about them. I'd love to shop at independents but can't afford to. (Sorry village shop).

Has anyone any hints about the best way to get a £1.50 box?  I've only been lucky twice.

EJ
Edited to add, just realised the tinned artichokes are ready meals - I take it all back!!

Ken68

It's Greek week this week, why not have an English week with basic items at low prices as when they first came to my town.  Not sure if it's a Brexit thing but prices seem higher and places like Heron are definitely cheaper. Same with Greggs for bread and rolls.
Veg boxes here have all gone by 9am. What I noticed this week was white cabbage placed amongst the weekend veg and same type label...the 45p was (in  tiny writing)....PER KILO. Have noticed that Iceland are very competitive with ready meals and B&M have good prices.

elljay

Ah right, thanks for the advice about the veg boxes.  I've never come across Heron and I like Morrison's bread the best.  But Lidl for most everything else. The prices are good with or without an 'English week'!!!!  But then I love trying new things from different countries, especially Europe.
Sadly all the supermarkets are sneaky about pricing, Lidl is worst for not reducing yellow stickers at the tills.  I lost out until I took advice on here about putting them first and ensuring the yellow label was uppermost.  Morrisons is shocking for putting higher priced items behind a lower priced shelf label.  I've complained several times to no avail despite promises, so now resort to re-organising the shelves instead.   You have to be on your toes so much!!

Cornucopia

It's notoriously tricky to reliably compare prices between supermarkets.  There are so many variables including different loyalty schemes and special offers.

Overall, I'd be very surprised if Aldi wasn't cheapest overall for a reasonable basket of goods, with Lidl not far behind.  Some people are saying that Asda are now nipping at their heels.   Comparing them with specialists like Greggs and Iceland is all very well, but for some people will mean extra time and petrol/shoe leather.

None of which means that Aldi (or whoever) will be cheapest for every single product, nor that a slightly more expensive product elsewhere might not be better VFM due to improved quality.

Ken68

Agree, Corn...there must be a site that compares grocery prices...perhaps  mySupermarket. I know the Grocery journal did it at one time.