<p>Walmart tried to open in Germany and failed because it couldn’t compete with Aldi’s. I wonder if the stores are substantially different over there.</p>
<p>Some things we totally love from Aldi’s = salsa (in the refridgerated section) cottage cheese, and the fit and healthy snacks. There are lots of packaged and frozen food that is cheap and not healthy, so stay away from that. But there are some healthy choices that are very good. In my opinion, you will still need to visit a regular grocery store to complete your shopping, but Aldi’s has great prices on SOME items that are really delicious.</p>
<p>Another Aldi fan here. I can’t get all my groceries there, but there are some items I will wait to purchase at Aldi. My H likes their dark chocolate and several items from their Fit & Active line.</p>
<p>We went to an Aldi near London. It was exactly the same as the ones here…not ANYTHING like a Walmart.</p>
<p>We have both an Aldi and a Walmart Neighborhood Market in our neighborhood. They are very similar in size, although Walmart does carry national brands. If I just stick to the specials at Aldi, I can save a bundle. Otherwise the prices are about the same. I usually go to Walmart because I can walk to it.</p>
<p>I don’t know if this is unique to Pittsburgh area Aldis, or if they have the same policy everywhere, but it got me into some trouble on my first trip there:
There was an elderly lady who had just finished unloading her cart into her car and was taking it back to the corral. Since I needed one, I thought I was doing her a favor by taking it from her, saving her the walk. She handed it to me and put her hand out and asked me for a quarter. I thought she was joking, smiled and just took the cart at which point she started getting annoyed. It was only then that I discovered that carts were all chained together, and you needed a deposit of a quarter to get one, and it was returned when you parked it, presumably encouraging users to not leave it in the middle of the parking lot.</p>
<p>They all have the carts hooked together. It costs a quarter to use them. We always offer a quarter to the person returning the cart. Sometimes they refuse, but usually they accept. If I’m not mistaken, all
Aldi stores have the 25 cent cart charge.</p>
<p>They all do, and it is something that has been standard for years.</p>
<p>Oh, and one thing I LOVE about Aldi, is the way the yogurts are in those trays in the cooler. I just swap a few around to get a full tray of mixed flavors, and then pop that tray into the cart, and later into my car for the trip home. No more little yogurt containers dancing around in bags in my car!</p>
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<p>Nope, not quite, Thumper! I was joking when I said the Albrecht thought about keeping the quarters! </p>
<p>When you return the cart to its location, the chain ejects the quarter. If you give a quarter to someone to return the cart, he gets 50 cents. And that is perhaps what a generous soul like you intended to do. </p>
<p><a href=“https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqPaZD4xiatYUpLNuj3FM5I8m4iFMq7MrCCzD5d6eLxByyh9A1[/url]”>https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqPaZD4xiatYUpLNuj3FM5I8m4iFMq7MrCCzD5d6eLxByyh9A1</a></p>
<p>By the way, it is YOUR coin that stays in the cart, so there is no risk to get a fake coin back. Some people have a special coin attached to their keyholder.</p>
<p>It’s a tad similar to the European airport carts that also give you a reward when returning the cart. The difference is that you do not have an army of baggagehandlers trying to grab your cart at the curb to collect your money. :)</p>
<p>You misunderstood me. I give someone a quarter but <em>I</em> take the cart from them! That way, they get their quarter back without having to return the cart! They don’t get 50 cents back…they don’t HAVE the cart…I do! When I am done shopping, I either play it forward or put the cart back and get the quarter myself.</p>
<p>Big Aldi fan here. You usually don’t get your own quarter back–you get the cart from the person in front of you in line, and the person behind you gets yours. At least that’s how it’s done at my Aldi. (Now that most of the quarters are “state” quarters, I like to see which state pops out when I return the cart . . .obviously I lead a dull life 
)
It’s not really a charge for the cart, just a “deposit.”</p>
<p>Haha, now I am puzzled.</p>
<p>The system I know has NO quarters in the available locked carts. The locking mechanism is released when you insert a coin. That coin is in your cart. When you come back, the chain from the cart in front of you oushes your coin out. And that is why the special keyholder with a coin works.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.google.com/search?q=aldi+shopping+carts&hl=en&client=safari&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=3OhcUbudKafM2gXa54DwCA&ved=0CEsQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=644[/url]”>http://www.google.com/search?q=aldi+shopping+carts&hl=en&client=safari&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=3OhcUbudKafM2gXa54DwCA&ved=0CEsQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=644</a></p>
<p>The only way to get a different coin is to do what Thumper does.</p>
<p>We like the chips and pretzels. They often have strawberries and asparagus is season for $1. The only thing we’ve ever really have hated is their generic crystal light.</p>
<p>Xiggi, you are right. BUT at Aldi stores, you unload YOUR cart. While you are doing that, the cashier is already scanning and putting your goods into a cart that the previous people unloaded (their stuff was put into another cart). THAT cart is what you take with you…not usually the one you bring into the store.</p>
<p>My father loves Aldi! He likes to get my mother’s produce there and swear he can get bigger and cheaper vegetables there, like red bell pepper for under a dollar where the grocery stores are selling them for $4.00. He also is a fan of their special; my 82 year old dad purchased a chain saw at Aldi this winter for I believe around $20. Don’t ask me what he will do with it, because if he has something in his yard that needs a chain saw, he isn’t going to be the one doing the work!!</p>
<p>LOL–thumper, thanks for explaining it, Aldi Pro.</p>
<p>(Xiggi, I swear that yesterday I put in an Alaska quarter and got a Kansas one back :))</p>
<p>I LOVE Aldi! I have shopped at Harris Teeter for 30+ years and it makes me mad to think of all the money I have wasted shopping there instead of Aldi. You can’t get everything on your list at Aldi but the savings are absolutely worth a weekly trip!</p>
<p>I buy crackers, chips, salsa, jelly, spices, salad dressing, olives, condiments, eggs, milk, coffee creamer, sausage, canned and frozed veggies, fresh produce (love the 3-head romaine pack!), fresh fruit, etc. I could go on and on. The spiral sliced ham is much better than others I have tried. </p>
<p>Keep your grocery bags in your car - that way you always have them when needed. Check out the ‘special buys’ at Aldi’s. I have bought a number of items that are super (3-pack of knives, pillows, bird feeder, orchids, hanging baskets, a great pasta pot, a walking cane for my father, etc.)</p>
<p>Another suggestion. The first time I went to Aldi I was not impressed. It seemed like a warehouse and I just wasn’t sure I wanted to risk buying stuff I wasn’t sure of. I searched the internet for ‘favorite Aldi products’ and made notes of items people seemed to like. Now I am willing to try most anything I find there. They have a money-back guarantee if you don’t like it - so what have you got to lose.</p>
<p>Be careful when buying “cheap” produce; it could be very less than good for you: [The</a> Full List: 45 Fruits and Veggies | EWG’s 2012 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce?](<a href=“http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/list/]The”>EWG's 2023 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce | Dirty Dozen)</p>
<p>Not all Aldi’s work the way Thumper described in post 34. I think it depends upon the store and how busy it is. I’ve only experienced the “switching of the carts” once. Most often I unload my cart, push it down to the end of the lane, and the cashier places my items into it. I do the “cart for a quarter switch” with someone in the parking lot or return it for my quarter. </p>
<p>I always make a trip to Aldi’s for holiday baking supplies including flour, sugars, and butter. I also head to Aldi’s if we’re hosting a party or cookout. Dairy products and cheeses are good. I’ve been happy with the quality of frozen veggies, chips, and olives in the past. I don’t buy canned foods there any longer. When I do purchase canned food I buy salt-free varieties. Aldi’s doesn’t have salt-free canned items. We tried the cereals when the kids were younger. They didn’t really like them, but I thought they were fine. My experiences with the fresh fruits and veggies has been good. They seem to stay fresh longer than what I buy at Walmart or Kroger. </p>
<p>There are some staples, such as rice, that are not really less at Aldi’s. The boxes or bags seem to be smaller. I usually buy a 25 pound bag of basmati rice at Sam’s club for about $15. It lasts for months and is less expensive than buying smaller bags.</p>
<p>The nearest Aldi is 30 minutes from my home so I don’t shop there, but my mother who is retired and can go in the middle of the day, shops there often. She bought a ham there at Christmas that was the best I have had in years.</p>