What is the policy of discounting Special Buys and at ALDI?

Blue Cat on 02/03/2019 - 18:43
Last edited 03/03/2019 - 10:08

tl;dr - questions at the bottom

A month or so ago I saw a $50 paper shredder as a Special Buy at my local ALDI. I don't really need it, but I wanted one as a time-wasting "toy" whenever I get rid of papers that have some personal information on them, like bank statements or bills etc.
Since I didn't really need it (my scissors do the same job perfectly, just takes a little bit of time), I decided to wait until they get discounted and put in the "clearance" section. Of course, it could happen that they will be sold out before I get a chance to buy it but I decided to wait anyway.
So, for the next 4 weeks I would visit ALDI every Wednesday and Saturday (those are the times when they introduce new special buys and it would make sense to me it is the day when they discount old stock).

All 4 weeks, nobody was buying them. Not a single one sold. Same 12 boxes every time I visit and they have never reduced the price. They just move them from one section to another, but never change the price.

I visited ALDI yesterday to buy some milk and checked the shredders - all 12 of them still there. I thought this Saturday it was going to happen, as it would make it about 4 weeks since it started selling and they haven't managed to sell a single one. To my surprise - all of them are gone. I checked the labels at the clearance section - they didn't have a paper shredder's reduced price label.
Could it be that they did get discounted but all of them got grabbed before I came to the store? Did they go back to ALDI's warehouse?
Doesn't really matter, as my hopes and dreams are already destroyed, but would like some input from someone who works at ALDI.

How do ALDI stores decide what to do with unsold stock? Under what condition do Special Buys get discounted?

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Comments

  • Hithere on 02/03/2019 - 19:13
    +2

    Did you ask a team member (if you can find one on the floor) if they still had any?

    Sometimes they move them into the back room if they need the space and after a few weeks they are back on the floor.

    Other times they transfer the stock to other stores.

  • altomic on 02/03/2019 - 19:23
    +32

    funny you should post this but i just got back from my local aldi where I bought 12 super discounted paper shredders

    • Melb69 on 02/03/2019 - 19:27

      Ok you must have been the buyer that got there before the OP.

    • Quantumcat on 02/03/2019 - 23:33

      I don't get it

    • Bargain80 on 03/03/2019 - 11:08

      Waiting for sales from gumtree

  • Melb69 on 02/03/2019 - 19:26

    I think they do as @hilthere says. Not sure about sending to other stores, but suspect they will just put them out again on another occasion. I randomly found the fly shooers at the Richmond store randomly, looked up when they were last listed in catalogue and it was like years ago. They may have had them pre Xmas, but found them in store like in Feb for $12 dollars each about 8 of them left.

    Some items I think are recurring, so they just return them to warehouse I think for the next sale in future.

    I think you are better off not buying it if you didnt really need one anyway. I was in the store this morning and I just see people through all this stuff in their trolley's but do they really need them.

    It is better to wait for them to go into discounted prices to get that better price if you did actually want the item. Just no gurantee that it will.

  • marmlr339 on 03/03/2019 - 03:47

    Just pay the full price? It's not like they're expensive. Perhaps the stock was replenished every time you visited.

    Usually grocery / retail stores have a contractual agreement. If the item is a risk that it may not sell, the supplier often accepts the item as returns. Otherwise they can transfer the stock to other stores.

  • Danesk on 03/03/2019 - 07:56

    Just a few weeks ago I asked the manager at Ashfield in Sydney and he told me that they discount the items if they are there for 3 weeks.

    So if it is released on Thursday the 1st, it will be discounted on 22nd of that month if the item remains.

    My ALDI does discount items and I've bought plenty myself.

    • Blue Cat on 03/03/2019 - 08:24

      Yeah but I wonder is this "3 week rule" specific to your ALDI only?
      Just found out that the shredder was on sale since 2nd of February 2019 and even after 3 weeks they didn't discount it. Last time I saw them at the shop still at full price was 1st of March 2019.

  • PeroxideFlowers on 03/03/2019 - 08:31

    Officeworks has a 7L strip cut shredder for $20 if you're looking for something cheap. Don't forget to buy shredder oil; keeps it running well. Strip cutters need to be oiled less frequently than cross cutters, so in the case of the $20 one, I'd personally oil it once it's half full and again when it's full, but of course, this also depends on the size that you'll eventually buy. Rule of thumb is to oil it when you notice it's not performing as well or if it starts getting jams.

  • Associatedw1nter @ ALDI on 03/03/2019 - 09:44
    +1

    some of the shredders might have been replenished from the warehouse, as they sell out, we do that with older specials time to time. and someone else here may also be right, the shredders might have been transferred to another store or just taken back altogether.
    and yes, there's a chance that they might have all sold out quickly (but who'd want 12 shredders all at once).
    the reason they're changing locations everytime you visit (given you said you made visits on Saturdays and Wednesdays), is that they were being moved to an area in the front of the store to make way for newer specials.

  • AssociatedIknowthis @ ALDI on 03/03/2019 - 09:56
    +7

    Aldi Employee
    Stock cannot be reduced until it's been on the shelf for 4 weeks (I.e hits shelves in "week 1" won't be reduced until "week 5", the week number is shown on the price card). If sales for the item have been bad nationwide (stuff like shredders) then corporate sends out new prices (usually small discounts). Some managers will further reduce items up to 50% off the original price, but Aldi tracks that behaviour as obviously it's not very profitable as items are generally pretty cheap without a discount.

  • KaraZorEl on 03/03/2019 - 10:26
    +1

    We tear up papers with personal info and compost it.

  • whichtyler on 03/03/2019 - 17:18
    +1

    Store management also seems to play a big role. I regularly visit three Aldi stores - two near home (about 2 km apart) and one near work (about 10 km away).

    Sometimes one store will have 50% off a special buy that is still selling for full price at another.

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