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Looking for a torque wrench? Why not try Aldi's?

jlh92

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Columbia, Missouri
Saw this while looking through the local ads. I've seen screwdriver sets there before but it looks like they're now carrying jacks, torque wrenches, creepers, and work lights.

Aldi Ad 5/27
 
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gungatim

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I went to an Aldi's once...once...having to pay someone in the parking lot a quarter to use a cart was a major turn off...they still have that policy?
 
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jlh92

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They now have "locks" on the carts that chain they together unless you put a quarter in. Saves them the expense of hiring someone to herd the carts all day.
 

Jagmandave

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I bought a computer at Aldi in 2000, I still have it and it still works beautifully - never had an issue with it!

However, I've never bought a torque wrench there! :D
 

cg81

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They even have a $19.99 widow maker jack and jackstand set. Look out Harbor Freight.
 

bczygan

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DETROIT! Arsenal of Scrappers
We shop almost exclusively there.

Carts aren't a problem. Lots of times, as you are taking the cart back, someone will give you the quarter and take the cart, saving you the trip to return it. Sometimes when you arrive, people will just give you the cart and not want the quarter.

You do need to bring your own bags or boxes, or use a spare box they ay have.

Good basic selection and great prices.

Only thing I don't like is how they train clerks to just literally throw things in the basket, not place them in the box.
 

Tyberius

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Wilmette, IL
I bought a pair of work lights there. One light's handle broke. I could replace it with some crimped EMT, but I haven't. I bought these about 14 years ago. They still work. Need to clean the paint off the glass.
 

gungatim

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You get your quarter back when you return the cart.

Guess that's too much trouble for some people to handle, though.

well it's definitely too much trouble for me. to each his own...I just don't want to worry about having correct change on me when I stop at a store and generally don't shop in high crime areas where shopping carts get stolen so much they have to lock them up...somehow, every other store in the world manages to not treat their customers like criminals and don't lock their carts up. well, every other store except Sam's club...
 
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jlh92

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I believe Aldi's has their cart policy for the same reason they don't have grocery bags. That being to have less employees working and be able to sell their products at lower prices while still making as much profit as the bigger stores.
 

PureLeaf

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Is Aldie's british?

I used to live in Britain and this is how all grocery stories are operated. You pay 1 pound (about a $1.60) to use a cart, but get it back when the cart is returned. You also have to supply all your own bags or alternatively pay 10 pence per bag. You also have to bag all your own items as you check out. This is just how the British do it.
 

exmaxima1

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I bought a computer at Aldi in 2000, I still have it and it still works beautifully - never had an issue with it!

I bought a couple of those same computers back then. I think they were made in Germany! Indeed, very good and lasted a long time.
 
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jlh92

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Is Aldie's british?

I used to live in Britain and this is how all grocery stories are operated. You pay 1 pound (about a $1.60) to use a cart, but get it back when the cart is returned. You also have to supply all your own bags or alternatively pay 10 pence per bag. You also have to bag all your own items as you check out. This is just how the British do it.

It's German based. Honestly I really like the concept. That may be because it's 'unusual' in the US, probably wouldn't like it as much if all stores were the same.
 

Mark in Indiana

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I almost bought a gas grill from them last year on Memorial Day weekend. Great price. But Lowes had the same one, at the same price...already pre assembled.
 

RedneckWelder

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well it's definitely too much trouble for me. to each his own...I just don't want to worry about having correct change on me when I stop at a store and generally don't shop in high crime areas where shopping carts get stolen so much they have to lock them up...somehow, every other store in the world manages to not treat their customers like criminals and don't lock their carts up. well, every other store except Sam's club...

You completely miss the point

It isn't about theft at all, nor is it "treating customers like criminals". It's about encouraging customers to return their carts to the entrance instead of having to send an employee to gather the carts. A busy store will have to dedicate at least one person (if not more) to gathering carts all day, and that is not cheap at all.
 

logical

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Why would we buy some Chinese torque wrench from Aldi's, assuming there was an Aldi's anywhere near us, or that we ever heard of Aldis'?

Not all posts are written with you in mind.....I know, its hard to imagine.

well it's definitely too much trouble for me. to each his own...I just don't want to worry about having correct change on me when I stop at a store and generally don't shop in high crime areas where shopping carts get stolen so much they have to lock them up...somehow, every other store in the world manages to not treat their customers like criminals and don't lock their carts up. well, every other store except Sam's club...

You need your wallet going to buy beer, you need your golf shoes going to play golf, your ammo going hunting..... having a quarter is apparently part of the deal... or you can only buy what you can carry. I'm not pushing for Aldi, I was in one one time and had no desire to go back, but if I did I would not let needing to loan them a quarter for a half hour stop me.
 
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JonDick13926

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I believe Aldi's has their cart policy for the same reason they don't have grocery bags. That being to have less employees working and be able to sell their products at lower prices while still making as much profit as the bigger stores.

I think you're right. When I was in high school I worked at Walmart bringing the carts back in. VERY rarely a customer would take them back in. Might see it happen twice in 8 hours at a high traffic store. That particular store had 4 of us working around the clock minus 11pm-7am (8 hours). We were all paid around $8 an hour, so they were dishing out about $512 a day just to keep carts in the store.

So I think the quarter idea is a good one. Either don't bother grabbing one if you're only getting a couple things, or bring it back when you're done. Otherwise, the store will have to bring it in, but that cost will be offset by all of those lazy people quarters.
 

Fretters

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well it's definitely too much trouble for me. to each his own...I just don't want to worry about having correct change on me when I stop at a store and generally don't shop in high crime areas where shopping carts get stolen so much they have to lock them up...somehow, every other store in the world manages to not treat their customers like criminals and don't lock their carts up. well, every other store except Sam's club...

Personally, I'd rather go to a shop/supermarket where they have those shopping trolleys. The idle beggars who can't be arsed to return their trolleys to the bays are responsible for no end of dents in vehicles in the car park, when the trolleys go trundling off on their own.
 

kaffine

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well it's definitely too much trouble for me. to each his own...I just don't want to worry about having correct change on me when I stop at a store and generally don't shop in high crime areas where shopping carts get stolen so much they have to lock them up...somehow, every other store in the world manages to not treat their customers like criminals and don't lock their carts up. well, every other store except Sam's club...

Just wondering how much traveling outside the USA you have done?

I know when I was in Spain a lot of the stores did that and it was much more than a quarter. I can't remember how it worked it was some time ago but I remember that you put the coin in to release a strap and when you reconnected the strap it would give you the coin back. I thought it was a great idea when I was over there the only problem I see in the USA is that we don't have a coin worth enough to get people return the cart to get their coin back. I had a friend that was there for a year before they found out you get the money back if you return the cart.
 

PJNJ

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Imagine that, on a tool site, members arguing about shopping carts. :headscrat
 

Kev442

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So at Aldis they are widow makers, but the same setup at Walmart is a heckuva deal.

I don't shop there but I appreciate that they always have those $99 window air conditioners in the summer. Those little throwaways literally save lives IMO.
 

Mechanical Noise

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well it's definitely too much trouble for me. to each his own...I just don't want to worry about having correct change on me when I stop at a store and generally don't shop in high crime areas where shopping carts get stolen so much they have to lock them up...somehow, every other store in the world manages to not treat their customers like criminals and don't lock their carts up. well, every other store except Sam's club...

When I don't have correct change, I just walk in with a dollar in my hand. The first cashier with an open drawer will give me change. It's all part of the routine.
 

justanengineer

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Personally, I'd rather go to a shop/supermarket where they have those shopping trolleys. The idle beggars who can't be arsed to return their trolleys to the bays are responsible for no end of dents in vehicles in the car park, when the trolleys go trundling off on their own.

^^^EXACTLY the point I was getting ready to make. Less possibility of dents, lower prices, more parking spaces, cleaner parking lot....whats not to like? SWMBO is pretty quick to steal any change I have and I use plastic for 99% of transactions but even I have a couple quarters in the truck.

I dont know if its still true, but at one time Aldi was the world's largest grocery store chain.
 

Coach James

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Why would we buy some Chinese torque wrench from Aldi's, assuming there was an Aldi's anywhere near us, or that we ever heard of Aldis'?

The same reason people buy a Chinese torque wrench from any place else.

My inlaws loved Aldi's. They said it had a limited selection, but good enough, prices were good, and the customers were a more upscale group than Wal Mart. I think they bought a porch swing there or something else you wouldn't expect.

Coach
 

Charles (in GA)

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well it's definitely too much trouble for me. to each his own...I just don't want to worry about having correct change on me when I stop at a store and generally don't shop in high crime areas where shopping carts get stolen so much they have to lock them up...somehow, every other store in the world manages to not treat their customers like criminals and don't lock their carts up. well, every other store except Sam's club...

Its nothing to do with theft. Its having to have an employee go out and round up the carts several times a day, and put them back in the cart corral. Most stores need to have a electric cart pusher, and that adds more expense.

Its a matter of costs. Aldi is a German company (I think) and has a European way of thinking.
 

gungatim

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OK I get it, a lot of people don't care about the cart thing, great. just not for me. I don't carry change, and I don't like the whole concept. just me I guess...

as for traveling outside in the world, let's see, in the last 6 months i've been to Malaysia, Korea, Japan, Thailand, and India...I think I know what i'm talking about. yes some places you have to pay for your bags. but then again, I choose not to live there, and not to shop there if I can help it.

And it can't cost that much to maintain carts, harbor Freight does not seem to have a problem. or walmart. or Big Lots.

It seems to me, the whole, "we're saving you money" by not having a cart person, or making you box your groceries at the warehouse clubs, or charging a membership fee, is really just a marketing ploy to make people feel like they're getting a bargain or are somehow "in the know" and save more money than the rest of us.

I am in business. I know better...

but back to the original topic, it is interesting yes that the low priced grocery store is selling cheap tools. I only initially responded because I went there once when they first opened like 15 yrs. ago and it was a huge turn-off. I prefer to get a little better service and fail to see how having to interact with someone in a parking lot to exchange trival amounts of money for the use of a cart makes my shopping experience any better. At my local hardings, cute girls still bring the groceries to my car and help me load. I feel much better handing them a tip than some stranger in an Aldi's...
 

twertsy

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You completely miss the point

It isn't about theft at all, nor is it "treating customers like criminals". It's about encouraging customers to return their carts to the entrance instead of having to send an employee to gather the carts. A busy store will have to dedicate at least one person (if not more) to gathering carts all day, and that is not cheap at all.

Hell, I wish EVERY store required at least a $20 deposit for carts. They absolutely LITTER the parking lots all around DC. Everyone is too friggin lazy to push it 10 ft. into it's crib. Absolutely disgusts me. I had one blow across the Sam's club lot, out to the outer reaches of parking where I park the Shelby, ricochet off my wife's back bumper and slam into the Shelby, cracking the marker lens and denting the fender. HUGE pet peeve of mine!!

/rant!@
 

Sprintman

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well it's definitely too much trouble for me. to each his own...I just don't want to worry about having correct change on me when I stop at a store and generally don't shop in high crime areas where shopping carts get stolen so much they have to lock them up...somehow, every other store in the world manages to not treat their customers like criminals and don't lock their carts up. well, every other store except Sam's club...

You must be taking the piss. Keeping the trolleys means lower prices, all good. Some people.....
 

crab

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There are grocery stores that have carts that the wheels will lock if you try to go beyond there parking lot.
 

thebeekeeper1

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My wife and I were in one of our local ones last night. Clean, good stuff, prices half of Walmart, and not a single cart loose in the parking lot. Pleasant staff too--try that at Walmart. :D
 

NUTTSGT

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I went to an Aldi's once...once...having to pay someone in the parking lot a quarter to use a cart was a major turn off...they still have that policy?

I wish our local Kroger store would have those on the carts. It would keep the lowlifes from taking a cart home and destroying the wheel if/when they come back.
 

cabin fever

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I love going to grocery stores that have "free" carts that are litterly covered in **** from sitting outside, and blocking parking spots. I like it even more when some azz clown is to lazy to take it back inside, and the dam thing rolls into my truck, while its parked in the parking lot.

Yep, that's so much better then just leaving a quarter in my console, and having a nice clean cart that sits inside, and doesn't dent my rig.
 

justanengineer

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Aldi is the grocery equivalent of Harbor Freight. Period. With all your current beliefs and notions!

Not even close. Our local Aldi sells fresh, locally grown produce, meat, and other food items. During the holidays they also keep a regular stock of Ghiradelli and Lindt cocoa and chocolates, unlike the other stores which order a small token amount to sell amongst a high percentage of weeks-old **** food. No, they dont worry about selling mostly "name brands," but frankly I care more about quality of my food than the name on the package.
 
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