Are these 'cheaper' shops really cheaper?

Warburtons wholemeal loaf, Aldi £1:05p. Sainsburys and Asda £1:45p.

Says it all

www.joe.ie/life-style/video-this-irish-ballad-about-lidl-and-aldi-is-probably-the-best-thing-youll-hear-today-376065

Warburtons wholemeal loaf, Aldi £1:05p. Sainsburys and Asda £1:45p

And Lidl's own brand wholemeal sliced loaf is 45p - very nice it is too

Oh yes ‘ Teetime’ the queues ! You do need to be quick packing too.

.........think I will stick to going to Sainsburys!

I can’t go to Sainsbury’s. They have nice things and I have no willpower!!! Their multigrain loaf is just the best, though. I ask DD to get it for me!

"but our Lidl has a fantastic baked on the premises bakery area."

Our does too and the aroma as you enter the store is lovely BUT I won't go near it.

All the good are displayed on open shelves, two tiers of them but I have watched people cough and sneeze over rolls and danish pastries, I have watched a man scratch his arse and then go picking up pizza slices, a woman squeezing every roll for freshness (I presume) and children pawing goods within their reach. There are tongs and bags but I just cannot buy anything that's been breathed on from close proximity or coughed over by so many people.

The freshly baked goods sell, so that might just be my phobia.

Saving 30% on basics is a no brainer for me. I then pop across the road to Sainsburys for gluten free things I can't get in Aldi.

I've no brand loyalty really and follow the bargains. As Tesco have just sent me yet another money off voucher - £14 off a £70 shop - and I always find plenty of 3 for 2s and other offers there, they will get my next "big shop". I haven't been altogether convinced by Lidl and Aldi yet, but I do like their chocolate and the whiskey drinkers I buy for like their whiskey.

My local shops are M&S/Lidl and B&M all in the same area,so I buy all my dried goods in B&M once a month, veg and thick seeded bread which I split in half and freeze it is delicious and costs just 65p finish off at M&S for a meal deal treat for Sunday I never spend more than £40.00 now for my weekly shop and all is good quality produce giving us 3 good meals a day and a stocked "dried cupboard"

Day6 I expect those baked goods only sell because others haven’t noticed what you have!
I am greatly put off too, from buying from open counters and shelves.If you can touch them, so can others.

^ missed veg and bread from Lidl^ got carried away with myself again.oops.

Day6 you must have a different system in the UK from the Lidl and Aldi shops here in Spain. Both shops have perspex fronts on the bakery shelves with a long-handled rake through a slot in it, and you have to manoeuvre your buns out of the side gap into a chute and thence into your paper bag....ne need to touch with your fingers.

I always treat myself to fresh flowers in Aldi. They do have some good wines as well which I may treat myself to after I’ve stocked up on the basics.

No one has mentioned Aldi's centre aisle! There could be anything - shoes, gifts, bedding, tools. Always notice lots of men interested. I wouldn't like to do a big shop on my own though. It could be an Olympic sport! Every second counts. DH and I have clearly defined roles in Oder to move away from till area. The staff (although few) are very friendly.

Oh no CherryHatrick, we have nothing like that! It sounds much more hygienic!

The ones in my local Lidl are open and at waist level so accessible to all, including pesky children who touch things and put them back! I shall check if there are perspex flaps above them to (perhaps) stop coughs and sneezes hitting the goods, but I am pretty sure it's all left on trays which are open. You do have to bag stuff yourself with tongs, but not everyone uses them I've noticed.

Other than that I like Lidl and Aldi. I think they are especially good for food bargains at Christmas time.

I do not have an Aldi, Lidl, or Asda near me so I can only judge Aldi on what other people have given me and it would be an understatement to say I was unimpressed.

A roast chicken totally devoid of flavour (and this was from someone who has always been an excellent cook) and so white, it could have been bleached

A packet of shortbread, a gift that looked like a packet of Walkers's shortbread, which on opening had a clear plastic biscuit holder than gave 2 small biscuits in each corner and 2 small ones in the middle, nearly half the pack had no biscuits in it. They were bright yellow and tasted 'chemical'

Some croissants that were very sweet and had the texture of cake.

I bought fruit scones from the bakery section in Lidl as they looked so good.
Unfortunately, although there were a couple of sultanas on the outside there was no fruit at all inside.
Looked like a plain scone 'decorated' with two sultanas

I have both Aldi and Waitrose in this small town - also Morrisons. I buy fruit and veg in Aldi. Have you ever asked yourself why these last longer in the more traditional supermarkets? Do they get some special treatment like irradiation? Their detergents and toiletries are markedly cheaper than those in other supermarkets and of perfectly acceptable quality. I have heard (from discerning friends) good reports of their skincare products. Chocolate from both Aldi and Lidl is superior to the Americanised gunk now masquerading as Cadbury's and other formerly British brands. Luxuries I buy in Waitrose which is virtually my corner shop.

I do so agree about open shelves for bread and cakes. A sneeze can go to 30 ft and I get the shudders at the number of people who sneeze and cough over food . Even if they cough into their hands it's still ugh. Why won't people learn to carry a hanky and USE it.

We shopped at aldi for around 2 years and we saved an enormous amount of money compared to our normal shop at Tesco BUT all Of A Sudden It Went Downhill and We Noticed Many Changes ...please Ignore All These CAapitals I Must Have Pressed A Button In Error and Dont Know How To Change It.
Sliced Roast Beef Went From 5slices To 4 Then To 3 And Soo Thin It Was See Through. Fruit And Veg Quality Changed. Fresh Fish Went Smaller Pieces. Many Changes All For The Worse.
There Were Also A Lot Of Things We Tried Once And Never Bought Again too ..meat Pies..pizzas..cakes. sausages were Always Vile From There. We Eventually Went Back To Tesco And Dont Regret It .

They build Lidl across the road from Sainsbury's last year and then this year put an Aldi and BM Stores (which also sells food) just nearby. We're only a small town and also have a Co-Op in the garage as well as small independent supermarkets in the actual town centre so we're well 'stocked' with choice. I use them all occasionally but we still end up going to Tesco and sometimes Morrisons for the weekly shop which are about 10 miles away. I think it's more a case of habit and what we know as well as a weekly outing - I don't get out much! I do like Lidl's bread and they have some lovely frozen items which we will get for Christmas when we've eaten our way through the freezer first

I do most of my shopping in Aldi now. I've never had any problems with keeping fruit and veg. They have some lovely wines, this year there's a Valpolicella dessert wine which is very good value and last Christmas they had a Franciacorta for £14.99 which is half the price you'd pay at the big wine merchants. Their chocolate is apparently made by one of the biggest manufacturers in Germany and very good quality. Looking forward to the posh panetonne which is due in tomorrow!

An acquaintance who works in the local slaughterhouse, has told me that they supply A+ quality meat to Aldi, A quality to M& S and B or C to the other supermarkets. I do think the fresh meat in Aldi is better than other supermarkets but do wonder how they manage to sell it cheaper than the others when they pay more wholesale.

Also like that most of the meat, fish and much of the cold meats is produced locally - even the beer in the beer battered fish is brewed in our Wee County.

I agree the chocolate is much better quality in Lidl and Aldi, plus the jam has a much higher fruit content than British jam. I rarely shop in Tesco and Sainsbury’s - both very overpriced.