This week, one of ALDI’s “Familiar Favourite” special buys is in fact one of my favourite foodstuffs: Arnott’s Barbecue Shapes. ALDI is selling the 200g 8-pack of Barbecue Shapes (and no other flavour, we might note) for $3.99.
At first glance, that’s an OK deal. The regular supermarket price for the 8-pack is $5.00. But as every attentive shopper knows, Shapes go on sale all the time, and it’s easy to do as well or better.
Indeed, Woolworths had essentially same deal last week, selling the 8-pack for $4.00. (ALDI loves undercutting its rivals by a cent.)
We’ve seen this pattern of the same bargain cycling through supermarkets with other biscuits, including Tim Tams and Oreos.
However, this week you can actually do better without having to wait. Coles is selling the 8-pack for $3.50, which totally undercuts ALDI.
Attentive shoppers also know that the multipack is terrible value. You’re paying for the convenience (and planet-wrecking waste) of individual serves. Underscoring the point, Coles also has the regular 175g box of Shapes on special this week for $2. That’s the one for bargain hunters to seek out.
Pedant note: Shapes are one of the brand-name products where ALDI sells a different size to everyone else. Its 250g “Value Pack” costs $3.69, which works out at $1.48 per 100g. That’s still more than the Coles special this week, but it is cheaper than the regular $4 price for a 175g box at Coles or Woolworths.
As ever, the lesson is to shop around. And remember, don’t get the vinyl records at ALDI, they are terrible.
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