Lidl

[ina]

True, they do sell some "local" stuff. They have Scottish milk, butter and cream here. And shortbread. I'm astonished though that they still sell the German rye bread - there must be others buying it apart from me! But I wish they'd sell Quark - they only do the fruit type stuff, not the plain, and that would be really good to have...

Have to get myself a cow and make my own, I suppose.

Last week they were selling diving gear - I was overhearing a guy saying to his wife - we come in for a can of beans and end up buying a wetsuit! That's how it often goes at Lidl's.

[multiveg]

We just acquired a Netto (taking over from kwiksave)

Bought some strawberry things from Wilko's but they died Other strawberry variety from Wilko's bought at same time doing nicely.

[9ball]

Bumping this one back up, just a quick heads up that from next week (01/03) Lidl are doing their gardening stuff again, looks like nice cheap fruit trees, bushes, cultivators etc. Looks like a trip will be in order...

Tom

[the.fee.fairy]

must find nearest lidl...

[Martin]

I've found the only way with Lidl is to treat it like a boot sale, and grab any bargains you find - I have NEVER found the goods advertised actually in the store.........last time I tried to buy some very good value rechargeable batteries on offer, I got there by 12 on the day the offer had come out - all gone! Upon enquiring, I was told - "if you want the bargains you'll have to queue at 8.30!!!!!!!!!!
Add to that the "hell's waiting room" ambience, it's not the cheeriest of experiences!

[Dendrobium]

Yep, I agree - I've been to better organised bootsales!
We have a Neto near us, although it's cheaper and quicker to get to than all the other shops we almost never go in there! It's like TK Max which is another 'jumble sale' shop, but as I'm twenty years out of fashion I can usualy find something in there I like!

[Muddypause]

My experience with Lidl is that much of their cheap stuff is cheap crap - tools and computer stuff, especially. It really is very consistent the way their stuff stops working or breaks within a short time. Cheap, yes; value, no.

Can't comment about their food; never tried it - couldn't find organic milk anywhere.

But hey, Fee, what are you doing in this thread and the one about avoiding supermarkets?

[Dendrobium]

In a similar vein, does anyone here bother/have any success with those cardboard boxed 'sticks' that woolworths sell? They have some vegies at this time of year as dormant plants, but as they are in dry overheated shops in the dark and shoved around for a month or two between different displays some seem to send out elongated shoots. I did get some blueberries this year from them which I now regret as they look pretty sorry specimins even for 2.49 each.

[Karen_Grace]

I love Lidl too, and they sell British Leeks

[the.fee.fairy]

i want to avoid the big big things - like T*sco and S**nsburys etc.

But cheap gardening stuff...i'm like a fly to sh*t in that respect....

Its safe so far though...there's not a lidl within bus/walking/biking distance...

[9ball]

But hey, Fee, what are you doing in this thread and the one about avoiding supermarkets?

I don't think in any way Lidl could be called 'super'

[zombiecazz]

I've some fab bargains from Lidl. That have lasted really well.
I have an optical mouse that is about 4 years old and still works really well. DS has a 10 changer cd player that plays MP3 bargain at £50. A year old and still going strong.

[firelite]

It was weird reading this thread. In Finland Lidl is in the same "must boycott" category as Nestlé or Coca Cola Company. Tip: whenever you buy something cheap that says "made in China", "made in India", "made in Pakistan" from a multinational company, there is a big chance that it is made with child labor or other inhumane production methods. Also, plastic products from 3rd world countries spell ecological disaster, since the requirement for super-cheap prices forces them to ignore any environmental effects of the factories (not to even mention the environmental effects of long-distance transportation -- and all these goods could perfectly well be made locally!).
Plus, the Lidl chain is notorious for being a crappy place to work in even in western countries: in some European countries the chain requires woman employees to wear red ribbons around their heads during menstruation, "to allow them to keep more toilet breaks" (the employees not menstruating may only go to the loo during lunch break). Also Lidl is notorious for violating minimum pay requirements all over Europe.
In Czech Republic, Lidl had over 100 old trees chopped down without legal permission in order to increase the visibility of their shop. In most countries, Lidl workers aren't allowed to organize -- if they do, they're fired.


I don't want to make anyone feel guilty, but -- next time you think of going to Lidl because of cheap prices, think if you could afford more ethically produced alternatives. As always, you have the choice that the earth doesn't have.

[bwaymark]

And their fancy 'for life' bags suck too..... I bought two three and they all split at the seems under their first load of wood! The Le Clerk bags from France, however, are great... they really do last!

[titch7069]

BTW there is no such thing as the third world anymore, they are known as developing or emerging nations.

i would love to have a lidl or aldi here, everything you can buy here comes from india or china and breaks the first time you use it and is invariably extremely expensive, in contrast stuff we bought in UK from those 2 shops still works and it was all good value.