What is an Aldi Find?

Aldi is different from traditional grocery stores, and it can be intimidating to visit for the first time if you aren’t sure how everything works. Not only does Aldi do things differently, from the fact that you need a quarter to rent your shopping cart and you need to bring your own bags and bag your own groceries. But Aldi also uses its own special vocabulary or lingo. If you’re just getting acquainted with the discount grocer, one of the most important things to understand is what an Aldi Find is.

What is an Aldi Find?

An Aldi Find, also sometimes called a Special Buy, is a product that is only sold for a short time at Aldi.

An Aldi Find does not include the staple foods and household goods (such as toilet paper or laundry detergent) that Aldi sells all the time. Those year-round staple products are called Regular Buys. You can find basic necessities such as baking supplies, fresh produce, fresh meat, and dairy any time.

An Aldi Find is something extra that Aldi sells, for a short time and in limited quantities, in addition to the basics.

The price signs on store shelves indicate what is an Aldi Find and what is a Regular Buy, and most Aldi Finds are located in one or two specific aisles, which makes them pretty easy to distinguish from the store’s regular inventory.

An Aldi Find can be a food item or something that is not food, such as cookware or clothing or tools. These products are often highlighted in the weekly ad, and they often have a weekly theme, such as school supplies, holiday meals, kitchen appliances, pet accessories, gardening supplies, and more.

You can often predict what Aldi Finds might be in the weekly ad based on the season: camping gear often shows up during the spring and summer, furniture and bedding during the late summer when college students are returning to campus, and kitchen gadgets in November and December when everyone is doing extra baking and cooking for the holidays.

Holiday products such as decorations and special foods also show up as Aldi Finds at the appropriate time of year. That includes fall decor and pumpkin-flavored everything in autumn, turkeys and canned cranberry sauce around Thanksgiving, and decorations and gifts in December.

How Long Do Aldi Finds Stick Around, and Do They Ever Come Back?

Each store gets one shipment of an item and no more, so Aldi Finds don’t tend to hang around for long in stores. An Aldi Find can last on the shelf for as long as a week or even several weeks, or it might disappear in a day, or in a matter of hours, or in minutes.

Some Aldi Finds do return for a brief time a year later. A few even show up more than once a year, such as specialty German foods that seem to pop up about two times a year. But some things go away and never come back.

Can I Buy an Aldi Find Anywhere Else or Can I Order It Online?

Once an Aldi Find is gone from stores, you may be able to find similar products at other retailers, but they will not have the same brand name as the Aldi version. Also, you can’t order Aldi Finds online, as Aldi does not offer online ordering or shipping in the United States.

While it may seem harsh to tease customers with great products and then make them wait a year before restocking, this is how Aldi manages to be a low-inventory store and still sell everything we need, usually exactly when we need it. With a little patience, you can get just about anything at Aldi.

Closing Thoughts:

Regardless, there is one thing that is true about Aldi Finds: if you see something in the weekly ad that you know you want, go to Aldi as soon as possible once the ad goes into effect. If you wait too long, you may lose out.