A recent deal on Dyson vacuums at Aldi – everyone’s favourite store for cheap brands that aren’t quite the same but are almost as good – has sent bargain hunters into total meltdown.
The deal on offer was one of those primo offers that bring out the shoppers in hoards: a handheld DC44 Animal for $299, about $200 less than its usual selling price of $499.
But people who arrived early at their local Aldi to score one of these bad boys (and yes, 2017 is the year that we’re referring to fancy vacuum cleaners as ‘bad boys’) were sorely disappointed.
“Feeling disgusted by the behaviour of some people pushing in front of me to get a Dyson vacuum this morning after I was one of the first few in the line waiting for sometimes before shops opened,” wrote one woman, Jodie Gent. “Consequently I missed out. Disappointed Aldi staff let this happen? A number system could of prevented this.”
The queue at Aldi Eltham #Aldi #christmascrazy #shopping pic.twitter.com/RgzYWhiMwL
— Cameron MacKertich (@camkellie) December 15, 2017
Others described scenes of absolute chaos, with some stores descending into low-key violence.
“My partner just got home from Aldi Monbulk,” wrote Belinda Louise. “He was elbowed by numerous women, pushed and shoved so they could buy multiple Dyson stick vacs. These women were towards the back of the queue but used violence to fight for a product. Aldi you really need to look at how you sell products in demand and maintain the safety of your customers.”
Several people implored Aldi to limit how many items a single person could purchase. “I understand your special buys are popular but it’s rather unfair you let people buy 3 or 4 of the Dysons on offer,” wrote Rose Holland. “Many people who were in line missed out because others grabbed as many as they humanly could.”
And others were just fed up with the whole dang thing.
“Can someone please explain to me how it is possible to sell out of a product 5 minutes before a store opens, on the day it is meant to be available for purchase?” wrote Karin Roets.
This is a queue of people willing to give up 1+ hours of their early Saturday morning to get a 14% discount on a product that’s 3 generations old. #aldi #dyson #opporrunitycost pic.twitter.com/ANeuN6ib2I
— Aram Dulyan (@Aramgutang) December 15, 2017
Of course, this is kind of Aldi’s MO – big, headline grabby deals that will never humanly meet the demands. A spokesperson said that it’s special buys, which come out weekly, “are ordered months in advance and are intended to be on sale for one week in a bid to keep our range fresh and interesting,” which is fine for your general Aldi bargains but doesn’t really cut it for the bigger stuff.
“We do our best to supply our stores with sufficient stock, however, sometimes they sell out faster due to their exceptional value and high quality,” the spokesperson said.
Still, with the resulting backlash, other Aldi customers have come out in defence of their local stores, praising the Kwinana and Burwood stores.
But this bloke probably summed it up best:
Congrats to everyone who purchased a cheaper-but-still-kinda-exxy Dyson vacuum cleaner. Well done.
