Aldi shopper fumes over chaotic launch of popular new $299 Special Buys item

A Sydney-based woman has shared her frustrations at trying to purchase a highly sought-after Special Buy from Aldi over the weekend. The shopper revealed the sale of a $299 reformer pilates machine caused major chaos in stores, with many customers going to extreme lengths to ensure they secured the goods. Customers arrived before stores opened and raced to the Special Buys section in the hopes of taking home the exercise equipment, which is much cheaper than other machines that usually retail for around $1000, if not much more.

Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle, Aldi shopper Brianna Mealing shared her surprise at how customers treated each other while trying to score a bargain, saying that the people behind her had pushed in front and nabbed one of only two machines available in her local store.

"I arrived at 8am, and the store opened at 8:30am," Bri told us "I was second in line with my sister. The girls in front of us had been there since around 7:30 am, and one of them managed to get one of the two reformers available. By the time the store opened, there was a line of about 20 people behind us."

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"I was shocked to miss out after arriving early and being second in line," Bri adds. "Since the two girls in front of us only wanted one reformer, I expected to get the second one. But a girl and her boyfriend who were behind us ran ahead as soon as the doors opened and grabbed it.

Aldi shopper calls for major Special Buys change

Bri - who goes by @lifetheedit on TikTok - also shared a video to the app which showed her and several others lined up early at her local Aldi in Maroubra before the store was open. She captioned the video, "POV: Trying to get a reformer machine from Aldi."

In the video, which featured audio from The Hunger Games movie, customers waited outside the door and raced inside as soon as the doors opened, but with only two machines available, most people left empty-handed.

"I was so surprised by how people acted—running into the store despite the clear line— that I didn’t say anything," Bri told Yahoo Lifestyle. "There was definitely frustration among those who missed out, and many people like myself went to other Aldi stores afterwards, but of course, no luck."

She added that there was "no indication" from staff that there would be only two reformers available, telling us, "The sale was advertised in Aldi's brochure, but it didn’t mention the extremely limited stock. Even with the large line outside, no one from the store came out to inform us. From past sale events, we expected around 6-10 units, so it was a huge surprise to everyone that there were only two."

Bri called for Aldi to implement a ticketing system for high-demand Special Buys items, saying, "A lot of people who commented on my TikTok were frustrated with how this sale brought out the worst in others. People mentioned being shoved or having others run past them, just like I experienced. While some Aldi stores have introduced a ticketing system, they really need to implement it more widely for these high-demand items. It could help reduce the chaos and create a better experience for everyone involved."

An Aldi spokesperson told Yahoo Lifestyle, "We know that our customers are always eager for the latest range of Special Buys, like the Reformer Pilates Machine, and we look to meet customer demand. ALDI’s Special Buys range is available while stocks last, and we encourage customers to check for stock availability, via the stock checker on www.aldi.com.au."

Aldi fans slam Special Buys chaos

Bri's video has been viewed over 5.5 million times, with many TikTok users sharing their surprise at the chaos the reformer caused.

"Aldi worker here. It was not fun working that day," one user said.

"Running into a store for any item is so embarrassing I could never," another said.

"I went to like 7 stores too 😭 next time imma be aggressive and push in line and run for it, the nice approach doesn’t work," a third quipped.

"Do I miss managing at Aldi? Big nope 💀," someone else said, while another agreed, saying, "I hated working for Aldi for this reason."

"I'd rather just pay $2k for one than do this 😳," another said.

"They never stock enough of any of the Special Buys," one annoyed shopper said.

"Hang on. You were second line and missed out??" someone questioned, with Bri replying, "Yes I know 🥺😅 ppl behind pushed in front! I should have told them off."

Some said that their local Aldi gave the first people in line tickets for the reformer so that even if someone pushed in line later they wouldn't lose their place in the queue. "My mum went and they gave them tickets to the first 8 people in line so that people couldn’t push in and grab them," one person said.

"Wish they did that! Thats so much better," Bri responded.

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"This was me last time I didn’t even bother this time I’m not savage enough for the Aldi sales 😂," one shopper said, while another said, "I will be bringing my running shoes next time."

"Just wait, another month and people will be selling them on marketplace," another added.

Others said it was "dodgy" that the stores would only have two available, with some revealing they'd even experienced stores only having one item from the Special Buys catalogue.

Keen to know our thoughts on the Aldi reformer? Check them out here.

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