Thoughts On ALDI Vinyl Records?

Yep, these guys.
They've been selling vinyl for a couple years, and I picked up their 'Beach Boys - Summer Fun' a couple days back.
It's this one here.
The Beach Boys - Summer Fun
Looks like grey market product, but this thread throws the idea about a bit so I don't know.
ALDI vinyl
I'm having trouble with the site not loading properly to read it all.....
What they call released on the 'Musicbank' label and has a 'MCPS' logo on the back cover.
While I'm yet to spin it, I must say the packaging looks quite neat and the vinyl looks well manufactured.
I can't find much very definite on the ALDI vinyl, just a link or two but no catalogue even how many artists they have covered.
I only bought mine for curiosity, and that it was only a little over 10 US bucks.
They only had one copy of the BB album, one copy of a Tony Bennett and a Sinatra album.
Here's some details on discogs about a Bob Marley release:
Bob Marley And The Wailers* - Live: Boston Music Hall (June 8th 1978)
The album comes in what appears to be quite a nice LP paper sleeve lined inside with a plastic
film, kind of what you'd expect on a high grade audiophile release.
No stamping identification in the dead wax, only the catalogue number of the LP.
While most here would turn their noses up at the product, for a budding person getting into vinyl, these look quite great at a low budget cost.
Anybody seen these? Picked them up? Thoughts on them?

 

I've always suspected their vinyl discs were grey market, since they have a lot of only grey market live stuff mixed with classic bestsellers.

 

That's what I thought too, but then my copy has the MCPS logo on it.
(Mechanical Copyright Protection Society)
It explains here what they do....
PRS and MCPS: Who does what?

 

Today's equivalent of the 90's truck stop/gas station comp cd.

 

u sure?
Rock N Roll Vinyl Record

 

Good God

 

"making music cool"

 

There have been a number of discussions about Aldi records on the SNA site. A lot of feeling that they are grey-market, counterfeits and booglegs. Some feel the sound reflects these origins. Similar to records that appear occasionally at The Reject Shop (an Australian discount variety store chain).

 

ALDI finally settled in here after numerous attempts but leaving after what seemed to be a five year lease ran out for new digs. Early on I bought big bag of ground coffee and returned it. Cashier asked:"Why? I said though it does indeed said "coffee" on the label, their walnut wood flavor was not what I expected. Never again. Back then,no bags,no price tags,no scanning registers and cashier had to know the prices in their head. Always in spitting distance of a Walmart. As someone with retail experience from 1972,that should have been a warning that disaster was in-store. Getting screwed over a grey-market LP of early Beach Boys stuff doesn't surprise me. The "great" packaging hides the product inside,like walnut wood flavored coffee. The public in these parts have been clamoring for a Trader Joe's,another ALDI operation. Stay away,please!

 

I can only speak for our stores, and after never really using them, everything here is well labelled, clean and well presented.
I do remember when they opened here how they would just drag pallets on the floor with little labeling, and
the customers would just help themselves.
Now, they are not so much like that, but more professionally presented.
While I digress, you may be absolutely correct! regarding their vinyl.
That's what I'd like more clarification on, but the indications would suggest your are right.
I'm not fussed either way, it just spooks my curiosity.
Being a huge chain, and selling 'grey market' stuff, adding all the appropriate logo's/barcodes to the artwork etc etc
If it's all fake, it's been well presented.

 

They sell vinyl? The more you know...

 

Haven't seen any in my area. But I'm more focused on food when I'm at the grocery store.

 

@Rick Bartlett That's neat! The Aldi stores I've been to here in the states (during the holidays last month) had a tiny selection of vinyl, but hopefully we'll start seeing more titles like this in the future. Do you have any other store locations in your immediate area to compare selection?

 

That's why I was there!
A loaf of bread, some packaged meat, milk, cheese and a......... Beach Boys record? What The???
I saw that iconic photo of them about 10 meters away, and initially thought it must be a calendar.
Being my favorite band for one thing, and not knowing ALDI had this release was a 'slap on the wrists' for me.
I'm normally on top of these things and releases...

It's been a long time finding something I knew nothing about in a store that I hadn't already read about online.

 

That was my initial reaction as well, had to do a double-take!

 

Hey @melstapler
Yes, I have about 3 or so other stores in distance.
Ironically, I've been to all of them, and the selections were minimal.
They ranged from only 2 to 10 albums in complete total!!!
Not sure if they are now becoming deleted here, but the range is very tiny and the quantities very low.
Somehow I got lucky on the Beach Boys album. It was one of those God 'ahhhhhhh' moments that
shone on me and I was destined to take it home. It 'called to me'.
I thought to myself, 'Of all the places!......'
Funny stuff.

 

Is there a vinyl grey market anymore? US perspective keep in mind, maybe Australia is different.

I don't mean distribution channels btw, I mean product. In other others that the product you'd get in ALDI should be the same product you'd get on Amazon or other etailers. I'm not aware of different pressings like we had in the Columbia House days.

 

It was odd, I picked it up looking for someone to ask, 'do you see what I see?'
'It's a 'freakin' Beach Boys record in an ALDI!', 'Can you confirm what I'm seeing or have I completely lost my marbles?'.
Seriously!
Hehe, the insanity of it all is........
I left the store not getting half of the things I set out that I needed, and ended up with some silly plastic round thing of
songs of this vintage band that I already had in duplicate, and a record I didn't need, let alone more than likely
be some counterfeit release that made my day!

 

There are no records for sale in any of the Aldi stores near me. On the subject of the stores themselves, I've been in around a dozen and they are all clean, well managed stores. Their products vary, and the quality does as well. They are adding a few "organic" and brand names among their own house brands and they are priced accordingly. They may be testing the waters to see if they can continue to offer higher priced merchandise with a better profit margin.

 

Is Aldi marketing to a true audiophile or someone who buys an old turntable from the salvation army or a yard sale?

 

Is that Aldi Süd or Aldi Nord? The logo in the picture sure does look like Aldi Süd.

 

I thought this was a joke. I've never seen vinyl in aldi. Anyway I wouldn't buy vinyl or CDs from supermarkets.

 

Aldi Süd is the Aldi in English speaking countries (UK, USA, Australia). Es heißt Hofer in Österreich, Slowenien und Italien.

In Aldi (Süd) the branded products are not knock-offs here in England. Perfectly legitimate. In B&M however, one has to be a bit weary. It's not the shop that is to fault per-se, but rather their suppliers who can be a bit Del Boy Trotter!

 

And also the youngsters who by a Crossley to be cool and retro.

 

In terms of Aldi as a company, they promote themselves as being cheaper, and looking after the consume - not ripping them off like the big two competitors in my land. However, I had an interesting Aldi experience which shows their true colours.

Our work has one of those cheap Aldi coffee pod machines. They don't make great coffee, but it's more drinkable than the instant coffee alternative. So I go to Aldi to buy their coffee pods, which come in a pack of 16. I prefer to buy them in bulk, so save return visits and to get a cost advantage. Last time I went to buy they had the packs of coffee in a shrink-wrapped carboard tray (I think of 10 packs). The strength I buy was not on that display (there is no difference in pricing for strenghts), so I collected the same number of packs from the usual display and put them on one of the cardboard trays, and went to the cash register. I was charged about $6 more for exactly the same amount of product, because I bought "individual" packs, rather than the shrink-wraped equivalent (which they had a fancy name for). My argument that I was being charged more for the same quantity of the same product fell on deaf ears, and they didn't care that they were disregarding their customer base. I really hate being given marketing BS. This turned me against the company, and revealed that they are no different to their competitors. I will continue to buy their coffee pods as long as the machine stays at work (there are no alternatives that I'm aware of), but I won't buy anything else. When I have bought other products I've found the quality to be very ordinary in comparison to the equivalent name-brand, so I'm not surprised that the quality of their records is not as good as the "name" brands.