On a recent grocery run, I was surprised to see this $399 desktop computer at Aldi. For those not familiar with Aldi, they usually have an aisle in their store of seasonal items, which rotate out on a weekly basis. Poor-selling items are often marked down to clear space for new stuff. It’s an interesting section to scrounge through, and I’ve bought some cheap tools and gadgets from it.
Their Medion brand is served up by Lenovo, so this is essentially their computer. It shows the SSD/HD setup and i3 processor on the outside, but it also includes built-in wifi, a keyboard and mouse, a DVD burner, a card reader, and USB 3.0. It does have integrated graphics, but it’s easy to find cheap graphics cards these days.
Even though it’s a nice setup, I can’t see this selling too well. Aldi typically attracts the budget-conscious grocery-getter…who probably doesn’t want to spend an extra $400 on their grocery trip. In the course of a month, it’s possible that somebody will be in the market for a decent desktop, but I’m guessing that those sales won’t come until the markdown happens, and they’ll get an excellent deal. If Aldi really wants a seasonal market in computer sales, they might want to scale down a bit…maybe offer a Chromebook or a cheap Windows tablet-with-a-keyboard.
All that said, on our next shopping trip, I’ll be very tempted to make an unnecessary purchase if I see one of these marked down to $200!
