Just seconds after leaving the Aldi supermarket in Melbourne's northern suburb this morning, an employee smiled at the long lines of customers.
In front of him, more than 100 people were bleary-eyed, some of them waiting for more than an hour in cold weather, all to snap up the sale.
"Thank you for waiting," he said. "We have done our best to ensure that we have enough stock for everyone. Please be respectful and patient."
But when the door was opened, it was clear that his words had been treated as an ear-edge. But that's the annual ski equipment promotion, and it's polite to stay.
Saturday morning, one of the craziest events at the Aldientale, was touted as "bigger and better than ever."
Over the past few years, those who missed the sale have often been outraged.
Today, shoppers from all over the country line up early. They form a circle and drag their children out of bed.
In each store, huge shopping baskets are filled with ski shirts, pants, goggles, boots and underwear. More than 50 ski-related items, including men's and women's ski shirts, cost less than $40, goggles for just $14.99 and gloves for as low as $5.
"it's crazy," said one customer. "I've never been in line like this."
Others say they are willing to risk the cold and buy some cold-proof goods without having to pay a high price. 'it wasn't as bad as he thought, 'one customer said.' he was worried about the long line, so he went early.
People lining up at Preston South, are moving fast, and customers are admiring the order at the scene, especially when dealing with more than 100 people.
But not all customers have such good luck.
Wood (Emily Wood) said she and her mother went to the Aldi supermarket in Maroochydore, Queensland, to pick up some equipment for a trip to New Zealand. Although they bought everything they wanted, they were not very satisfied with the scene.
"We arrived at the Aldi, parking lot at 07:45," she said. "We sat in the car for a while to discuss whether we were going in or not, and finally decided to try it out. We see a lot of children and mothers with wheelbarrows ready to go to the end. "
"there were at least 100 people in front of us, and when the door opened, we heard running and screaming, but the atmosphere was relaxed."
"Mom and I managed to get everything we wanted, including warm underwear, boots, gloves and ski jackets. We can only try on clothes in the small aisle, and I have noticed that many people's wheelbarrows are full and people are trying on clothes while littering with things they don't want to buy. "
"they were obviously pushing a cart in, throwing in a pile of the same stuff, hoping that the size they wanted was in it. But it's not fair to other people, who then throw out the size items they don't want to go somewhere else. "
Wood was full of praise to the staff. "the staff did a great job. They had to get to the store early in the morning," she said. "there was a person in the front door who was in charge of safety, there was someone in the middle of the aisle who answered the questions, and there was another person who was repeating the inventory replenishment."
But the annual promotion has also been criticised.
Karen (Glenn Cullen), who has been writing ski and snowboard articles in Australia for more than 20 years, called the promotion a "sh*t show."
"I'm calling for an end to Aldi's promotion, not because its products are not good enough, but because it's implanting this crazy effect," he said. "it's economics 101, and by restricting supply, if the product and the word of mouth are good, it naturally mobilizes demand. Aldi did it, and he did it very well. "