- Spurred on by social media, customers are flocking to the grocery chain to grab the viral ‘mini-totes’
- Several locations have placed limits on the number each customer can purchase
- The buying frenzy is reminiscent of the TikTok-fueled Stanley Cup trend
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A Trader Joe’s tote bag that retails for less than $3 is selling online for hundreds of dollars as frantic buyers rush to snap up the item amid a viral craze.
The small canvas bags come in red, blue, yellow and green and have become the subject of the latest trend sweeping the internet.
Videos of customers — mostly young women — flocking to the grocery store to fill their carts with suitcases have garnered more than 11 million views on TikTok.
Hundreds of listings have been published on e-commerce platforms such as eBay and Facebook Marketplace.
As of Sunday evening, hundreds of mini-totes had been listed on eBay, ranging in price from $5 up to nearly $500.
A Trader Joe’s tote bag that retails for less than $3 is resold online for up to $500 on e-commerce platforms
The most expensive listing on eBay was $499.99 as of Sunday evening. A set of four bags had already been sold
New ads for the trendy bags appear every day, as several Trader Joe’s locations have placed limits on the number each customer can purchase
Customers seem willing to pay any amount for the trendy bags, with new ads popping up every day.
One seller offering four bags for $47.90 had already sold 51 of the sets by Sunday evening.
Another at $499 sold once, while two others remained.
It is unclear if these bags have actually sold for the listing price, as eBay users can bid below it.
Customers took to TikTok to complain that local stores had already set a limit on the number of bags one person could buy.
‘There was one store in my area where the limit was 8, PR. CUSTOMER!’ remarked one commentator.
“There’s a sign in our Trader Joe’s that says it’s sold out until 2025,” another user wrote, punctuated by a series of crying emojis.
When asked what practical purpose the small bag could serve, one user suggested that they could be used “when you just want to carry a few things with you – like a purse.”
The bags sell for under $3, and sets of three or four bags sell for hundreds online
Videos have surfaced of users customizing the bags with embroidery. The craze is reminiscent of the Stanley Cup trend, which was also spurred by social media
Customers took to TikTok to complain that some stores had sold out of the bags until 2025
Videos have surfaced of users customizing the bags, like one woman who embroidered small flowers and hearts onto the canvas fabric.
This was told by an employee at a location in New Jersey CNN that the buying frenzy began about two weeks ago.
‘The customers love it. They buy a lot,” she said. “Easter is coming up and they make amazing baskets for kids.”
Among adult customers, the craze is reminiscent of the Stanley Cup trend, which was also spurred by social media.
Target launched a limited-edition Valentine’s Day collection of the popular tumblers ahead of the December 2023 holiday season, prompting shoppers to line up outside stores in anticipation.
The brand has since come under fire for not disclosing the presence of lead in the cups.
More consumers from California and Nevada have filed class action against Seattle-based parent company Pacific Market International, LLC, seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages.