The now-viral Trader Joe’s Mini Tote Bag is all the rage right now, and those who missed their chance to get their hands on one will have another opportunity.
The grocery store’s latest limited item is a $2.99 mini tote bag that comes in navy, yellow, red and green — and customers are rushing to their closest TJ’s to attempt to grab one.
But fans of the grocery store chain — or anyone who simply wants the tote — will have to wait just a little longer for them to come back in stock.
On the latest episode of the “Insider Trader Joe’s” podcast, host Matt Sloan said customers can expect to see the mini totes back on shelves in “late August, early September.”
“They are coming back, and it was kind of a one-off in that we thought they’d be limited, and we don’t want to totally limit this. So, we’re hoping, and we’re working to have them come back the same colors by the end of summer,” he said.
The bags aren’t necessarily a new thing as much as they are a “cute” thing — they’re just a miniature version of the classic Trader Joe’s canvas tote that have been around for years.
“The adorable totes in question are made of the same heavy-duty, 65% cotton/35% polyester blend as our larger, classic canvas bags,” the product page says. “They also have the same long, comfortable handles that accent each mostly white-colored bag with one of four vibrant colors: navy, yellow, red, or forest green.
“The difference is, these totes are mini-about 13 inches long, by 11 inches tall, by 6 inches wide.”
Sloan added that the grocery store chain thought they bought enough of the new mini totes to last “several weeks, maybe a whole month.”
“We had no inkling that they would be this exciting, this quickly, for so many customers. We had actually hundreds of thousands of bags come in and go out within a week,” he admitted.
“I’m still a little perplexed about how quickly that excitement went to kind of frenzy,” co-host Tara Miller added.
Now that the news of a return is out, Miller said customers don’t have to be on the lookout for them every time they come to the store.
“You don’t have to ask every day when they’re coming back,” she said. “You can come in, buy your regular groceries, and put them in whatever bag you happen to have with you that day. But know that these will be back at some point before the end of the summer.”
The bags are now so popular, they’re even being resold on eBay at astronomical prices due to the high demand for the limited-edition item.
One listing offers a set of the Trader Joe’s mini canvas tote in all four colors for a whopping $500, and another listing for just one mini tote has a price tag of $280.
According to global data provided to The Post by eBay, searches for “Trader Joe’s/Joe/Joes tote/tote bag” increased nearly 8,000% on the e-commerce site during the first full week of March (March 5-11) compared to the first full week in February (February 4-10).
Since February 1, 2024, the most popular Trader Joe’s mini tote bag color on eBay, globally, has been the
blue tote.
As the mini totes began to sell out in stores after their debut in February, the number of blue mini totes sold on eBay globally increased nearly 250% during the first full week of March (March 5-11) compared to the week prior (February 27-March 4).
The extreme popularity of the Trader Joe’s mini totes is being compared to the craze over the Stanley Tumbler, which has become an unexpected phenomenon — and both are being regarded as a status symbol.
And while the grocery chain didn’t expect these totes to fly out of stores as quickly as they did, the chain also discourages reselling them.
“Our Mini Canvas Tote Bags certainly sold more quickly than we anticipated. Before we had the opportunity to promote them in any way, customers across the country found them at their neighborhood Trader Joe’s,” a spokesperson said in a statement to People.
“Our customers, in our stores, are our focus; we do not endorse the re-sale of any of our products, anywhere.”
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