Eggs aren’t the only things people will be hunting for at Trader Joe’s this Easter. Shoppers will also be flooding the aisles to track down the pastel-hued miniature tote bags the grocer released earlier this month.
But if you don’t snatch one in stores, good luck tracking one down for a reasonable price. The canvas tote bags, which are sold in stores for $2.99, have quickly flown off of shelves and are being sold on resale sites for close to $2,000. This month’s edition of the 11-by-13 tote bag comes in lively shades of green, blue, purple, and pink.
The New York Times (NYT) reports that people hoping to get their hands on the new release camped out in front of stores for hours before they opened. One Trader Joe’s store in California had 150 people waiting when it opened and sold out of the bags within 15 minutes. Videos posted to social media have shown physical altercations as people wrestled for their bag of choice.
“When it comes to our reusable bags, our customers have made themselves abundantly clear: the smaller the tote, the bigger the sensation,” the Trader Joe’s product page reads. “Last year, when we introduced our Mini Canvas Totes, we were so pleasantly surprised by their rapturous reception that we’re bringing in even more Mini Totes, this time in a series of Pastel shades to herald the beginning of spring.”
Last year’s canvas totes also sparked a frenzy — among fashionistas and marketgoers alike. The totes were released without much hoopla and marketed as smaller versions of the reusable bags that Trader Joe’s has sold for years. But the mini version caught on quickly, with some people not even using the bags to hold their groceries but instead as purses (and painting and bedazzling the bags to suit their personality accordingly).
The grocer limited the number of bags in the original run that shoppers could buy in stores. This version also originally fetched a hefty price on the resale market and came in red, yellow, forest green, and navy.
If you haven’t seen the pastel-colored bags in your store yet, don’t fret. Each Trader Joe’s store has its own merchandising plan, so they might not have been put out on display yet. But if you do see one, you might want to act fast.
“If customers have any questions about product availability, they can ask any Crew Member in their neighborhood store,” a spokesperson told USA Today (GCI).