Videos posted to TikTok show swarms of shoppers snatching up collectible Trader Joe’s mini tote bags that have become the hottest new item since the Valentine’s Day Stanley Cup craze.
The canvas tote bags, which have been available since February, only recently became trendy, likely due to videos produced by influencers on TikTok. Sets of four bags that retail for $2.99 are listed on eBay for as much as $1,000, though some sets were just $69.95 Tuesday afternoon, with more than 100 sets sold. USA Today reported that the highest sale was $499, with others coming in at around $100.
Trader Joe’s released a statement earlier this month addressing the craze and the resulting online sales.
“At times, and more so recently, we have been aware of our products being resold, often at exorbitant prices, in various places (online and elsewhere),” the statement reads. “This is done without our approval or authorization and outside the controls of our quality-minded supply chain. To be clear, we neither condone nor support the reselling of our products and do all we can to stop the practice.”
A similar phenomenon happened involving the reusable cups made by Stanley. In mid-2023, social media influencers developed something called WaterTok, videos showing different ways to use powdered additives to flavor water, according to Vox. The most popular videos tended to feature Stanley products. The craze took off from there, with limited-edition cups often reselling for hundreds of dollars online.
Trader Joe’s describes the mini tote as being of the same construction as the regular tote bags the company has sold for years but in a smaller size. The mini tote is also available in four colors.
“I wasn’t really sure what I was going to use it for, but I felt like with everyone grabbing, it made me want to get it too,” Elinor Kim posted on TikTok, The New York Times reported. Kim recorded her buying experience and said it was a “scary” one. She also admitted to “being part of the problem.”
Many stores across the country have sold out of the bags that were intended to be a limited edition item, which may explain some of the buying craze. The company is now saying there will be another release in September.
A public relations manager for Trader Joe’s, Nakia Rohde, told USA TODAY that the “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,” Rohde said.
As the craze has accelerated in recent weeks, more TikTok users are posting videos of their experiences, whether standing in line for hours or confronting pushy mobs of people snatching at piles of collectible bags.
One user, @valeriak, posted, “Not gonna lie, that was a little embarrassing waiting in line for a tote bag.”
