- Trader Joe’s $2.99 canvas tote has quietly turned into a “status bag” outside the U.S.
- Because there’s no Trader Joe’s abroad, some resellers have listed the bags for thousands of dollars online.
- Even in the U.S., totes can sell out fast, feeding the scarcity factor that makes them so exclusive in the first place.
We all know how shopping at Trader Joe’s goes: you go in for essentials, you leave with snacks, and somehow you also leave with a tote. It’s $2.99, sturdy, and basically everywhere in the U.S. And yet, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal, that simple little bag has turned into a whole different beast once it crosses the pond.
Case in point: London podcast producer Holly Davies, brought her Trader Joe’s tote home after a trip to Washington, D.C., thinking it would blend in with every other canvas bag on the Tube. Instead, she started spotting the same tote all over the city, and not just once. She told WSJ she’d even smile at other tote carriers because it felt like an instant “oh, you get it too” moment.
The wild part is that Trader Joe’s doesn’t even operate internationally, which means the tote has exclusivity baked in. WSJ describes it in the same location-specific bag universe as famous bookstore totes you buy on a trip and then carry around until they fall apart. And because it’s hard to get abroad (and just about anywhere in the U.S., TBH), the resale economy has gotten truly unhinged. Bags have been listed on resale platforms for huge five-figure numbers, with some listings posted far higher. (Key word: listed. Not necessarily sold.)
Trader Joe’s, for its part, has tried to distance itself from the frenzy. Nakia Rohde, the company’s public relations manager, said they “neither condones nor supports the reselling of [its] products” when asked about the topic and “does all [it] can to stop the practice.” But this has quickly become an everywhere problem. Totes can sell out quickly in the U.S., too, with people missing restocks and others buying the max when they do find them.
Even Trader Joe’s mini totes have triggered resale-listing madness, including eBay posts priced as high as $49,000.
So yes, it’s very much still a Trader Joe’s grocery tote. It also might be the cheapest “it bag” on the planet, depending on what country you’re standing in.