A LIMIT policy has been imposed at Trader Joe’s on a viral item that customers lined up for at 5am in the morning for.
The item may only cost $2.99, but the street value of it has skyrocketed to $70 after selling out in 15 minutes in stores.
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Trader Joe’s has put a limit on how many of its signature tote bags you can buy, even though they aren’t even big enough to carry groceries.
The New York Times reports that for the second year in a row, Trader Joe’s 11 by 13 inch canvas bags are causing people to wrestle for them.
The toes are a smaller version of their already available reusable canvas bags that had been sold for years with the store logo on the front.
Despite their size, some people use them as lunch bags, and somehow they became a viral trend.
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People have also been seen on social media Bedazzling their tote, applying patches to it, or even using it to transport a bowling ball.
Kevin Burgoon, an employee at a Trader Joe’s in Sacramento, sawn the first person waiting outside the store at 5am.
By the time the store was open, he estimated that more than 150 people were waiting.
He said: “I just thought it was crazy.”
The bags at the store, offered in four pastel color schemes, sold out within 15 minutes.
EXTRA SECURITY NEEDED
Certain stores required extra security for the new launch, including in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Some stores had to put the totes behind the registers, and every Trader Joe’s restricted shoppers tom a certain number of bags.
This number depended on the location.
Last year, the bags became so highly sought after that they were found on eBay for $70 each.
This is a mark-up of 2240%.
Plenty of shoppers were just as excited to get their hands on a tote again.
Kaitlyn Marer, 24, of Manhattan, said: “They’re just really bright…and honestly, in today’s day and age, we need bright colors.”
Another shopper could be heard shouting as she left the store: “I got the bags, all four!”
LESS INTEREST?
But there are already some signs in year two that the toe bags aren’t quite capturing the same rabid attention from shoppers.
One of the main reasons is that if you bought a tote last year, there isn’t much reason to go through the stress of trying to grab one now.
Natasha Fischer, who runs the Instagram account @traderjoeslist, explained: “I have so many tote bags right now.
“Maybe people are in the same camp as me, you know — how many mini tote bags do you need?”
And this turning tide is being seen in some key Trader Joe’s locations.
In a few New York stores, while shoppers raced to buy eggs, tote bags were left behind.
Experts have suggested that the increased economic strain on shoppers from last year to now is what is causing it.
Shoppers might simply be more interested in essential items like eggs rather than luxury ones the might not need.
Barbara Kahn, a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, added: “There’s a lot going on in the world.
“There’s so much of this scarcity kind of mind set and fear and things setting in.”
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