It’s so difficult to get your hands on one of these that a robust resale market has emerged. On eBay, bag sets go for as much as $499 — although it’s not clear anyone is actually paying that much. A wide range of bags in different colors are available for less than $20, including shipping.
On social media, people brag about their scores.
“The Trader Joe’s mini tote really gives the same energy as the Goyard mini for only $2.99,” wrote one TikToker who posted a video of the two bags in coordinating shades of cherry red.
The success of the bags even surprised the company. “Our mini canvas tote bags have definitely sold out faster than expected,” public relations manager Nakia Rohde said in an email to The Washington Post. “Before we had a chance to promote them in any way, customers across the country were finding them at their neighborhood Trader Joe’s.”
She noted, however, that the grocer was not satisfied with just one sign of popularity: “Our customers, in our stores, are our priority; we do not endorse the resale of any of our products anywhere,” she wrote.
But there is good news for fans who came away empty-handed. “We have more Trader Joe’s Mini Canvas Tote Bags coming,” Rohde added. “Customers can expect to see them in our stores in late summer. »
The bag itself isn’t particularly special or flashy. It is made of light-colored canvas, with a contrasting red, blue, yellow or green border. It’s similar to the iconic LL Bean Boat and Tote, the preppy staple that’s been around for decades but became trendy in recent years when fashionistas began replacing the traditional monogram with cheeky messages like “WTF” or “hot mess”.
So what is it that makes people lose their minds over such a modest bag? One is perceived scarcity: mini tote bags are said to be limited-edition items, a feature that often generates hype around products. But Josh Clarkson, a marketing professor at the University of Cincinnati, says that doesn’t explain the phenomenon.
Typically, he notes, the kind of “social signaling” people make with Trader Joe’s bags — or Stanley cups — is reserved for luxury items that convey their owners’ ability to afford them. “So it’s almost paradoxical that these are utilitarian goods,” he says. “We have the feeling of democratizing the status in one way or another. People take everyday, relatively accessible objects and create status for them.
Aside from providing the thrill that comes with subverting cultural norms, tote bags…well, they’re just kind of cute. They are endlessly customizable and function as a blank canvas for artful creativity. People adorn them with charms, bows, and pins, and embroider and paint them with fanciful images of fruits and flowers. They may also be nervous: A woman on TikTok selected part of the embroidered logo and edited it to read “Trader Hoe’s.” And since it comes in four colors, there’s an incentive to buy multiples. Some completists try to put all the versions together.
There’s also something about the aesthetic that the little tote embodies that’s pretty basic – in a good way. After all, normcore fashion is still going strong, a decade after making dad jackets and white sneakers cool. Some style setters reject the reign of the ostentatious designer bag – now that the knockoffs are so convincing, what do they mean? – and rather by adopting “anti-it” handbags.
And perhaps the Trader Joe’s bag is the ultimate symbol of our collective status: These days, groceries themselves are so expensive that simply filling a cart can seem like a luxury.
