Trader Joe's Mini Totes Are Back, And The Lines Are Already Ridiculous

Remember the craze for Trader Joe's mini totes back in March of 2024? Well, shoppers are feeling a lot of déjà vu at T.J.'s this week thanks to a limited return of the viral-sensation $2.99 canvas bags on Wednesday, September 18. Not only are the pint-sized carryalls back for another limited run to haul your affordable foods, it looks like the lines are also already ridiculous for this month's release.

"In Falls Church, VA, shoppers lined up at 6:30am, before the store even opened at 8am. At noon I was able to buy the red and green mini totes, but the yellow and navy were sold out," said one Redditor on a thread completely devoted to mini tote restocking news.

If you're not in the know, the store's initial release of signature canvas totes with colorful handles that measured 13 by 11 by 6 inches blew up the internet the first time around, probably because they're the perfect size for filling up with T.J.'s best snacks. People waited in lines that stretched city blocks to get their hands on them, and those who didn't paid as much as $500 a piece on eBay. So it's probably no surprise that the totes are flying off the shelves once again.

"I was at the Colonie, NY (Albany) store at 8:03[am] and the parking lot was packed," said another Redditor. "All of the bags they initially put out were already gone but thankfully they were restocking when I got there! Three minutes was all it took, apparently."

If you missed out on a mini tote from Trader Joe's last time, don't panic. You can expect to see some guardrails in place this go-round to prevent frenzies and reselling. Shoppers are reporting per-person tote limits, and busier stores have designated lines. Some are even holding the totes behind the customer service desk.

"Some locations (Los Angeles) explained to me that they will be selling certain allotted amounts every other hour from store opening so that those who can't make it in the AM still have a chance," said one shopper on Reddit. Another added. "Four bag limit/household in Kent, WA. An employee hands you the bags in your desired color."

The limits seem to have helped. Natasha Fischer, who runs the popular Trader Joe's fan page @traderjoeslist on Instagram, said, " I live in a densely populated area of Los Angeles, and my store sold out the last round very quickly. Today, instead of joining the crowd, I decided to go later in the morning, and to my surprise, there was no line and plenty of totes." For those whose stores have no limits, however, you're probably out of luck. Locations with no limits sold out pretty quickly, and no surprise — they're already starting to show up on resale pages like Facebook Marketplace. If you can't stomach those markups, you'll just have wait until the next release, and be sure to line up early in the morning!