New Trader Joe's mini-cooler bag is burning up resale sites, but patience could pay off

It doesn’t take long for Trader Joe’s merch to be re-sold online, but it took less than 24 hours for the insulated mini tote, a new bag, to appear on third-party resell sites such as eBay and Facebook Marketplace.

A similar situation unfolded in March, when the then new Trader Joe’s mini tote bags dropped in stores. These bags were, too, snatched up quickly, with resellers capitalizing off the item's skyrocketing market value, USA TODAY reported. 

The craze for the mini tote bags was well-documented on social media, with users showing long lines, purchase limits and all the swarming and grabbing that took place. 

While the response to the insulated mini tote hasn’t been as intense, resellers are still trying to make the most of the latest TJ’s drop, listing the $3.99 lunchbox for almost 20 times the price online. The mini totes are currently listed on resale sites for anywhere between $20 and $89.99.

It’s not immediately clear how many insulated mini totes have been purchased from resellers. The social media hype and the perceived scarcity of the bags likely contributes to the continued appearance of TJ’s merch in the online marketplace. 

Here’s what we know. 

Trader Joe's new insulated mini tote, only available for a ‘limited time’

Nakia Rohde, a company spokesperson told USA TODAY that some stores may have sold out of  insulated mini tote Tuesday, but most Trader Joe’s locations will have more in stock Wednesday. 

Don’t worry if you are unable to get your hands on one today since they plan on having “more available later this Summer.” 

The tote comes in hot magenta and cool teal is great for “toting cold appetizers or chilled six-packs to the beach, a pool party, or a barbeque,” according to Rohde. 

‘[We] do all we can to stop the practice,’ of reselling, Trader Joe’s says

Trader Joe’s doesn’t love the idea of their merch being sold by third-party resellers, saying in March 2021 that managers were aware of the issue, but that it was often “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,” the company said at the time. 

The customers are the focus, the company says, which is why they continue to “offer great quality products at outstanding prices.” 

“When we open for business each day, we are focused on our customers—people for whom shopping at Trader Joe’s is a personal matter, finding food and drink (a few other things, too) for their own use and for sharing with family and friends,” the statement reads. “For this reason, we only sell our products in our physical stores.” 

Rohde echoed a similar response, writing Tuesday afternoon, that Trader Joe’s does not “endorse the re-sale of any of our products, anywhere.” 

Contributing: Jonathan Limehouse