A line of over 100 had formed outside of the Trader Joe’s on 4th St. and Market today. When doors opened at 9 a.m., a security guard and an employee wielding stanchions coordinated on crowd control. The earliest customer had started lining up about an hour prior and the line, though moving quickly, continued to grow.
All this to purchase a new limited-edition drop of Trader Joe’s cult-beloved mini tote bags. Around San Francisco and the country, patrons are lining up to secure a shrunken version of the logo-adorned shopping bag that hardly fits anything. Trader Joe’s is offering four different Trick-or-Treat colorways of the 13-inch canvas bag: black, purple, orange, and multicolored, perfect for carrying a maximum of two apples or reselling on eBay this afternoon.
This Trader Joe’s third release is the latest in a line of designed-to-go viral “drops” that includes a pastel collection from this past spring. Following their initial run of minis last year, even the company was surprised by their “rapturous reception,” the website says.
For many, this was not their first rodeo. Folks in the store said they previously lined up for the pastel mini tote collection. The employees, it seemed, were well-prepared for the crowd and ran the queue like a friendly naval ship. The store on 4th was stocked with 1,500 of each bag today, and they anticipate selling out, employees told me. (When I asked the security guard how many they had for sale, he said “Too many,” with an eye roll.)
Customers were allowed to purchase one of each color for a total of four bags, and many of them maxed out. The company put customer limits in place after videos of resellers filling their carts with mini totes went viral.
The mini totes, which are sold for $2.99 each, have high resale value. Already, sellers on eBay are listing sets of the four Trick-or-Treat bags for roughly $60. On Depop, mini totes from previous releases are listed for as high as $35 each.
