Trader Joe's pastel tote bag craze hits the Bay

ALAMEDA, Calif. - Trader Joe's new limited-edition pastel-colored tote bags are stirring a fervor among shoppers, and some of the bags are being resold online at massively inflated prices.

The $2.99 bags hit store shelves on Tuesday, and are available in pink, baby blue, mint green and lavender.

Many Trader Joe's in the Bay Area quickly sold out of the totes the very morning they were introduced, despite the fact that shoppers were limited to buying two to four bags at a time depending on the store location.

Local perspective:

Some shoppers, like Sherri Natac, decided to brave long lines at the Trader Joe's in Alameda on Friday morning to secure their limited-edition bags.

"They had a line like Disneyland," said Natac, who added she enlisted the help of her father to subvert the store's limit of four bags. "There was probably like 40 people in line. But it was moving fast."

Others who were at Trader Joe's for groceries were surprised by the commotion surrounding the bags, and were sometimes unknowingly caught in the tote fever.

"When I went in there, it was like there was a frenzy," another Alameda shopper told KTVU. "I thought they were giving them away, so I took one, and when I realized you have to buy one, I'm like 'I don't really need this.' It's cute, but I don't need it."

Many totes have already reappeared on sites like eBay, with some single bags being sold for as much as $1,000 (plus $8.84 for shipping).

The backstory:

The craze mirrors a similar phenomenon that happened when Trader Joe's first released miniature versions of its tote bags last year. 

Those iterations of mini totes came in the same colors as the normal canvas bags that are sold at Trader Joe’s, but like the pastel bags, are about 13 inches long and 11 inches tall, whereas the normal bags are about 20 inches by 14 inches.

Viral TikTok videos at the time showed crowds of shoppers waiting in long lines and rushing to grab as many totes as possible once the stores opened.

Scalpers also took advantage of the 2024 craze and put bags for sale online for prices as high as $1,000.

Natac had a simple explanation for the massive interest in the Trader Joe's totes.

"It's trending on social media," she said. "Social media makes everything difficult, because people need to get things when things start trending. You see things on social, so you need to get up and get them too. Got to follow the trends, people."