Introduction
Trader Joe’s is a beloved grocery store chain known for its unique and affordable products. However, some of the most popular items are now being snatched up by scalpers, who are reselling them for a much higher price. This article will explore the phenomenon of scalpers buying up the hottest Trader Joe’s items and the implications it has for shoppers. We will look at why scalpers are targeting Trader Joe’s, how they are able to get their hands on the items, and what shoppers can do to get the products they want.
Scalpers Are Snatching Up the Hottest Trader Joe’s Items
It’s no secret that Trader Joe’s is one of the most popular grocery stores in the United States. But now, scalpers are taking advantage of the store’s popularity by buying up the hottest items and reselling them for a profit.
Scalpers are taking advantage of the fact that Trader Joe’s is often sold out of its most popular items, such as its Everything But the Bagel seasoning and its Cookie Butter. They buy up the items in bulk and then resell them on sites like eBay and Craigslist for a markup.
The practice has become so widespread that some Trader Joe’s stores have started to limit the number of items customers can buy. The store has also started to put limits on the number of items that can be purchased online.
The scalpers are taking advantage of the fact that Trader Joe’s is often sold out of its most popular items. But the store is fighting back by limiting the number of items customers can buy and by increasing the number of items available online.
It remains to be seen if the store will be able to keep up with the scalpers, but one thing is for sure: Trader Joe’s is still one of the most popular grocery stores in the United States.
Trader Joe’s is an endless source of exciting new foods to covet. That’s a big reason why fans, including many of our own editors, gravitate to the specialty grocer so much.
Case in point: TJ’s Squiggly Knife Cut Style Noodles. Customers have been fawning over the Taiwanese-style air-dried noodles ever since they arrived in stores last month.
Commenters on social media quickly compared them to celebrity chef David Chang’s pricier Momofuku-brand noodles, and enthusiasts on TikTok attracted thousands of gawkers by showcasing various tantalizing ways to customize TJ’s chewy, ruffled noodles.
This reporter picked up a package of the trendy noodles from a towering display at my local Trader Joe’s in Brooklyn, N.Y., back on Jan. 25. I soon understood all the fuss. The squiggly noodles are cheap: just $4.99 for pack of four servings. They’re super quick to make: ready in under five minutes. And they’re especially delicious with just a dollop of chili crisp swirled into the mix.
I was thrilled to discover such a fast, affordable, and satisfying lunch option for busy weekdays, slurping through all four servings within the same number of days and planning to restock my pantry with more as soon as possible.
Trouble is, I haven’t been able to find another package ever since. Each time I returned to Trader Joe’s the noodles were all gone.
Now, it turns out, there’s an explanation for the sudden squiggly noodle shortage beyond all the Internet hype.
Scalpers are apparently snatching up the popular noodles and reselling them on eBay for as much as $20 a pop, according to a Feb. 24 editorial in the San Luis Obispo Tribune. The article noted that most—”if not all”—TJ’s locations have been wiped out of the popular product, and it’s probably not coming back until April.
Writer Stephanie Finucane pointed out there is nothing illegal about shoppers profiteering off of these items, thanks to a principle called the “first sale doctrine,” but argued that “it still still stinks — and if there were any justice, it would get the resellers banned for life from TJ’s.”
Trader Joe’s reportedly has been grappling with the resale issue for years now, with company executive calling it “not fair on many levels” but “really, really tricky” to resolve, during a 2019 podcast on the subject.
Even the secondary market appeared to be pretty dried up when I checked eBay on Feb. 27, with just one California-based seller still offering up the TJ’s squiggly noodles, with a starting price of $9.98, plus $11.55 for shipping. The item had already generated a couple of bids.
I did find several other buzzy new TJ’s items also available through the online marketplace, including three newly released store-brand seasoning blends—Ketchup, Pizza, and Sriracha—all marked up to more than double the retail price.
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Chris Shott