Trader Joe's $2.99 tote bags sell for a jaw-dropping $500 on eBay and Facebook Marketplace

A Trader Joe’s tote bag retailing for less than $3 is being resold online for hundreds of dollars, as frantic buyers rush to snap up the item amid a viral craze.

The tiny canvas bags come in red, blue, yellow and green and have become the subject of the latest trend sweeping the Internet. 

Videos of customers - mostly young women - flocking to the grocery store to fill their carts with totes have racked up more than 11 million views on TikTok.

Hundreds of listings have been posted on e-commerce platforms like eBay and Facebook Marketplace.

As of Sunday evening, hundreds of mini totes had been listed on eBay with a price range of $5 up to nearly $500. 

A Trader Joe’s tote bag retailing for less than $3 is being resold online for up to $500 on e-commerce platforms

The most expensive listing on eBay was $499.99 as of Sunday night. One set of four bags had already sold

New listings for the trendy bags are springing up every day, as several Trader Joe's locations have placed limits on the number each customer can buy

Customers appear willing to shell out any amount for the trendy bags, with new listings springing up every day.

One seller offering four bags for $47.90 had already sold 51 of the sets as of Sunday night.

Another priced at $499 was sold once, with two others remaining.

It is unclear whether these bags have actually been sold at the listing price, since eBay users can bid below it. 

Customers took to TikTok to complain that local stores had already placed a limit on number of bags one person could purchase.

'There was one store in my area where the limit was 8, PER CUSTOMER!' one commenter remarked.

'There’s a sign in our Trader Joe’s saying it’s sold out until 2025,' another user wrote, punctuated by a string of crying emojis.

When asked what practical purpose the tiny bag might serve, one user suggested that they could be used 'when you just want to carry a few things - like a purse.'

The bags retail for under $3 and sets of three or four bags are selling for hundreds online

Videos have surfaced of users customizing the bags with embroidery. The craze is reminiscent of the Stanley cup trend, which was also spurred on by social media

Customers took to TikTok to complain that some stores had sold out of the bags until 2025

Videos have surfaced of users customizing the bags, like one woman who embroidered tiny flowers and hearts onto the canvas fabric.

An employee at a New Jersey location told CNN that the buying frenzy began about two weeks ago.

'Customers love it. They’re buying a lot,' she said. 'Easter is coming up and they make great baskets for kids.'

Among adult customers, the craze is reminiscent of the Stanley cup trend, which was also spurred on by social media.

Target launched a limited-edition Valentine’s Day collection of the popular tumblers ahead of the holiday season in December 2023, prompting customers to line up outside the stores in anticipation.

The brand has since come under fire for failing to properly disclose the presence of lead in the cups.

Several consumers from California and Nevada have filed class action complaints against Seattle-based parent company Pacific Market International, LLC, seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages.