+175 Trader Joe's is all hype, amirite?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

TJ's isn't a grocery store, it's a product store. Many people go there just because they love specific items, not to do their weekly grocery run. In that context, I think they've got a great value proposition.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

That's the case for me. It seems they don't carry enough items for me to buy all my groceries there, but there are some specific products they sell that I like.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

It's great for people that either don't like cooking or don't have time for it every night.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I can see that. If you like their gimmicky stuff, then it's definitely a better value than a place like Whole Foods. I just personally don't like their stuff.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

How can you tell when produce is low quality? I have heard that fruits and veggies are less flavorful than they used to be

by Anonymous 2 years ago

So there are a couple Trader Joe's near where I live. At one, the vegetables and fruits are often wilted or even getting a bit moldy (not usually actual mold, but you can tell that it's going in that direction). The other location is a bit nicer, but, still, the fruits and vegetables, especially the bulk ones are usually on their way out. It's not necessarily about the flavor, but the overall freshness.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Interesting! Trader Joe's is actually one of the most consistent grocery stores around me for quality at a decent price for certain fruits like avocados. Plus they don't make any fuss about returns if you open the fruit and it's rotten. Never had freshness issues with them for other stuff I get regularly onions and tomatoes. Could be a regional thing.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Trader joes has some pretty decent frozen meals for the price.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

The frozen lamb vindaloo is my safety food. If I don't have 2 in the freezer at any one point it's time for another grocery run

by Anonymous 2 years ago

It's a bummer to hear you feel that way about your local Trader Joe's. I tend to like almost everything I've gotten from Trader Joe's. To me they seem fairly high-quality. When you say things like baking chocolates, ketchup seasoning, ranch dressing etc. were "all bad", what do you mean by bad? Did you not like the flavors, or did it just all seem like low quality in general?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

For the ketchup seasoning, they had this ketchup powder stuff and I just didn't get the point of it and the flavor was kind of odd. We tried it on a few things, but ended up giving it away to my friend who had recommended it. For the ranch and baking chocolates, I don't know exactly how to describe it, but there was something off about the flavor and they just tasted bad. We also tried their frozen fish and it was so full of water that it took a huge wad of paper towel to get it semi-dried off and it still almost started a fire. Then we tried some of the pre-cooked stuff like the pot pie and tamales, but the flavors were all pretty meh.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

free coffee goes a long way

by Anonymous 2 years ago

The one near me doesn't offer free coffee

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Great place to grab some MILF and bread.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I like Aldis better.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Nord oder Süd

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Nord is Trader Joes in America. Süd is just Aldis.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Agreed. They have some decent snacks and such but they don't carry a lot of things I'd use when cooking at home. All of it is pre-made frozen stuff and their produce and meat selection isn't the best near me.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

The bacon ends and pieces go hard tho

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I like their potstickers. That's about it though

by Anonymous 2 years ago

The best part about shopping at Trader Joe's is having to go to another grocery store right after to get what you actually need... Trader Joe's is a rich people snack store with a solid alcohol section. Nothing more nothing less.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Your analysis is perfectly spot-on.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Trader Joe's has high standards for foods much like Europe (don't carry any foods with artificial dyes, etc.). It's a little pricy, but at least it's not all American style over processed, dyed, cheap crap most stores sell. But if you want your food to look like a bag of Halloween candy, probably not the store for you. Lol

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I worked in a warehouse for trader joes, WCD is what it's called. Place was garbage, had the vibe of county jail. The size of the rats and roaches was astounding

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Meanwhile Walmart warehouses are very clean and orderly.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Sometimes I read these opinions and I get so caught up in the person's word choice/ lack of logic that I can't even think about the opinion Like how is it "convenient"to buy olive oil and PB from a store that doesn't have any other products you like? Wouldn't you need to make a specific trip there to buy those things? Isn't that the opposite of convenience? If you happen to live beside a Trader Joe's, then wouldn't it be just as convenient to buy most of your basics there? Why single out PB and olive oil?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

>Like how is it "convenient"to buy olive oil and PB from a store that doesn't have any other products you like? Maybe it was convenient for OP because it was close to where they were and those things were all they were looking for. ​ >If you happen to live beside a Trader Joe's, then wouldn't it be just as convenient to buy most of your basics there? Why single out PB and olive oil? To be fair, I don't think Trader Joe's carries enough products for me to get most of my basics there.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

This is the biggest thing for me. Trader Joe's just doesn't carry a lot of things I use frequently.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

It's the same way for me. I don't shop there very often, but there are some things of theirs I like, so I'll shop there every so often.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Basics such as? There is nothing at Trader Joe's that I would want other than those things. I buy salt, pepper, milk, and eggs from Costco because it's much cheaper (not the milk, but I like the Costco milk better). I don't use enough peanut butter or olive oil to justify buying the large quantities at Costco, I don't buy bread because I usually make my own, and I get meats and vegetables from other places. Since Trader Joe's is closer than other grocery stores, I go there for those things. How is that illogical?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

PB and olive oil aren't going to expire any time soon so buying a big container from Costco makes sense

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Eggs milk and butter are loss leaders for Trader Joe's and you're not buying butter in bulk at Costco, so I don't think you're saving money there.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Went to it once, and didn't really see a reason to go again. Nor have I ever seen hypes for it.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

There's a lot of hype online. Also, I'm in NYC and everyone loves it for some unknown reason.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

You've got a lot more option than someone like me then. Where I'm at (the second biggest city in WV) we got Kroger's and Aldi. That's it. If I'm out of town and see a TJ's, I'm going.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

This right here, I'm roughly 50 miles north of Charleston and had to google what Trader Joe's was. And you can bet your ass if I'm out of town I'm going if I pass one lol

by Anonymous 2 years ago

The thing you trade in at TJs is flavor. The odds of finding something there with any flavor is quite low.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I think this is one of my biggest complaints about their stuff. I also noticed that with some of their frozen foods, the flavors are just off. For example, the kung pao chicken is ridiculously sweet tastes like nothing but sugar.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

yeah. and their mexican food is flavorless, completely neutral.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I've found the opposite to be true.. I think the food I've bought at Trader Joe's has great flavor.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

It's the asthetic

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I agree. It's crappy junk food for yippies

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I went to one on my visit to the US. It wasn't much to be honest nothing I couldn't get at home.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

You have a shwag palette

by Anonymous 2 years ago

For the few things we like there, TJ's is not worth the parking nightmare.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Their candy is pretty good.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

They have good snack foods, and the items you mentioned you've tried don't sound great to me.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

we only got peanut butter cups and candied peacans other than that the one time we tried they're frozen chicken my mother made better

by Anonymous 2 years ago

well can't say you didnt try..

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Good luck finding a pound of chicken thighs for $4 anywhere else.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Although it's a bit far away, I usually buy chicken thigh+leg for $1.99/pound in Chinatown. Sometimes I will also buy the packs of chicken thighs from Costco. I can't remember the exact price/pound, but 6 packs costs like $15 each pack has around 4-6 thighs.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I haven't had everything but soft agree. Their chocolate is the highest quality cheap stuff you can find, however a majority of their products are gimmicky. For a lot of the fun foods I've bought because they sounded good few have actually been good, so I don't go much anymore. I also think if people like trader joe's I see the appeal and I'm not going to be mean about it. The frozen food sounds like it's higher quality than some of the stuff you can get so it's a good option if you're feeling lazy.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I wholeheartedly agree with this.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

They have some banger spaghetti sauce and "Brains" spaghetti noodles.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

their Indian food is so freaking good

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Americans hype up grocery stores??

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Can someone tell me what's the hype behind Trader Joe's and is it worth going? Cause all I go to is my local supermarket with my mom🥲

by Anonymous 2 years ago