Trader Joe's

TJ has degenerated into a vendor of private-brand imported food products of dubious quality. They are also very creative and deceptive in the ways they trick the price-conscious shopper. Take this example: two identical boxes of mini shredded wheat cereal, one plain and the other brown-sugar and "maple" coated. Look closely and the box of plain has 17.2 oz. and the sugary one has 25.5 oz. Maybe the sugar coating is that heavy? No, look inside and see that the sugar-coated is filled to about 3 inches from the top, but the plain is only filled to 5 inches from the top. It's almost half-empty. Why would they do that? Well, look at the pricing. The heavy box costs $2.99 and the lighter box costs $2.69. What's so strange about that? Do the math. 25.5 oz. @ $2.99 = $1.88/lb. and 17.2 oz. @ $2.69 = $2.50/lb. Remember that the boxes are exactly the same dimensions. I think that they are expecting a shopper to just see that one is heavier and costs "more".

The produce is all pre-wrapped or pre-packaged and never local (even in season). Meats are limited in variety and usually pre-seasoned or pre-formed into patties or otherwise adulterated. While there may be a place for such items in a large store with a huge meat department, they shouldn't be taking up limited counter space INSTEAD of pieces of meat that have not been adulterated and that will be seasoned by the home cook. There's no fresh fish and seafood at all. A few of th canned goods are poor quality, e.g., a certain canned plum tomato product that contained tomatoes that were hard, unripe, and bland. Most of the loaves of bread that were supposedly made fresh daily felt very soft inside the package and didn't have good crusts. In general, it seems that most of the aisles are devoted to pre-made, pre-flavored, pre-packaged convenience foods, frozen dinner items, and snack foods. I almost never need such items. I don't find this to be a good store for me, when I like to coo... Read more

I have loved shopping at Trader Joe's for a few years now, but last night I had my fourth bout of food poisoning from their french mushroom pizza. I spent the entire night throwing up and feeling terrible...I got no sleep and my insides hurt all day today. This happened last year with some frozen fish sticks I'd gotten at TJ's, before that a frozen chicken entree and frozen salmon. At this point I have to stop shopping there....it's not worth the misery of spending an entire night throwing up, sweating and feeling like garbage. I just can't believe they can sell food that is spoiled. Does it sit in a hot truck when it should be frozen, on the way to the stores? We really have no idea how the food is handles before we buy it, and TJ's standards seem to be declining. I'm just sick of getting sick from their food!

Went here with high hopes of finding something new, something different. But nope, same old, same old. A store where those who want to seem trendy shop and pay higher prices(and feel good about it) for items that you could get comperably at a small mom and pop shop(and even some of the major chain stores) It's seems like, that just because they have their own labels on the product that you are suppose to show them off so that everyone can see that, "wow, you must be hot, hip and edgy" cause you shop at Trader Joe's. Found nothing that I would have to go back for, and felt no need to ever go back. Would rather spend my hard earned cash at FRESH MARKET, or my local HARRIS TEETER. If you've not tried Trader Joe's, in my opinion, it's a place that can be missed and you shouldn't feel like you missed anything, instead find a local mom and pops place and go there, or hit up your local farmer's market.

I have always liked Trader Joes and I like the prices. However, Iv'e noticed over the past 3 or more years a gradual change in the products. There is less variety and the products are becoming more main stream. Of special importance to me is to buy as many products as possible that are not packaged in plastic. For Example: I had been buying Trader Joe brand honey in the jar with the comb. Now I can only find honey in plastic in Trader Joes and will go to Whole Foods and pay more to get honey in a glass container. Trader Joes pure concord grape juice is another favorite sold in glass of course. Most folks wouldn't buy wine in plastic and I feel the same way about buying other products in plastic. Not only do they not taste as good but recent research shows that plastic is not good for your health. Baby bottles and baby food are sold in glass now and it is recommended not to use plastic baby bottles. I hope Trader Joes does not follow the trend of common grocery stores where... Read more

Regarding Trader Joe's. It was a great chain when they started. For the last ten years or so, their quality, e.g., house brands are inferior and diluted. Their cookies absolutely suck. Prices are no longer a bargain. The people who rave at Trader Joe's must likely new to TJ's, they don't know what they were originally. RPJ Carlsbad, CA

I don't think I've ever been disappointed with anything I've bought there. They must have great tasters because everything I buy has always been sooo tasty! They have lots of unusual bits and pieces to eat. Wish they were closer to me so that I could shop there more often!

* Quality is iffy from store to store, cold products aren't always put away quickly so I'd stay away from anything prone to spoil. Salt, sugar, and fats show up in abundance so even though they stick to a "nothing artificial" policy their prepared foods are not usually all that healthy. This used to be a relatively small chain of stores with unique items at a good price. The chain is now very large and the small suppliers are gone. You can get most of this stuff in any good store and at better sale prices. I would rather spend my money in U.S. based stores (this chain is owed by uber wealthy german's although "headquartered" in CA). This trendy grocery chain was fun during the good times but I think it makes sense to spend our grocery dollars on stores based in our own communities. Now it's a cliche to shop there and a tired one at that.

First of all, to all the negative reviews talking about pricing and quality of food...don't be alarmed when you or your loved ones are suffering from cancer. Trader Joe's is one of the only affordable stores specializing in Organic and Preservative/Chemical free products. If you were paying more attention to what you were putting in your stomachs rather then what the cost is, you wouldn't have written crappy reviews. So your purse got stolen, I wouldn't ever leave my shopping cart and purse out of my sight. Oh the prices suck? I spend $70-$80 a week feeding my family of 3 and I feel good about the fact that I'm not pumping artificial cancer causing colors into my 2 year old's body. Worried about the produce? Learn to pick your fruits and vegetables, it's not that hard, and you need to do it no matter where you shop. If you can't appreciate what Trader Joe's has to offer, stick to Win-Co...more quality products for me and my family and the rest of the educated population.

the stores have no cameras my wifes purse was taken out of the cart we only lost 900 bucks and aggrivation, but if some weirdo grabs your kids, or someone comes in to hold the place up and shoots a customer there are no cameras to help us catch the crook, and if you are a scam artist its the best place to lay down in isle 5 and pretend you fell on pickle juice, they care more about the overpriced products they have then the people that pay for it, so if you are elderly, or have wandering children or if your like my wife a mother of 4 in a rush who left her purse in the cart, but never let the cart out of her site dont shop here, corperate could care less, they said if we advertise that we dont have cameras we would be inviting the bad guy i said spend the 3700 and install the cameras...so buyer be ware the crooks no the places that dont have servalance, and trader joes in one of them go to Ralphs or Jons, they have cameras just to keep thier liability insurance down let alone for pr... Read more

Trader Joes has a few very well priced items. I really like their selection of easy cook meals. Their eggs, milk, and cottage cheese are usually lower priced than the competition and they do not use rbst. However, NEVER buy any fresh produce from TJ's. Whether it be onions, potatoes, apples, or berries. Their quality of produce is absolutely horrendous. It goes bad within a day of buying it, if its not already spoiling in the store. I don't know what their problem is when it comes to produce. I just bought raspberries yesterday and they are aready soggy and molding the next day.

Trader Joes is extremely overrated and overpriced. They have a few cheap produce to attract you to the store and that's about it. Most of other items are close to the original price of big grocery stores chains like Stop & Shop. However S&S has lots of sale items every week and accepts any coupons but TJs does not. I had a $1000 TJ's gift card last year so I did my grocery shopping every week at TJs. Their selection is very small, and anything that tastes good are especially expensive. At TJs you can find the worst dumplings and fried rice for $2.99 and Chinese stir-fry kits for $6+. Or you can find some machine-made tasteless sushi for $4. You won't save money shopping at TJs - trust me. You need to go to other grocery stores because you can't find everything you need in TJs anyway, so why not save the time going to TJs and check out deals and coupons for your local grocery store chain.

Some great finds at tremendous value. Fits the quest of value-oriented goods from post financial crisis customers well.

Trader Joe's is pretty much worthless to me. It's mostly overpriced stuff that I probably wouldn't buy even if it was cheaper. If I did most of my grocery shopping here, I'd be broke within a couple months. Plus I'd be eating some rather strange food. UPDATE: I also dislike the place because hipsters shop here. http://www.rateitall.com/i-2625363-hipsters.aspx

I'm not sure how TJ's is considered to be a bargain at all. I can go to Fry's grocery store and get the exact same eggs, from the exact same farm, with the same date code for 31 cents per dozen cheaper. And I don't even have to drive across town to get them! Or we can use Target for another example. Go ahead and compare any item that is NOT on sale at Target to the exact same 'private labeled' products at Trader Joe's. Even when Target doesn't have them on sale they are usually 10-25 cents cheaper per item, add in the sales and you can save up to a dollar per item!?! I could go on for quite sometime comparing various grocery stores to Trader Joe's.... The part I find most amusing? I'm an employee of Trader Joe's :o Our pricing structure has become so out of control that it is a common topic of discussion at my store. Most of the employees shop elsewhere, and we openly talk about the wonderful products we find outside of our store. During a recent store meeting, our Captain c... Read more

Trader Joes whole wheat bread is the best! I used to buy Arnolds or Pepperridge Farm .The loaves were smaller and cost more than TJ's. TJ's peppercorn with grinder is lower cost than McCormick and you get more! TJ's frozen mango chunks are heavenly! Not a bad price for a big bag too! If I ever move, it will have to be a city where there is a Trader Joes! I'm hooked My dog eats Trader Joes canned dog food too and she would be mad if she didn't get it ! LOL!

The thing that I love about Trader Joe's is that you walk into a sea of brands that you don't see anywhere else, and it is heaven to any of you who are tired of the same ol, same ol. Sure, you sometimes get some nasty surprises, but hey, sometime it's nice when life is a bit unpredictable. More often than not, you can count on Trader Joe's offering to be really fresh, and made of good stuff. The staff who work there tend to be really helpful, and look like they are proud to be associated with TJs.

My choice of market. They always have fresh produce and great selection of healthy foods that are quick and easy to make. Plus I usually end up getting more groceries than a regular market!

I like TJs. Their prices usually are cheaper (sometimes far cheaper) than the identical items at other stores. Great prices on coffee, cheeses, nuts, dairy products, cereals, and their wine prices generally are below other stores.

An oasis in Queens. Saved me, and my gf a ton of money we'd otherwise have wasted feeding kids in restaurants.

I just visited the new TJ's in Brooklyn. It looks good because it's situated in an old bank. Beyond that, it's nothing special. The selection's not that great and I only found a few good deals on items I needed. Wish I'd gone to Sahadi's down the street or trekked to Fairway.

"Hippy Chow". They have a few interesting items but most of their stock is for the counter-culture types. Good quality though.

I like the store. Nice wine selection. Their meats are overpriced in my opinion.

I'm from the UK and I now live in New York. I really miss British supermarkets - seriously, they are years ahead of American stores - anyway somebody suggested I try Trader Joes. Big disappointment :(  Trader Joe's isn't even a TENTH of a store like Marks & Spencer. The checkout line was beyond ridiculous too - it stretched literally ALL THE WAY around the store - took almost half an hour to checkout. The cashier was friendly & chatty, but to be honest I just wanted to pay & go...quickly! So far I've only eaten two products that I purchased; cheese squares (like cheez-it) and a chicken sausage calzone. The cheese squares are OK, except they stick to your teeth in a glue-like way. Calzone...yuk. Dry and flavourless pastry and very little filling. TJs seriously need to send some spies over to the UK and copy some of Marks & Spencer's products! (as do all the other US supermarket chains) Hopefully the freezer-full over TJ products I purchased will turn out to have a few gems...fingers cro... Read more

In Short Founder Joseph Coulombe started this L.A.-based convenience chain 34 years ago. Today, you can get exotic, prepackaged frozen foods, fresh salsas, huge portobello mushrooms, baby artichokes and heirloom tomatoes fresher--and cheaper--than at most supermarkets. Inexpensive meat, fish, coffees and teas, dozens of cheeses, grains and pastas cram the shelves. The frozen section features tasty treats, including barbecue chicken pizzas, mushroom risotto and salmon patties. Beer, wine and liquor sections are stocked with very affordable labels.

Being the only Trader Joe's in West LA, east of W. Hollywood - is a major problem. I like the selection and amount of food (usually available, minus fruits and salads sometimes), however it's always crowded and parking is a major problem during the daytime. The traffic congestion from LaBrea doesn't help either. Parking is better when they open the additional lot, but everyone fights for the spots - which is ridiculous. Trader Joe's needs to seriously build another one in the Hollywood/east of Vine or in Los Feliz.

I have been shopping at Trader Joe's in Seattle (five corners) for a long time. There meat has taken a nose dive in quality. I cooked a sirloin steak "filet" ($7.99 lb) tonight that was the worst piece of meat I have ever been confronted with in sixty years of eating beef. I have suffered through institutional food in college I have purcased beef in open street markets in the third world. I have never in my life had a pice of beef with less meat in it. It was all grissel, ligments and fat. Total loss. The only explantion I can come up with is deliberat sabatoge by a meat cutter who wanted to damage Trader Joe's. But where were the QC people when this all took place? Trader Joe's qulity control must be non-existent. I'm very suspect of any corperation that would let this kind of product make it on to the shelf and into the hands of a cusomer.

Good for wine and cheese. Sort of. Yes it's not the best place for wine and cheese. But it's cheap.

I like Trader Joe's but its not a one stop grocery store for me. There are things there that my wife and I like to buy, but I always feel the need to shop at a larger store as well for some items. Unlike other people I have never had a problem with the quality of products at TJ's. The atmosphere is friendly and the prices are reasonable. I don't mind shopping there, but it isn't a perfect experience.

I had been a fan of Trader Joes until the past few months when I started to see labels that did not match my expectation of the product. Here are two examples: 1) Since September 2007, almonds need to be pasturized but by law, can be labeled as raw almonds. TJs follows the practice which I feel is deceptive -- they label their pasturized almonds as raw without any disclosure. My local Whole Foods labels the almonds as raw also, but has a disclosure on the shelf describing what raw really means and explains that these raw almonds have been pasturized. 2) I just purchased cinnamon from Trader Joes to use as an aid to control my blood sugar. I just saw a TV show on the Food channel saying that most cinnamon sold in this country is not cinnamon at all, rather a plant called casia, sometimes labeled Chinese Cinnamon. This casia does not have the same blood sugar controls in it that real cinnamon does. I won't give up TJs altogether but I'm feeling that I have to be much more carefu... Read more

EXCELLENT SERVICE & DEPTH OF STOCK. THE PARKING IS LARGE, BUT GENERALLY IT IS CROWDED. THE VALUE OF ALL THEIR PRODUCE AAND PHARAMACEUTICAL...

Trader Joes in Chatsworth, CA has had a rodent infestation problem. We bought and ate a bag of Kettles "Bakes" lightly salted potato chips last week, and after eating the entire bag noticed "gnaw" marks and holes at the bottom. In disgust I called the store manager, who immediately confirmed that they indeed had a rodent problem with their bagged chips, but he "thought" they removed them all from shelves. This is mortifying and unacceptable neglegence, and I want to make the public aware!! Check your bags thoroughly, because trader joes is not!! Public health should be #1 in importance, but clearly it is not. Buyer Beware!!! I will never shop there again.

Over the past year I have not had any complaints about Trader Joe's. However, last week I bought TJ's Eggwhite Salad and opened the container to find a small wrinkled part of a blue plastic bag inside. Then I opened the Eggplant Hummus to find a small black threadlike hair enclosed. These were purchased the same day! I still like TJ's but I won't be ingesting any of their dips/salads, etc...Seems like a quality control issue.

The best in the world. Joe's has the best lunches and dinners, awsome snaks, good breakfasts, nice juices, and awsome deserts. The staff is helpful and friendly. The stores are usually clean and inexpensive.

We didn't frequent TJ in the past and will definitely not in the future. First, their products are overpriced (some of fruits and veggies even don't look fresh), second, stuff is really trying to be friendly in a very annoying way - when you're at the check out they think that it's cool to chat with the customers and end up making remarks that stupid or cheesy. And third, they have NO expiration date on their cakes, and the cheesecake that we bought yesterday WAS OLD, so old that it had a yellowish rim around it. We brought it back and they said that it should look like that. Ahh-h, yeah! Sure. Now the case is in the BBB. Hope you all have a fresh cake from them, but if not, remember to keep the check (just in case).

TJ's is my usual grocery store. Good points: it has excellent quality meats, dairy, frozen and canned goods, vitamins, and many environmentally-friendly non-food items, at decent prices. It also isn't a huge monstrosity of a store that presents you with more choices than you ever wanted to wade through. Bad points: the produce is somewhat iffy (good one trip, overripe the next), the store keeps shuffling things around so I can't count on finding stuff in the same place every time I shop there, and the selection for non-food items is a bit skimpy, requiring me to hit the local supermarket once a month or so for certain cleaning supplies. And I love the "no sales, just charge a fair price" approach and low-key advertising! Overall an excellent shop, but quirky and geared for upscale, but thrifty, customers whose idea of a good snack tray before "The Game" will feature sun-dried tomatoes, feta, and olive oil on organic Sesame thins, not Velveeta (a type of processed American cheese g... Read more

I gotta say, I love the TJ's.The fish and meat are a little on the pricey side, but everything else is superb. CHEAP and extensive cheese selection. Best naan outside of an indian restaurant, and that includes import stores. So many things you expect to pay a lot for are going for peanuts there: Sesame oil, artisan bread, and aloe gel to name a few.

The new Trader Joes in Cary, NC is fantastic!! The crew are so friendly and helpful, the food is fabulous, especially their cheesecake, chocolate tortes, Jo Jo's cookies..better than Oreos and most of all their frozen chicken, pasta and veggie dishes. They have a huge selection of ethnic and imported foods as well as very reasonably priced olive oils and wines. I can't say enough about how unusual and wonderful this store is!

I finally stopped shopping at T.J.'s about 2 months ago. I'd gotten food poisoning several times in the last year from stuff I got there, and then, the last time, the food poisoning was so violent that I puked my guts out the whole night long.

Fabulous store. I particularly like the wine selection and prices.

We will never buy any frozen vegetables again except Trader Joe's Their corn is sweet, green beans tender and peas great. The coffee is very comparable to what is sold in upscale specialty stores and I love the chocolate covered mini pretzels. Try the Shiraz wine.

Excellent. Cary, NC store needs more space to keep up with demand. Wonderful products, service, and price.

The food is high quality and fresh? prices good?. and employees are cool! And always willing to lend a helping hand!!!! Trader Joe's You Gals and Guys Are SupaStar... Rock Stars!!!!!!!!

I am a huge Trader Joe's fan - you can always fine awesome wines, snacks, cheese, gifts, etc. at really great prices. Some of my favorite items - mushroom turnovers; chocolate ganache cake; double rainbow ice cream; parmesan cheese with built-in grinder; fresh basil; various veggie dips; turkey sausages; honey moon wine; etc.etc. For anyone who is lactose intolerant, Trader Joe's has a dietary supplement (the equivalent to lactaid) that is much more effective and definitely cheaper. The only annoying thing is the parking and the long lines!

A great change of pace to super markets. Great place to go if you're planning on eating healthy. Love the Layout. Great customer service. Almost always packed.

free samples rock! but seriously, it is the best market around, anything you need and prices superb! cant go wrong.

They have so excellent niche products you can't find any where else. And novelty foods, etc, but I've noticed with a lot of their frozen foods, I'll really enjoy something for awhile but then get thorougly sick of it and never want to touch it again. I feel as though I get immune to their products fast, but for chocolates they have a great selection, and some other little items like cookies, crackers, cheeses, etc. But not for eating main main courses!

I was pretty impressed with one in Vegas.They offered some fine natural products at very reasonable prices,the store was clean and easy to navigate and the help was polite and knowledgable.

People in the Bay Area have some sort of an obsession with Trader Joe's and it bugs me out. It's a grocery store, after all. But from my experience the staff is helpful and the food is cheap, and it's quality stuff.

My favorite grocers :) They have affordable, high quality products; a reasonable collection of eco-friendly products; casein-free soy cheese; and several milk-alternatives such as Almond, Soy and Rice Milk. On top of that, their zuchinis are affordable. definitely great for health/wallet conscious shoppers.