Why You Shouldn't Wait For Trader Joe's To Have A Sale

Trader Joe's is a special sort of place, not quite a normal grocery store, not quite a specialty foods store — but something in-between that's a little cozier and comfier. While we absolutely love Trader Joe's, it's not like other grocery stores in many ways. For one, they exclusively carry items from their own brand, giving you tons of fun options that you might not be able to find elsewhere (and some of these items have cult followings, like their various dips, cookie butter, orange chicken, and cauliflower gnocchi, among others). But, it also means you might not be able to find everything on your shopping list. 

It can be tempting to wait to grab certain items or wait to do your shopping until there's a sale so you can get even more savings and spend less money. While that might make sense for some stores, it's not a good game plan if you plan on shopping at Trader Joe's.

Trader Joe's has year-round low prices

Waiting for a sale at Trader Joe's is essentially a moot point. Their prices are already very low, particularly on their private-label products. "Trader Joe's doesn't offer discounts, promotions, coupons, or sales," explains Rachael Engelhardt, creator of Instagram account Trader Joe's Kitchen in Poughkeepsie, New York (via Food & Wine). "They keep prices low all year round by limiting products in their stores and operate out of fairly small storefronts compared to other chain grocery stores," Engelhardt further says in the article.

They also stock a significantly smaller amount of products, around 2,000 compared to the average 28,000 in more traditional grocery stores (per Food & Wine). Rather than offering 60 different types of crackers, for example, they may offer 10 instead. This creates "a less overwhelming shopping experience" Englehardt adds. The reduced stock means they rarely have to scramble and have sales to get rid of certain items to make room on the shelves, and allows them to keep their prices low year-round. It also means the beloved items can go out of stock very quickly. So what are you waiting for? Hopefully not the sale!