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Trader Joe's Shoppers Are Sharing Their Grocery Mishaps, And I Can't Help But LOL

I'm sensing an issue in the frozen pasta aisle...

Look, I'm a loyal and avid Trader Joe's shopper, and I love nearly everything about this grocery store chain. But of course, even T.J's makes mistakes. Here are some of the funniest mishaps and failures that Trader Joe's shoppers have experienced.

The exterior of a Trader Joe's store.
Getty Images

1. This guy who discovered the hard way that the illustration does not accurately represent the product.

u/Briggy1986 / Via reddit.com

"TJ’s printer coloration and sizing need adjusting…"

–u/Briggy1986

2. And this one who opened the box only to find the wrong flavor.

u/FoodandWine605 / Via reddit.com

"Bought mini mint ice cream mouthfuls and got vanilla."

–u/FoodandWine605

3. This person who accidentally bought a cheese plate instead of a pre-made salad.

A salad with a ton of cheese.
–u/somasmarti / Via reddit.com

"My BBQ chicken salad was virtually all cheese, which might make it the perfect salad. The bag on the cutting board is just the cheese I removed from the salad."

–u/somasmarti

4. And this one who discovered a cone-less ice cream cone.

u/Quiet_Attitude4053 / Via reddit.com

"My Hold the Cone took the assignment a little too literally…as there is literally…no cone."

–u/Quiet_Attitude4053

5. This person who found a surprise under the apple cider vinegar beverage wrapper.

u/justic3bon3r / Via reddit.com

"TJ’s Apple Cider Vinegar Beverage is Köe Kombucha on the inside? I’m curious as to the story here."

–u/justic3bon3r

6. And this one who is going heavy on the veggies tonight.

u/simcat2 / Via reddit.com

"Chicken Chow Mein literally came with 3 pieces of chicken!"

–u/simcat2

7. This guy who realized there's more to TJ's seltzer than what meets the eye.

u/Gr4phicDe51gn / Via reddit.com

"Looks like the manufacturer of the seltzer water had an oopsie!"

–u/Gr4phicDe51gn

8. And this one who was fooled by the new spice packaging.

u/welluuasked / Via reddit.com

"PSA for inattentive people, TJ’s changed their red pepper flakes container to a flip top. So uh, don’t unscrew the whole top and shake it like you used to unless you want to end up with half a jar of red pepper in your food."

–u/welluuasked

9. Yup, that was an issue.

u/-hot_ham_water- / Via reddit.com

"So, Trader Joe's changed the lid on the garlic powder..."

–u/-hot_ham_water-

10. This fella who realized two very different TJ's products look way too similar.

u/boardingtheplane / Via reddit.com

"Almost made a huge mistake with our late-night ice cream."

–u/boardingtheplane

11. And this one who realized the expiration date is probably not accurate.

u/merricat_blackwood / Via reddit.com

"Trader Joe’s ghee will outlive us all."

–u/merricat_blackwood

12. This person who found a surprise in the tinned seafood.

A baby mussel in its shell.
u/bekrueger / Via reddit.com

"There was a baby mussel in my smoked mussels :("

–u/bekrueger


13. This person who discovered an error in the pasta-to-sauce ratio .

u/juniperdaisies / Via reddit.com

"OMG, y'all. Check out my two different bags of ravioli bought on the same shopping trip. I opened the sauce heavy bag first and would have been devastated if I didn't have a second."

–u/juniperdaisies

14. Like....a pretty serious error.

u/Killer_Bs / Via reddit.com

"So, I decided to try the Spaghetti Cacio E Pepe…."

–u/Killer_Bs

15. And this one, who got zero noodles whatsoever.

u/Parkey_Park / Via reddit.com

"Well, looks like I’ll be boiling some pasta."

–u/Parkey_Park

16. OK, this sauce issue is becoming serious.

u/chicken-finger1 / Via reddit.com

"So much sauce."

–u/chicken-finger1

17. And saddest of all, this mac 'n' cheese lover who was seriously disappointed.

u/zchvns / Via reddit.com

"Was excited to try the Butternut Squash Mac and cheese. The worst part? I live 3 hours away from my nearest Trader Joe’s. 😅"

–u/zchvns

18. This person who discovered TJ's pizza has a mind of its own.

u/breadbutthead / Via reddit.com

"My garlic pesto pizza just decided to become a soufflé in the oven."

–u/breadbutthead

19. Or this shopper who chose a very bad day for a Trader Joe's haul.

u/-misschanandlerbong / Via reddit.com

"Came on the best day to make sure I stick to my shopping list."

–u/-misschanandlerbong

20. This surprised pasta lover who found a lone tortellini in the mini ravioli bag.

u/thethingsIam / Via reddit.com

"One of these things is not like the others."

–u/thethingsIam

21. And this person, who discovered the expiration date simply doesn't exist.

u/greglieb / Via reddit.com

"My salmon expires on February 30th. Is 2021 a leap-leap year? 👀"

–u/greglieb

22. And finally, the lucky shopper who found this human disguised as an eggplant.

u/coolyoungluv / Via reddit.com

"Hipster Eggplant found at the Trader Joe's in Silver Lake, CA."

–u/coolyounglu


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