[mfarris]

That's a misconception. Prices are not the same across stores.

I live in Los Angeles. Many times I've shopped at the TJ's in Silver Lake and one of the TJ's in Pasadena on the same day. Most prices are the same, but on many items the Silver Lake store is consistently 5-10% higher.

I've also shopped in midwestern TJ's and noted that the prices were generally lower than LA.

Products differ significantly, too. Items with the exact same name and packaging can be totally different regionally. For example, "Sonoma Chicken Salad" used to be a favorite of mine here in California. The Iowa version was disgusting, with roughly twice the mayonnaise, fewer nuts and grapes, and 3x the sugar.

[genocidicbunny]

I've noticed a similar thing with Trader Joes in PNW vs California. The produce selection was different, the pre-made foods (like the salads, wraps..etc) were somewhat different, meat selection and quality was also different.

Part of it is that TJ's used to be much more about the 'one-off buy of a weird but tasty product'. They would find a product they could sell, buy as much of it as was possible, and sell through it, never to order and sell it again. Over time though, it grew to be the store where people went for basic staples, and so the way they sourced products probably changed to a more traditional model that grocery stores use, where many of the more perishable products are regionally sourced.

So what you experienced with the Sonoma Chicken Salad (which, I commend your appreciation, that used to be a favourite of mine to get for lunch) is likely a result of them just being completely different products made in different places by different companies.

Trader Joes in the 90's and early 2000's was a cool quirky grocery store to pick up some fun stuff and good wine to round out the weekly grocery shopping. TJ's in 2024 feels like Kroger standing on Whole Foods shoulders wearing a trench coat.

[crazygringo]

Are you sure?

They list prices on their website even without a local store selected. And then picking a local store in different locations, I can't find any prices that change.

I mean, obviously there might be exceptions. And I assume local produce varies, the same way it varies in every supermarket not just by the season but by the week. Most fresh produce isn't even listed on their site, and things like fresh salads are going to be based on local produce prices. (E.g. this daily price tracker doesn't have any entries for apples of any kind, for instance.)

But I can't find any evidence of any Trader Joe's products (whether frozen or snacks or jarred or bakery) having different prices between stores. Which is what I meant -- the stuff on their website. But it's good to clarify the difference between that and fresh produce.

(I could always be wrong, but you can find it repeated all over forums that Trader Joe's prices are the same everywhere, and they are in my experience as well -- it seems to be "common knowledge".)

[carabiner]

You can find some that change, like here for LA vs. Chicago: https://preview.redd.it/stumbled-on-a-website-that-tracks-tj...