Seasonal Produce

Average Price: $1-$10*
Verdict: Buy It

Fresh produce at Trader Joe’s is popular not only because of the low costs (you’ll pay a few pennies less than you would at other big-name retailers) but also because of the variety and creativity of the products. Examples include Trader Joe’s selling mini-avocados in what the company refers to as “single-serve” size. Hass is the company that produces teeny-tiny avocadoes. Regular-sized vegetables aren’t too expensive when compared to other sizes. When it comes to producing, Trader Joe’s does not charge by the pound. They categorize and sell their produce per item. For example, an apple costs $1.49 at a Trader Joe’s in New York City. According to reports, Trader Joe’s does not charge by the pound for ethical grounds, as pricing by the pound is a frequent method used by big-name chain retailers to deceive customers into overspending their budgets.

Seasonal Produce

Milk

Average Price: $2.99*
Verdict: Skip It

The item in question, according to Mashed, should “never” be purchased from Trader Joe’s. The reason for this has nothing to do with the quality of the product, but rather with the cost. Milk is more expensive at Trader Joe’s than it is at other nearby establishments. Whole Foods milk is $2 less expensive than Trader Joe’s milk, and Walmart sells lactose-free milk for 83 cents less expensive than Whole Foods. It is unclear why milk is so expensive in the first place. Recently, the price of milk increased by sixty cents per gallon, according to RFDTV, and it was speculated that this was due to an increase in the cost of feeding cattle. Farmers were forced to reduce their cow herds, which resulted in a decrease in production.

Milk