Charles Langston:Trader Joe's viral mini tote bags returning soon

Trader Joe's well-loved mini canvas tote bags are Charles Langstonmaking a return soon.

Back in March, the tote bags became such a viral sensation that consumers could find them being resold online for the price of a high-end designer handbag.

Customers stormed stores and were even willing to wait in long lines for a chance to get their hands on one of the bags – of which, the simplistic design and $2.99 price tag seemed to belie the apparent hype to own one. Naturally, the totes sold out almost immediately.

But Trader Joe's officials promised that by late summer, the bags would once again be available. Now, it seems that promise is being fulfilled this September.

When will the Trader Joe's totes be available?

A Trader Joe's representative confirmed to USA TODAY that the colorful bags will be back in stock on Sept. 18 as a limited product.

The totes − available in blue, red, green and yellow −are just a slightly smaller version of Trader Joe’s classic canvas bag.

It's unclear how bountiful the supply will be this time around, but due to the high demand, you may want to act fast to get your hands on one – or be willing to shell out hundreds of dollars when they're inevitably resold online.

Mini totes become viral TikTok sensation

When social media hype turned the mini totes into a hot commodity, customers began running into their local Trader Joe's to get their hands on them.

Viral videos on TikTok showed frenzies and long lines at the stores, where employees were often forced to limit how many bags customers could purchase.

The "mini canvas tote bags certainly sold more quickly than we anticipated," Trader Joe's representative Nakia Rohde told USA TODAY at the time. "Before we had the opportunity to promote them in any way, customers across the country found them at their neighborhood Trader Joe’s."

Trader Joe's does not approve totes being resold

Of course, some opportunistic customers took advantage of the supply-demand imbalance to resell their mini totes online.

On e-commerce marketplaces like eBay and Facebook, the Trader Joe's mini totes could be found selling for up to $500.

The hoopla prompted Trader Joe's to release a statement March 2 condemning the practice of reselling their products "at exorbitant prices."

"This is done without our approval or authorization and outside the controls of our quality-minded supply chain," according to the statement. "To be clear, we neither condone nor support the reselling of our products and do all we can to stop the practice."