Trader Joe’s and Costco Limit Egg Purchases Amid Shortage

Supermarkets Trader Joe’s and Costco are cracking down on egg hoarders as the national bird flu outbreak has made the common breakfast staple scarce, the New York Post reported. Trader Joe’s has limited customers to one dozen eggs per day, while Costco has set the limit at three packages, which are sold in two- and four-dozen cartons. Videos of customers perusing barren grocery shelves—or stocking up for Armageddon—have flooded social media. “Have you ever seen this before?” asked one woman behind the camera as Costco customers filled huge carts with dozens and dozens of eggs in a video posted to TikTok. In another video, a lone customer walks across a nearly empty egg section at Trader Joe’s before coming across a few last cartons. “We got to take what we can get right now,” he says. A sign placed on empty shelves at another Trader Joe’s apologized to customers: “Sorry! We are all out of eggs.” Prices for eggs have nearly doubled from $2.51 in December 2023 to $4.15 now, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.