NYC woman walks into Trader Joe’s and rips open a whole case right off the shelf. She says workers told her she’s allowed to do this: ‘check the receipt’

A TikTok creator from New York City says she opens sealed multi-packs at Trader Joe’s and takes out single cans without buying the whole box. The video, posted by a user going by Jaeda (@jaeda_skye), has been viewed 1.1 million times and has more than 30,800 likes.

In the video, Jaeda films herself inside a Trader Joe’s store, with on-screen text that reads, “PSA if you shop at Trader Joe’s…” She says in the TikTok video, “Most people don’t know this, but if you shop at Trader Joe’s and don’t want to buy a whole case, you can actually open one of them up.”

She said she then picks up a box of Trader Joe’s Lemonade from a shelf stocked with drinks and opens it on camera. “Actually grab one of these whole cases off the shelf and then open it up, and you can literally just grab however many you want out and just buy one individual one,” she says in the clip.

Creator says store employees confirmed the practice is allowed

Jaeda says in the video that she checked with the staff before doing this. “And for people saying that’s not true, I asked multiple Trader Joe’s workers if that’s okay, and every single one of them have said yes,” she says. She then gestures toward the shelf and adds, “You can do that to literally any of these, I think, on this whole shelf.”

She goes on to open a box of Sparkling Strawberry Juice to show the method again. “See, this whole thing doesn’t have any individual cans, so you can just take one off and open her on up, and then grab one individual one out like that,” she says. After removing a single can, she places the opened box back on the shelf and says, “And then you could just put the rest of the pack right back on the shelf.”

Jaeda addresses a concern she says other viewers have raised about the practice. “Everyone’s saying like, what happens if someone wants to buy a whole pack but there’s one missing? You just don’t pay for the full pack, you only pay what’s in there, you know?” she says in the video.

She credits the store for allowing the practice, saying, “Shout out Trader Joe’s for making that little life hack because that is like such a lifesaver for wanting to try drinks but not wanting to take all of them.” Near the end of the clip, she points to a stack of blue and yellow striped cups and asks, “And then, what are those?”

The video closes with Jaeda standing outside the store. She says, “Forgot to double-check the receipt, but normally each individual can is only like a dollar.” It is not clear from the video which specific Trader Joe’s location she visited, and Trader Joe’s has not publicly confirmed whether this is an official or store-wide policy. Checking receipts closely can matter at Trader Joe’s, as another shopper reportedly was charged for 75 tomatoes after buying only five.

While Jaeda’s video frames the trick as a blanket Trader Joe’s “life hack,” Good Housekeeping suggests the practice is more localized. According to that outlet, this is not a uniform, company-wide rule; whether it works depends on local laws, individual store policy, and the specific product involved.

In a Reddit thread, one user said, “Most TJs will let you buy singles from a multi-pack, but that depends on city ordinances. I live by 2 TJs where 1 TJ will let you buy singles, but the next city over with another TJ won’t let you buy singles, you have the buy the full multi-pack. They also have a smaller selection of beer as well.” 

The claim has drawn mixed reactions in the comments section of the video. One commenter questioned why Jaeda opened a new box when single cans appeared to already be available, writing, “Even if that was true, you can clearly see that there was a bunch of singles already out. Why would you open another one? 😭”

Another commenter, who identified themselves as a Trader Joe’s employee, said the practice extends beyond drinks like the ones shown in the video. “TJ employee here, You can do that with the beer and wine cans, bottle water cases as well,” the comment reads. Similar concerns about product safety have recently been raised over metal shards found in Trader Joe’s bread and pizza.

Not all reactions were supportive of the practice. One commenter called the act of opening packaged goods inappropriate, writing, “That’s sooo rude tho honestly.”