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Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight
TJ's is a little different in that they carry almost nothing but their own brands or small off-brand items, some of which comes at a premium, but much of which is actually cheaper or competitively priced stuff for better quality.
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On a serious note that is one thing that does bother me about TJ's as it has grown into a mini-corporate behemoth. They used to offer a great selection of small and local brands. Now, whenever a product proves popular enough they white label it and sell it under their own brand completely screwing the small company that made it popular in the first place.
Plus, the mega-corporate behemoth's have mostly caught on. While brands may be different there aren't many products at TJ's now that I can't buy at Safeway for the same prices and when I want to go small I can easily go to the source (farmer's markets, direct-import ethnic grocers, etc.) I can understand why TJ's would be a cornucopia in relatively bland parts of the country but in LA and the Bay Area TJ's is just the same sort of interstitial layer between the source and the consumer as people disdain Safeway for being.