Everything you think of can be found on this new online retail giant. From car parts to baby toys can be found on the exact same page. After a few clicks and searches, the items will start to tailor to your preferences.
Most if not all of Temu’s products are incredibly affordable, which is its standout feature. A computer motherboard is $20, a four-foot plushie is $4 and a computer bag is $1. In fact, anything you can imagine is probably available for less than $30 on Temu. The cheap goods are very appealing to students who don’t have a high amount of income.
Temu sets itself apart from other Chinese websites like Shein, Wish and AliExpress. Customers can purchase almost anything on Temu, whereas Shein can only provide customers with cheap clothing and fast fashion items. However, Temu seems to be a new version of older cheap marketplaces. Lower-quality products, longer shipping times and a shorter item return window are all characteristics of Wish and AliExpress.
Unless there is a blue checkmark next to the product listing, any tech products you order on Temu are not name-brand. Xiaomi and Lenovo are the only tech companies in Temu that have received a blue check. Be careful about products that seem legit; if they are severely underpriced, then they probably are not legit, as some customers claim that their purchases were of lower quality or slightly different from what they had seen online.
For late-arriving packages shipped with standard shipping, Temu offers a $5 credit. For late-arriving express shipping packages, the business will charge you $13. Other times, the items may be timely, of decent or high quality, and identical to how they appear on Temu’s website. Unpredictable product quality is a common feature of products sold in other online stores.
Your order may be eligible for Temu’s Purchase Protection Program if the items you receive don’t match their online description, arrive damaged, or even arrive at all. If you return your items within 90 days of purchase, this program offers a full refund of your money. From my experience, Temu is very buyer-friendly. When I requested a return, they refunded my card and let me keep the item.
The U.S. accused Temu. Google suspended S because it contained malware, warning the government of potential data risks after its sister website, the e-commerce platform Pinduoduo. However, according to CNBC, Temu poses less of a threat, and Chinese users were the target of Pinduoduo’s risks.
Temu has an average rating of two out of five stars and is not recognized by the Better Business Bureau. Items never arrived or, if they did, took weeks or even months to come, according to numerous recent Temu complaints posted on the Better Business Bureau website.
My experience with Temu is a strange one. I typically shop on Amazon and other more established distributors because of their reputation. However, since many of my friends at Millard West began ordering from Temu, I tried it myself. Looking through the site, everything looks like a scam from a glance. The cheap pricing with high-quality photos was a major red flag. After scrolling through the cluttered site, I found a few items and added them to my cart.
The checkout process was easy, it wasn’t as invasive as I thought it would be. They added a few more discounts to the final price. They tried to offer me a $300 coupon for spending more money. This is how they make you spend more money, so I declined. After buying the items, the Temu app would keep on sending me emails and more advertisements. It’s like they were trying to drown me in new deals and product releases.
Temu operates within the de minimis, which permits imports worth less than $800 to enter the United States without having to pay duties, taxes, or fees and undergoing stringent inspection, according to the U.S. House Select Committee. According to the Committee report, Temu can reduce the cost of its goods by avoiding import taxes and S. Customs inspections by using the de minimis provision.
As with all large Chinese companies selling in the United States, there are concerns about data and privacy. Temu does collect personal information like all e-commerce websites like Amazon and Walmart. I care if my data is taken, not who it is taken by. For me, Temu is not very concerning. I would still shop on the marketplace since refunding products is so easy. The price discounts and free items make shopping on this emerging website very appealing. Overall, I would shop here again. I would rate the Temu shopping experience ⅗.
