If you’ve hesitated to place an order, it may be because you’re unsure if the items are real, how long they take to get to your door, and whether they’re good quality. After all, how good can a $1 handbag even be? Well, look no further because this article addresses all the questions you might have about Temu. Let’s get into it.
Some people compare Temu to sites like Shein, Wish, and AliExpress, but Temu is a little different. Shein primarily focuses on fashion and clothing items, while customers can buy almost anything on Temu. Wish and AliExpress are known for having lower-quality items, longer shipping times, and a shorter item return window.
Temu launched in late 2022 and quickly rose to the top spot in the App Store and Play Store’s shopping categories. People found out about Temu from ads and were attracted to the site’s low prices.
Buying items from Temu follows the same formula as buying from any e-commerce site. You find things you like, add them to your cart, then check out.
However, there is one caveat before you purchase your items: you must have at least $10 worth of items in your cart before you can check out. Temu says the $10 minimum is to cover shipping fees for users who want free shipping.
If your items arrive late, Temu offers a $5 credit for packages purchased with standard shipping. The company will credit you $13 for packages purchased with express shipping that arrive late.
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In other cases, the items can arrive on time, can be decent or good quality, and can be exactly how they look on Temu’s website. Product quality can be unpredictable, which is not so different from offerings on other online stores.
If you receive your items and they don’t look like their online listing, or they arrive damaged, or they don’t arrive at all, your order is eligible for Temu’s Purchase Protection Program. This program guarantees your money back with a full refund if you return your items within 90 days of purchase.
Item prices on Temu are constantly fluctuating. If you buy an item and it decreases in price after your purchase, you can request a price adjustment. After you request a price adjustment, the difference will be available on your account as a Temu credit within minutes.
The answer to this question is a personal one. At ZDNET, we’ve only tested tech-related items from Temu. One of ZDNET’s contributing experts, David Gewirtz, bought a handheld gaming console that claimed to have 27,000 retro games installed on it.
However, upon using the console, David found that none of the games were actually downloaded, and the product listing was misleading.
Also: I tried to return something to Temu. Here’s what happened
I’ve tested a pair of earbuds and headphones and a wireless keyboard and mouse from Temu, and they all worked as expected. Of course, they were of lower quality, and you could surely find better quality tech items elsewhere.
However, I’ve purchased many AirPods cases and iPhone cases from Temu and have been pleasantly surprised. The cases are usually of great quality in color, fit, and durability.
So, the best advice we can give you is to stay away from electronics and big-ticket items and go for accessories and little gadgets.
According to Retail Insider, Temu’s reverse-manufacturing model helps the company decrease waste by more accurately gauging customers’ desired products.
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Temu’s Third Party Code of Conduct stresses that the company has a zero-tolerance policy for vendors that use forced labor to manufacture products. All Temu vendors must comply with local wage and hour laws, and their working conditions must be safe and non-abusive.
However, the US House Select Committee’s report states that Temu does not have an auditing or compliance program to ensure sellers remain in compliance with its Code of Conduct.
If you’re wondering if Temu is environmentally ethical, that’s a trickier topic. Sites like Temu, Shein, and AliExpress say they’re committed to environmental sustainability by digitalizing the economy, cutting supply chain waste, and offsetting carbon emissions.
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But many of these companies also distribute products containing harmful chemicals that eventually end up in landfills. These companies also claim to offset their emissions by purchasing carbon credits to fund sustainability initiatives. But how, when, and where these carbon credits help the environment is unclear.
Additionally, the US House Select Committee’s report says that Temu does not properly ensure its products are not the result of forced labor. It’s illegal to sell items in the US that come from China’s Xinjiang region.
China’s Xinjiang region has a convoluted and violent history between the Chinese government and the Uyghur people. It is common for items manufactured in this region to be the product of forced labor.
All e-commerce apps collect data when you create an account and visit the app’s home page. This data can range from your precise physical location, address, and device ID, and onto your search history, payment information, and contacts.
Some apps use this data to track you across apps and websites, to understand performance, and to target you with ads.
Some of this data is linked to your identity, and some isn’t — the connection depends on the app you’re using. In recent years, people have been increasingly concerned about how their data is being stored, and are wary specifically of data storage by Chinese-based apps.
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According to Temu’s privacy policy, the company does not “sell” your data — for money, at least. But Temu does share your information with shipping affiliates, marketing providers, and consumer research companies, which in turn, makes Temu money.
Temu also “shares” your data with third-party advertising, marketing, and analytics companies to target you with ads. Temu acknowledges in its privacy policy that this transfer of data can be considered “selling” your data under applicable laws.
Although concerns about sharing your data with Temu might be valid, it’s important to remember that apps can and do collect and store your data with few limits, as US citizens’ user data is not federally protected under a singular law. As a result, data collection remains unregulated in most states.
Because American user data remains federally unregulated, Temu might access your credit history, Walmart might collect your biometric information (fingerprints, face geometry, and retina imagery), and Amazon might collect your voice recordings when you speak to Alexa.
As Americans’ user data is not wholly protected, it’s up to the individual to decide how much of their data they want to relinquish — and which platforms they want to give it to.
Remember, when you sign up for an account for any platform, you are agreeing to the company’s privacy policy. So, Temu is not “stealing” your data if you willingly sign up and purchase items.
Bottom line: if you don’t consent to this kind of data collection, stay away from Temu.
