Temu

"Are its business practices worse than others? Probably, but where do you draw that line? Can you guarantee every part of every product you own was made in a 100 percent ethical fashion? Nope. Does that mean we should all just resign ourselves to dystopia? Also no." - Geoffrey Morrison

Temu

I joined Temu recently out of curiosity more than anything else. Microsoft news items on their launch page includes ads from platforms like Temu. On this occasion Temu heavily promoted golf sets for seniors at an incredible price. A good driver goes for more than what Temu offered for a complete set of clubs and bag. I wanted to look more closely at their offer.

Shock

I assumed signing up would be straightforward and it was. But when you do give them all your data and Temu has gone through the vetting process, you are bombarded with all these free gifts. A spinning wheel you tap on to stop, determines what gifts you can choose on the list. They are free but they come with caveats attached to them. Well, that is my impression of these free gifts. You either must order something extra, that you pay for, or the gifts are just discounted items. I could get this whole thing wrong, but the bombardment, the speed at which the offers come at you, it is difficult to remember what is free, and the extras for which you must pay. The screen itself is full of colourful ads with items that are very appealing, at incredibly reasonable prices. My invoice included 3 free gifts and 3 items I had to pay for.

• 3 free items and 3 other items

  • $417.63

• 3 Items to pay              

  • $110.16

• Savings              

  • $307.47

The free items are for those who sign on with Temu for the first time.

Buy Now Pay Later

I used a buy now, pay later app, to pay 110.16 over 4 installments. The reason I did this was to keep my payment details in one place no matter which retailer, including Temu, I bought my goods from. Minimal installments over 4 periods just makes it easier to purchase high ticket items.

Check Carefully

Friends who had already signed on with Temu, warned to be careful which items you click on to buy. One friend thought she was ordering tea-towels but ended up with small dishcloths. Another thought she was ordering paint brush holders but got pencil holders instead. A parcel arrived with 5 of my items, an extender golf ball retriever, a watch, a pair of Bluetooth earplugs, a Bluetooth projector, and a security camera. The wrapping it came in was about the size of a 30x30cm brown paper bag. The projector was the largest item otherwise all the items were small. 

Shipping

As this was my first order, shipping was free. Temu sources its products from all over the world, but most are from China. Be aware that shipping costs vary, check what they are as shipping costs can make the overall cost of your item less attractive. There is a Temu NZ website, ordering from your local Temu website may reduce the cost of shipping. I will learn on future orders whether this is true or not. Temu will credit you $5.00 if a shipping date is missed. I found Temu kept me informed as to when goods are expected to be shipped. Once shipped, tracking them is straight forward. On the day the courier had them on board, they delivered the same day.

Quality Control and Refunds

Before purchasing the best way to check the quality of items, especially high-ticket items, is to review the comments section from those who have already bought the items. Read Temu’s return policy, it looks credible to me.

As always do your own research with shipping costs and return policy.

My Experience

I found the whole experience fun. I will be ordering more items from them in future. Their goods are like the old Two Dollar stores but with an enormous range and with the same low-cost approach. Using Buy Now Pay Later made all items even more attractive. Of course, be sensible in checking the overall cost when shipping is included and be aware, that “you get what you pay”. 

Barbara & Shirley

Summary Fun