Does anyone use Temu?

[Brother D]

I keep getting the ads pop up and see references on Twitter, but I don't know anyone who personally uses it...

Is it a "better" version of Alibaba (which I had one good and one negative experience so stopped using it)....

[TwigtheWonderkid]

I use it for cheap bits and bobs. About 20% of stuff is terrible but as it's often 90% cheaper than the proper alternative it's a thumbs up from me.

Best buy, there's a particular Citizen divers' watch I've liked for years, black rubber strap, orange dial, that's about £500. I don't go diving and no way I'd ever buy it. Then a replica by a firm called Senda appeared on Temu for £12. Bought it and it's brilliant. Heavy, well constructed, water proof in the sea and swimming pool, nice luminous hands. It's not the quality of the original for sure, but £12. I've worn it every day for the last 6 months.

Other good stuff, a Y shaped hose connector to add 2 hoses off the 1 outside tap, a particular style of shower hose for the bathroom I wanted, a nice beanie hat, bike lights.

Worst buy. a chain cleaner for my bike, for £1.98. Disintegrated on 1st use.

I browse Temu quite often and add bits and bobs to the basket. Then checkout about once a month, normally with about 10 things for £20.

[.:ian:.]

Stick with aliexpress, I've bought loads of stuff from there and never had a problem.

Picked a watch at random on temu, with a "brand name" and found the same on aliexpress

https://www.temu.com/uk/1pc-by--watch-for-men-chro...

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005961562377.h...

£11 ex vat and with free 5 day shipping on aliexpress

£33 on temu

Also despite never using temu or installing the app they somehow got my mobile number and added me to a WhatsApp group!

[Spare tyre]

I have, some stuff is good but lots is balls

I am slowly beginning to learn it’s a false economy

[22]

Daughter (random tat, hair & make-up stuff, cheapy bracelets etc) and wife (crafting supplies) use it maybe every other month. Perhaps a spend of £30 but usually a great big bag of bits and bobs. Tracked well, shipped quickly. Some little trinket arrived broken and some stuff is absolute guff, but it's so cheap it doesn't really matter. Although AliExpress/baba would replace/refund if items didn't arrive, it was happening way too much (& I think they relied on everyone forgetting as was throwaway spends).

My daughter really looks forward to receiving her parcels. It's one of the fastest growing websites.

[DonkeyApple]

Brother D said:

I keep getting the ads pop up and see references on Twitter, but I don't know anyone who personally uses it...

Is it a "better" version of Alibaba (which I had one good and one negative experience so stopped using it)....

It's as bent as the mass US businesses, probably more so as I suspect it is able to pay even less lip service to any legal requirements and can get away with saying more that isn't true.

They'll be harvesting as much data as they can, selling it on to as many entities as they can and at some point will probably permit a massive leak of property sensitive data.

As such, I would think that if one was going to entertain sending them some money then I'd do so via the web using 'incognito' mode, use one's secondary PayPal account and as many secondary details as possible, such as email.

Like the other retailers I wouldn't download the app, store cookies, let them have a proper email address or any kind of bank details.

Then I'd brace myself for half the goods to be duff or dangerous.

Using these businesses is akin to walking down a very ropey street at night, some folk are smart and keep their eyes and ears open and their valuables off show, most are thick as pig jizz and just skip merrily down the lane flashing all their valuables safe in the knowledge that all can be made better with a compo face.

[Timothy Bucktu]

I've had a look, but Aliexpress is still my main go to for cheaper electronics and random stuff. Their 'free' 5 day delivery offering is pretty amazing. Never had any problems. Returns are free to a UK address too.


Yes, I'm aware we still subsidise their postal system which is nuts!

[zalrak]

I've never used it but i did hear an article on Radio 4 describing how aggressive the app is in scalping your data.

I think this is the link to it:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001r7jb

[fat80b]

I haven’t used it.

The adverts on Facebook etc are enough for me to see that it’s just dodgy Chinese rubbish that I have no place for in my life.

In a tiny stand, I’ve decided that the correct thing to do is not to give this company any of my money…

[President Merkin]

Hard & fast rule of life: You get what you pay for.

[Spare tyre]

President Merkin said:

Hard & fast rule of life: You get what you pay for.

Yup, I purchased a snazzy little double jaw carabiner thing as I have lots of sets of keys for different stuff, roof box, bikes,m gates, trailers etc etc

The idea was I could quickly clip what I needed together at the start of the day and not have to hunt around etc

At the first stop I discovered that the carabiner had failed and the keys were in the boot of another car, hours pissed up the wall

I am learning, albeit slowly

[TheJimi]

Never used Temu, but my impression is that it's all cheap Chinese ste. Reading the commentary here, looks like I'm largely spot on with that.

[DonkeyApple]

zalrak said:

I've never used it but i did hear an article on Radio 4 describing how aggressive the app is in scalping your data.

I think this is the link to it:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001r7jb

Whether the app has changed, I don't know, but the version last year for Android was created in such a way as to apply banned data collecting features post installation. Not an area I have any great understanding of and someone else will be far better placed to explain but the suggestion was that the app finished building itself after installing and that it subsequently contained the ability to collect and pass on far more data than was permissible.

Of course, given the incumbent businesses they threaten there is a fair chance of much being propaganda but just sticking to the basic rules that accent that none of these businesses comply to any law unless threatened and bullied to do so means as the end consumer we should always takes sensible steps to safeguard against them.

[Notsofastfrank]

Used Temu for a few things. Mostly you get what you pay for. Ordered a hoody which was ok but will probably last about 6 months. An exception has been a dog bed and a lead, both of which were indistinguishable from those being sold by Pets at Home for 4 times the price. To offset that, we have tried a few pet toys which the angelic devil dog has shredded within a day, or we have taken away before she swallowed disintegrating pieces.

[TheInternet]

Looks like a lot of rubbish you don't need shipped halfway round the world to go into landfill.

[ScoobyChris]

Other half uses it all the time and has been since it first started. As mentioned, it can be hit and miss (quality and clothes sizes) but she still thinks it's more hit than miss. Anything you're not happy with is refunded without fuss and there is a reasonable price threshold before they ask for items to be sent back. Shipping times seem to be reducing too.

Chris

[Castrol for a knave]

Shein and Temu are cheap, because that labour does not force itself.


https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/temu-faces-problem...

https://apnews.com/article/temu-shein-forced-labor...

[sjg]

President Merkin said:

Hard & fast rule of life: You get what you pay for.

Up to a point, but there’s a lot of local online and even retail shops selling the same Chinese tat just with a big markup.

The stuff I’ve had from Temu, Aliexpress and Banggood have been fine but I steer clear of the far-too-cheap nonsense.

[Riley Blue]

I ordered some car cleaning odds and ends and an endoscope camera, total no more than £20 and the camera has turned out to be one of the best value gadgets I've ever bought.

I bought it to inspect the wiring behind the dash in my Riley where there was a fault somewhere. Using the camera's LED illumination I was able to spot an 'iffy' connection, taking a photo of it on my phone and it was soon fixed. The camera cost less than £8 though I haven't got around to using the other stuff yet.

Buyer beware and all that but I've no complaints.

[untakenname]

Used Temi last year to buy a few cheap USB cables but then uninstalled the app once light was shed on the insidious ways the site exploits the supply chain.

Anyone using the app can't really take the high ground with any other immoral activities such as trafficking or human slavery.

Temu are losing billions per year trying to get a foothold in the west, similar to how Wish.com attempted a few years back.

The fact that companies like that can send relatively large items for far less than the price of postage from a UK company to the same domestic address show's just how broken the system is when it comes to post from China, they exploit a loophole by the UN which forces the west to accept post for under cost price and subsidise the difference.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Postal_U...

This article is over a decade old but nothing has changed and China still has the same developing country status they had half a century ago which was what the subsidies were originally designed for.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2...