Even if you've never ordered from Temu, you've probably run into their ads a few (if not a few hundred) times already. And not just online either: The Super Bowl 2024 live stream showed off a couple of Temu ads amid the barrage of big-budget Super Bowl commercials. But what exactly is Temu?
As its motto "shop like a billionaire" suggests, Temu (pronounced teh-moo) is an online marketplace where you can find a frankly staggering range of products for extremely low prices. After making its TV advertising debut at last year's Super Bowl, the e-commerce site was back with several more ads during this year's big game back in February that advertised $15 million in coupons and other giveaways. One ad showed an animated shopper dancing her way through bargains on everything from furniture to clothing and kitchen appliances that ranged from 99 cents to $9.99 in price.
The free Temu app routinely ranks among the top apps on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. So far this year, it has racked up 483 million downloads globally, according to Statista. But if you've been holding off on placing an order, you may be wondering whether Temu's schtick sounds too good to be true. With prices this cheap, can you really trust Temu? Well, look no further because here at Tom's Guide we're happy to answer all your Temu-related questions. So let's jump right into it, shall we?
What is Temu?
Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Boston, Temu is owned by Chinese e-commerce giant PDD Holdings, which also owns its sister company Pinduoduo, an online retailer with a focus on agricultural products in China known for selling heavily discounted products straight from manufacturers to low-income buyers.
Temu sells everything from apparel to home goods and electronics at almost suspiciously low prices, including many products priced at $1 or less. The shopping process is all heavily gamified with spinning wheels to click on for a chance at winning more bargains. Temu also routinely runs promotions that make your order cheaper, or even free, if users earn enough credits by convincing others to sign up.
Temu is available on the web at temu.com or you can download it for free on the Android or iOS app stores. If you order from Temu (note that you'll need to have at least $10 worth of items in your cart to check out), most items take about 10 days to reach your doorstep.
You'll often hear people compare Temu to sites like Shein, Wish, and AliExpress, but some important distinctions set Temu apart. For starters, Shein mainly sells clothing items and some home goods, while you can buy just about anything under the sun on Temu. And while Wish and AliExpress have comparable sprawling catalogs, they're known for longer shipping windows and a shorter return window than Temu offers.
Temu's website states that it achieves its low prices by tapping into "parent company PDD Holdings' extensive network of over 11 million suppliers." Of course, as you might expect with such low prices, you get what you pay for. Temu’s primary business model seems to be undercutting competitors like Amazon and Walmart, but while those online retailers try to curb off-brand lookalikes and dubious products to varying degrees of success, Temu feels more like the Wild West by comparison.
Is it safe to buy from Temu?
Yes and no. As a general rule of thumb when it comes to protecting your data, you're better off shopping from the web version than on the app. Additionally, you should never link your bank account or debit card to an online retailer, as that could leave your payment information vulnerable to hackers. Instead, consider opting to use Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, or PayPal.
With those guidelines out of the way, most of the products you see on Temu are real, but any tech products you come across will not be name-brand unless you see a blue checkmark on the product listing. So while tech items on Temu like laptops, smartphones, and tablets are legitimate, just know that they'll be from lesser-known manufacturers.
While not officially accredited by the Better Business Bureau, Temu currently holds an average rating of two-and-a-half out of five stars from 1,700 customer reviews. Many recent complaints claim that orders never arrived or took weeks or even months to reach their door. Some customers have also complained that the items they received seemed lower quality than the product images and listing made them appear.
Temu’s association with sister company Pinduoduo has also prompted scrutiny and privacy concerns, as Pinduoduo came under fire in 2023 for accusations that its app included malware engineered to discover and exploit Android phone vulnerabilities.
Last year, Google suspended several of PDD Holding’s apps, including Pinduoduo, for malware specifically designed to monitor users. Over the summer, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a lawsuit against Temu accusing the company of being "a data-theft business that sells goods online as a means to an end.”
All this to say that, given how little regulation the U.S. has for how companies handle user data, the best way to keep your data safe is to be vigilant about who you choose to give your business. If you sign up for a company's service, you are handing over your data and agreeing to whatever terms their policies outline. What's freely given can not technically be stolen.
Temu's many controversies
Since its launch in 2022, Temu has come under fire for accusations of using forced labor in its supply chain because of its low prices and, unlike Shein and other online retailers, its refusal to publish audits of its manufacturing facilities to ensure they’re not engaging in forced labor or other violations. Its sister company, Pinduoduo, has made the U.S. Trade Representative’s Notorious Markets List, which identifies markets that reportedly engage in or facilitate substantial copyright piracy or trademark counterfeiting, each year for the better part of the last decade.
In May 2023, Temu, along with Shein and other online retailers with a manufacturing presence in China, came under a congressional investigation from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Lawmakers have also accused Temu of violating U.S. import and tariff law, exploiting trade loopholes to avoid paying tariffs or avoid reviews, and failing to abide by the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which imposes importation limits on goods produced using forced labor in China.
A June 2023 report from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party found that: "Temu does not have any system to ensure compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). This all but guarantees that shipments from Temu containing products made with forced labor are entering the United States on a regular basis, in violation of the UFLPA."
Ahead of Super Bowl 2024, several Republican lawmakers sent a letter to the CEO of CBS urging the network not to run Temu's commercials during the Super Bowl.
"The only measure Temu reported that it takes to ensure that it is not shipping goods to Americans that are produced with forced labor in violation of U.S. law was that its suppliers agree to boilerplate terms and conditions that prohibit the use of forced labor," reads a letter signed by Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Mike Braun (R-IN). "Temu also admitted that it 'does not expressly prohibit third-party sellers from selling products based on their origin in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region.'"
What's it like ordering from Temu?
Temu sells everything from avocado slicers to power tools. You won't find many brand names while searching through the site, so you're not going to find cheap iPads or a $300 OLED TV here. Instead, you'll find tons of fashion accessories, apparel, kitchen appliances and everything in between.
My colleague Kate Kozuch had some luck when she spent $50 on Temu for a few random items, like three miniature Pokemon “inspired” building bricks (i.e. LEGO dupes) for less than $3 each, a decorative glass straw for $3.68 and two coffee glasses that rivaled Crate & Barrel quality for $4.99 each. That being said, while the glass straw survived its trip from China intact, one of the coffee glasses arrived as a pile of broken glass. Shipping was surprisingly fast — just eight days — and since some of the items she bought had dropped in price since her initial order, she received a partial refund from Temu to the tune of $2.71. It may not seem like much, but in the world of Temu, a few bucks go far.
Meanwhile, her experience ordering fake Apple products on Temu was a disaster. A $19 smartwatch "inspired" by the Apple Watch Ultra was nothing more than a shoddy attempt, complete with spelling errors and details printed on, including the fake exposed screws. A pair of fake AirPods came with a flimsy case that looked like it would shatter at the first drop. The delivery time was also significantly longer at two weeks.
Overall, Kate felt like most of her Temu purchases fell into the "impulse buy" category, as she ended up realizing she didn't really need a lot of the things she ordered. Since her initial hauls, she's ordered from Temu a few more times, including some scrapbooking tools and decorations for a holiday party that worked out well. That being said, she advises people to steer clear of buying electronics on Temu, as they're often low quality. She also warns that, once you add an item to your cart, the site is aggressive in sending nonstop texts and emails to convince you to go through with your purchase.
In short, when it comes to ordering from Temu, your mileage may vary. And if a price feels too good to be true, it may very well be.
Does Temu offer free shipping or returns?
At the time of this writing, Temu is offering free shipping on returns within 90 days from the date of purchase. If you have already returned items from an order but decide to return additional items from that same order, you can still do so as long as the 90-day window has not expired, but you'll have to fork over a $7.99 shipping fee, which will be deducted from your refund.
Speaking of refunds, you can either receive your refund as a Temu credit balance for future orders or opt to be credited back via your original payment method. Refunds can take between 5-14 business days to be processed.
Certain items are ineligible for return and refund, according to the Temu website. That includes: clothing items that have been worn, washed, or damaged after delivery; clothing items that have had their tags or hygiene sticker removed; items labeled as non-refundable in their Temu marketplace listings; and "some free gift orders."
However, it's worth noting that Temu currently has over 1,000 complaints on the Better Business Bureau website from shoppers who never received their items or received damaged items despite being charged.
