Temu is a new e-commerce shopping site that you would have probably never heard of. They provide premium goods at really competitive prices and their store now has thousands of products from manufacturers situated around the world.
I’ve used them a couple of times over the last month and at first I was really surprised to find such high quality branded products being sold at throwaway prices, but when my orders came through I was quite pleased with the fact that I got everything that was as shown in the pictures.
Now you must be wondering, if Temu is so new in the market and not many people are talking about the brand, then is Temu legit?
Truth be told, yes, Temu is a legit company that offers amazing deals on a wide range of categories. Products are sourced directly from manufacturers around the world and their low prices can be attributed to the exclusion of middlemen.
I’ll give you an account of my experience with Temu and let you know if it's safe to buy from this new Chinese mega brand.
Is Temu Legit or a Scam?
Temu can be considered legitimate in terms of delivering products, but there are certain factors to consider regarding its safety and overall experience.
While most of the products available on Temu are real and will eventually reach you, it's important to note that there can be significant delays in delivery, sometimes taking weeks.
Also, the products you receive might not exactly match their appearance on the website or meet your expected quality standards.
Temu does offer some compensation for late deliveries. For packages purchased with standard shipping that arrive late, Temu provides a $5 credit, while packages purchased with express shipping that are delayed can result in a $13 credit.
Temu has implemented a Purchase Protection Program to address issues such as receiving items that don't match their online listing, damaged goods, or items that don't arrive at all. Under this program, you are eligible for a full refund if you return the items within 90 days of purchase.
Its sister site, Pinduoduo, also recently faced accusations of potential data risks and was suspended by Google for containing malware.
Considering these factors, it's advisable to exercise caution when using Temu. While the platform can deliver genuine products, there can be delays, discrepancies in product appearance and quality, and potential safety concerns.
What is Temu?
Temu is an online marketplace that operates within North America and Costa Rica. They are operated by WhaleCo Inc., a subsidiary of a Chinese e-commerce company called “Pinduoduo”, which is currently one of the largest ecommerce platforms in the world.
Pinduoduo was founded back in 2015 and was in a race with Alibaba for the last 10 years to dominate the market. They managed to surpass Alibaba and attained the title of the company with the most e-commerce customers in China by 2020, clocking in at over 730 million users.
They are currently a part of the Nasdaq-listed PDD e-commerce ecosystem that serves over 900 million customers worldwide and Temu has successfully been able to tap into this supply chain thereby allowing manufacturers to reach a wider audience through their platform.
At a press conference, a spokesperson for Temu said, “At Temu, our goal is to empower consumers with access to great products at great prices so that more people can enjoy the conveniences and comforts of life. With PDD’s international supplier plan, Temu’s consumers will benefit from even more choices of quality products by some of the world’s top manufacturers.”
Temu launched their services in North America this September and by October 17th the app was rated the most downloaded shopping app in the U.S.
Is Temu Legit and Safe to Use?
From what I can tell, yes, Temu is completely legit and safe to use. Their website and app are secure and the payment gateways they use have an SSL certificate with numerous payment modes available such as Apple Pay, PayPal, Google Pay, and credit card networks like Visa and MasterCard.
They even have a data policy that states, “Temu does not store any payment information provided by its users during checkout.” which basically means that their app will not store payment information, but it will collect and store user data to help improve the site and app’s services and interface.
Other than that, if you’re wondering about the quality of products and why their prices are so low, then that’s quite simple, the products listed on their platform are sourced directly from manufacturers and there are no middlemen involved thereby minimizing the end cost of the product.
They don’t have warehouses in different countries like Shein or Amazon do, but Temu does ship to North America in under 4 weeks.
Some orders have been fulfilled in under a week, but that depends on where the product is coming from and how long it would take to be shipped from the source country.
Click Here for Exclusive Offers on Temu
Does Temu Sell Good Quality Products
Well, surprisingly most of the products sold on Temu are decent and are made from high quality materials.
In fact, Temu is actually taking on brands like AliExpress, Wish, and Shein and dominating the market with their high quality products at throwaway prices.
But not everything that’s available on Temu will be of the same quality materials and this solely depends on the sellers you buy from.
So to ensure you’re getting your money’s worth, it’s always a good idea to cross check the reviews of individual products and see if previous buyers have had a negative experience with the seller or the product.
If something new has been added to their store, you can play it safe by purchasing the product and then make use of the 90-day refund policy to have your money returned if the quality is not up to the mark.
Does Temu Have a Refund/Returns Policy?
Apart from being safe to use and having loads of products to choose from, I found Temu to also have an amazing buyer-friendly refund/returns policy where refunds and returns are offered on nearly every single item bought on Temu, with a few exceptions like gifts or damaged goods.
Unlike other websites that offer a limited 30-day refund policy, Temu has an impressive 90-day period within which you can claim a refund or return if you do not like your order.
Returns are processed via the app/website and there's a shipping fee involved if Temu’s return shipping label is utilized.
Once the package is returned, the amount for the shipping label ($7.99) will be deducted from the overall refund amount.
These refunds can take up to 30-days to be processed back into the account depending on the mode of payment selected and which payment gateway was used.
What is the Temu Purchase Protection Program?
Another thing that I personally liked about Temu is that it comes with a purchase protection program that lets buyers raise tickets for damaged or lost orders and if the complaint is legitimate then Temu will have the refund processed for the order.
There are a couple of things to know about their purchase protection program though. For example, to be eligible for purchase protection the order must either not match the description or photo, should be damaged upon arrival or was lost in the mail.
If you’re facing any of these issues then I'd suggest taking advantage of the program and start by reaching out to the seller.
Once you’ve contacted the seller you can open a case for Temu to review and once the Temu customer support team has successfully reviewed the case they will process a refund for the order value.
Again, refunds will take around 30-days to reflect back in the account depending on the mode of payment selected and you will receive an email confirmation once the case has been closed.
Click Here for Exclusive Offers on Temu
Is Temu Customer Support Good?
Though I did not face any issue with any of my orders so far, I did find the Temu 24/7 support line to be quite helpful and I was able to chat with their customer service team to clarify pre-sale and post-sale queries.
They have a real-time chat option that can be accessed either on the website or via the app as well as there’s a 1-800 contact number to reach out to a representative from Temu.
From my experience, the chat is the fastest way to go and queries are generally resolved real-time, also Temu accepts picture and document attachments that can help speed up the complaint process.
Getting in touch with their support team via the phone can be a tad disappointing because of the prolonged wait time, but thanks to the fact that they have a local number for a California hotline, it makes it easier than having to wait on an international call and pay for that wait time.
Is Temu a Trusted Store?
As of writing this, Temu is a verified company with positive ratings across the board.
It has an Average rating of 3.3 on TrustPilot, but their scores on Google Play Store and the Apple App Store are through the roof with 4.8 and 4.4 stars respectively.
In fact a majority of the reviews commend the cheap prices, free shipping and timely delivery, not to forget the decent customer support and the number of deals and offers that are run frequently.
Pros and Cons of using Temu
| Pros | Cons |
| Cheap and affordable products | Long delivery times due to overseas shipping |
| High quality goods sourced directly from manufacturers | Some products are not as good as the others, you have to check the reviews of all products before buying |
| Frequent deals and discounts | First step to raise a complaint is to contact the manufacturer |
| Free shipping | |
| Secure website and checkout page | |
| Valid refund/returns policy | |
| Has a decent buyer protection policy | |
| Fast customer service response |
Is Temu Blocked in the State of Montana?
Yes, but only on government-operated devices. On May 17th, Montana governor Greg Gianforte made the decision to ban several apps, including Temu, from government devices and all state business. The governor accused Temu, along with Telegram and WeChat, of being "tied to foreign adversaries." This policy is set to take effect on June 1st. As a result, the use of Temu will be restricted on government devices in the state of Montana.
Takeaway
Well there you have it, Temu is a legit platform with a reasonably good rating and loads of quality products to choose from at discounted prices.
Since they are still new in the American market, it is a good idea that you maintain caution while shopping on their platform and to read through buyer reviews to get an understanding of what to buy and what to avoid.
