Has anyone bought from Temu?

[graduate_owner]

I keep seeing facebook adverts from a company called Temu, and was wondering if they are genuine. Does anyone have any experience of them?

K

 

[ps.harris80]

Looking at the many on-line reviews they look to be something similar to Wish, if you get your order it probably will not resemble what you thought you were buying or the quality is well below what you were expecting, whatever you get you will WISH you hadn't bothered, just like WISH themselves.

The super low prices quoted should be a dead giveaway as to what the transaction will be like, in the case of TEMU you do quite literally get what you paid for

All the social media platforms are flooded with their shop like a billionaire adverts were because the ASA don't regulat they can claim what they like. Anyone fell for the bogus energy saver that can cut your electricity bills in half but only contains enough electronics to illuminate the green power led and nothing else.

Save your money and stay away from TEMU and WISH and all the adverts you see on YouTube and all social media platforms.

 

[Sachakins]

Recent observation on TEMU by analysts....

Many of these concerns were articulated in an April 2023 USA Today column by cybersecurity writer Kim Komando, which has since been shared widely in the form of copypasta — repeatedly copy-and-pasted text shared without source on social media. That article makes several assertions about the app Temu, advising users to delete the app immediately. These assertions include:

Prices are low because the goods are cheap.
The pictures of what you see advertised may not be what you actually get.
Temu is a Communist China-based app and site.
As you shop, Temu monitors your activity on other apps, tracks your notifications and location and changes settings.
Temu gains full access to all your contacts, calendars and photo albums, plus all your social media accounts, chats and texts. In other words, literally everything on your phone.

That last bit is enough to put me off it.
Just ask yourself why it needs that level of access just to sell cheap tat ☠☠☠

 

[mwinfrance]

Just ask yourself why it needs that level of access just to sell cheap tat

Just ask yourself why any app needs that level of access..many apps insist on access that they do not need.

Just because you delete an app, doesn't necessarily mean it is gone.It can still be there hidden.Unless you remove it in developer mode with the phone physically connected to a computer and running the appropriate developer software. Or you are already running as "root".
In the case of idevices ..all bets are off.

Temu is a Communist China-based app and site.

From the same country that your phone was made in...was outsourcing so much manufacturing to them, so that the C-suite and shareholders get rich, such a good idea.

 

[Sachakins]

Just ask yourself why any app needs that level of access..many apps insist on access that they do not need.

Just because you delete an app, doesn't necessarily mean it is gone.It can still be there hidden.Unless you remove it in developer mode with the phone physically connected to a computer and running the appropriate developer software. Or you are already running as "root".
In the case of idevices ..all bets are off.

From the same country that your phone was made in...was outsourcing so much manufacturing to them, so that the C-suite and shareholders get rich, such a good idea.

Not so, Samsung Galaxies are NOT made in China.

 

[mwinfrance]

Not so, Samsung Galaxies are NOT made in China.

Indeed..NOW they are not..but Samsung made phones in PRC up to 2019
https://www.androidauthority.com/where-are-samsung-phones-made-3251712/( lot of old Samsungs still about )
My point concerning apps permissions and access and dificulty of removing them, still stands however..even for Samsungs made since 2019. App writers insist on far more permissions than they need for their apps to do what they say they do. Apps are far harder to remove than many think.Then there is bloatware..both manufacturer and carrier bloatware.Samsung load their phones with bloatware, before you buy one, out of the box they have all kinds of things installed which you may well not want, and which are impossible for the average user to remove ( they are not the only ones, but one of the worst ) and their OS is very far from "stock android"..much of what a Samsung phone comes loaded with ( apps and bloat ) is not possible to remove unless the phone is rooted and or running in dev mode. Again many other companies do this too. But Samsung phones are particularly hard to "clean".idevices are obviously worse.

Basically when installing any app, ( read all the T&Cs , permissions rerquired , access etc ) and then ask yourself , does the app need this..and can you be confident that it can be removed totally if you want to after installation. It is not just apps written in the PRC that you need to be wary of.

 

[DavidConnelly]

I keep seeing facebook adverts from a company called Temu, and was wondering if they are genuine. Does anyone have any experience of them?

K

I bought a set of router bits from Temu to try the site out. I've bought from "Wish" and the app "Geek" for many years. To date most of the items have been as good as the cash you pay for them. Some have been poor but some have been excellent. I've had my money back within a few days for anything I've had an issue with.
The "Temu" router bits have been ok. Just as good as the parkside equivalent. I can't afford very expensive tools, so these shops fill a need at this end of the market.

I like to use old second hand tools where I can. And have refurbished my dad's hand tools.

I've bought tools on eBay, the adverts in which stated UK based, but the majority come from China and Korea.

Re the phones.
I'm sure that in 2022 Samsung made the Majority of their phones in Korea.

Very few things are made in the UK or the USA these days. Those which are, are usually good quality but expensive. I have a couple of expensive tools but unless I get a lottery win, I generally can't do anything else

Some of the bigger brands for instance DeWalt manufacture their tools in the following countries: United States, Mexico, Brazil, China, Italy, United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic.

personally, if I could afford it, I would buy from local manufacturers to support the local economy.

Currently I have a lot of Evolution Power tools and a few Lumberjack powertools. My preferred battery system is DeWalt as it was my initial choice of drill and I now have to stick with it or change everything.

Re personal info.
To date, I work on the assumption that all apps gather all the information that they can. You agree to this when you download the apps. I believe that they then use the info to sell my details and target me with ads. Facebook, Google and most of the other websites do the same. I accept this and use them back. I've made over £200 using Google opinion rewards over the last year.

sorry this dragged on a bit but there have been quite a few interesting points made in the thread and I wanted to chat about them

 

[graduate_owner]

Thanks everyone, and I have decided to give them a wide berth.

K

 

[ps.harris80]

A decision I doubt you will regret

 

[artie]

I had my first experience with Temu.

I ordered some T track bolts and knobs for a ridiculous price, I thought it was worth a punt.

They gave me a delivery date and the promise that, if it was delivered late I would immediately receive a £5 voucher.

Package arrived yesterday only the T track no bolts or knobs.

I got on to them right away, they couldn't have been more helpful, immediately refunded the purchase price and told me to keep the track.

I went back online last night to order the bolts and knobs separately and I must admit I saw so much stuff for so little money, I got a bit carried away.

We'll see how this order goes, they say it's been dispatched already.

BTW the T track was quite good quality.

 

[Bingy man]

I’ve not purchased anything from Temu, my neighbour swears by Ali express. I have however purchased several tools ( red ) from Banggood and I’ve been very impressed to say the least, several squares, t squares and the parallel guide system - a copy of the woodpeckers and at £70 delivered compared to £540 for the woodpeckers I’m impressed- Can’t see. much difference apart from the name ..

 

[TheUnicorn]

have a friend who bought from temu, sold on the promise of a £100 voucher with the first order, when it came it was a pack of coupons that totalled a £100 when you spent £shedloads.

just common sense as far as I'm concerned, seems too good to be true? not true!

 

[XTiffy]

I have bought from Temu, several times over the past few months. It does take a lot of wading through the products but generally the products are as described. I would say that sometimes clever photography makes items look bigger than they are, so check sizes carefully. The only downside compared to Amazon is delivery takes a week to ten days. To be honest I have only bought items that I felt I could bear the loss if they were not good. I did once get the £5 credit for longer than 10 days (only a couple of days late) but usually around eight days.

 

[robgul]

I've bought stuff from Aliesxpress, Banggood & Temu - the first two are fine and straightforward - Temu has a lot of bait and switch stuff where you see the item at a crazy price, add it to your basket and find that it's only part of the product and the thing originally pictured is way moe money. That said if you have your wits about you then there are what are quite good products at keen prices. I have an order in progress at the moment with the usual delivery date or £5 deal (although I reckon the fiver would be a voucher!)

Proper DIY on YouTube has just done a video on Temu with a few products - one being a min-chainsaw attachment for a drill!! - worth a look to frighten yourself.

 

[XTiffy]

robgul, I agree keep your wits about you. I have just once had the £5 credit, which as you would expect is off your next order, all other deliveries have been on time.

 

[Stigmorgan]

A few of the turners I follow on YouTube have done Temu reviews and they all seem relatively happy with the products received.

 

[Jester129]

It's 90% junk. @XTiffy is right, watch what you're actually buying, it changes price for the whole item and the price advertised is for the smallest/cheapest item.

 

[XTiffy]

Jester129, though I believe you must check carefully, my experience is the opposite ie. 90% good! I have many National health dressings on prescription which are clearly marked "Made in China". I have also bought dressings through Temu, which are identical. I suspect that the NHS pays much more. I have bought small electronic items from Temu without problems. I also use Amazon but apart from rapid delivery the items all seem to come from China too. Amazon are also quite neaky in signing you up to Amazon Prime, my wife has just discovered that she was paying £8.99 per month for Amazon Prime and wasn't aware that she had agreed, they refunded her but it is a horrible business practice. So Buyer Beware across all buying platforms!

 

[stuart little]

I've bought stuff from Aliesxpress, Banggood & Temu - the first two are fine and straightforward - Temu has a lot of bait and switch stuff where you see the item at a crazy price, add it to your basket and find that it's only part of the product and the thing originally pictured is way moe money. That said if you have your wits about you then there are what are quite good products at keen prices. I have an order in progress at the moment with the usual delivery date or £5 deal (although I reckon the fiver would be a voucher!)

Proper DIY on YouTube has just done a video on Temu with a few products - one being a min-chainsaw attachment for a drill!! - worth a look to frighten yourself.

Some of the electrickery bits look VERY dodgy to me!

 

[stuart little]

Jester129, though I believe you must check carefully, my experience is the opposite ie. 90% good! I have many National health dressings on prescription which are clearly marked "Made in China". I have also bought dressings through Temu, which are identical. I suspect that the NHS pays much more. I have bought small electronic items from Temu without problems. I also use Amazon but apart from rapid delivery the items all seem to come from China too. Amazon are also quite neaky in signing you up to Amazon Prime, my wife has just discovered that she was paying £8.99 per month for Amazon Prime and wasn't aware that she had agreed, they refunded her but it is a horrible business practice. So Buyer Beware across all buying platforms!

I've had the same experience 'up that crazy river'.