What Is Temu? Read Before You 'Shop Like a Billionaire' (2024)

FAQs

Is it safe to buy from Temu? ›

Temu is a legitimate company and a functioning e-commerce site, but it lacks accreditation from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which is the standard for major retailers. Many of the tech items being sold on the site look like those manufactured by major companies like Dell or HP, but they're not authentic.

Temu's parent company is PDD Holdings, a multinational commerce group headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. PDD Holdings owns Temu and its sister company, Pinduoduo. It isn't easy to pinpoint Temu's exact origins. In a February 2023 SEC 6-K filing, Pinduoduo changed its name to PDD Holdings in a special resolution.

Temu is able to offer products at such low prices due to a few reasons. Firstly, they source their products directly from manufacturers in China, cutting out the middleman and reducing costs. Secondly, they do not spend money on branding or marketing, as their products are unbranded.

Temu (/ˈtiːmuː/ TEE-moo) is an online marketplace operated by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings. It offers heavily discounted consumer goods which are mostly shipped to consumers directly from China.

The lawsuit, which describes the application as 'dangerous malware', claims Temu can collect a lot of data from the devices it's installed on, and points to the risks of providing information to a Chinese company.

The top prosecutor in Arkansas warned on July 2 that Americans should be wary of using the Temu marketplace app because it's effectively a “data theft business.”

Across the internet, there have been widespread claims of the app collecting user data. In addition, due to concern over data privacy, Temu faced a class action lawsuit filed in September 2023. The lawsuit claims Temu collects private data using “deceptive” and “unscrupulous” methods.

The Third Party Code of Conduct mandates that anyone doing business with Temu must strictly comply with all regulatory standards and compliance requirements." "The use of forced, penal, or child labor is strictly prohibited.

Temu has also been criticized for privacy concerns, which allows the app to collect a wide range of data about users, including their location, browsing history, and purchase habits.

This is the third class action lawsuit filed against the fast fashion giant. The first class action lawsuit, filed in September 2023, claimed that Temu failed to secure customers' personal and financial data.

Is Temu like Amazon? ›

Since Temu isn't like Amazon or Etsy – in other words, it's not an e-commerce-seller-friendly marketplace – we're going to look at it from the consumer's viewpoint. Here's what the Temu homepage looks like. As you can see, there's a huge emphasis on low pricing. Everything is (supposedly) majorly marked down.

Though Shein has kept a check on the sellers, multiple issues have still been reported with clothes made of cheap fabric or polyester. Still, based on the reviews, Shein offers better quality at affordable pricing compared to Temu. The latter has claimed to offer dupes and knock-off products, too.

Temu is a legitimate marketplace owned and run by PDD Holdings. The company offers low prices since they (mostly) ship the products directly from China. On Trustpilot, Temu has a 3.3-star rating. Some users have complained about late deliveries, items arriving broken or missing, and delays in getting refunds.

Knowing this, there is a strong likelihood that the clothing sold by Temu — which is manufactured in China — is indeed made via forced labor.

Similar to Amazon's marketplace model, Temu charges merchants a commission on each sale made through its platform. This commission serves as a primary source of revenue for Temu, allowing it to generate income from the transactions facilitated on its platform.

Based on the security measures implemented by Temu, including HTTPS encryption, reputable payment processors, and a Purchase Protection Program, it can be considered relatively safe to use your credit card on the platform.

Where Does Temu Ship from? Most of the products you see on Temu are directly shipped from Chinese suppliers and factories, while some can be shipped within the US. Some third-party suppliers have set up warehouses to facilitate the timely shipping of many products.