How Do Companies Like Temu Still Exist?

[Deactivated] on 22/01/2024 - 21:06

How do companies like Temu or other scam shopping websites maintain their domains and sponsorships even with existing information backing allegations that they don't provide what they claim to sell or just downright take money from people's accounts? I've seen people who use vpns, adblockers and privacy screens who somehow still decide to buy from Temu, for example. Don't governments have any legislation against them? It would really suck if there's nothing to ban them off of advertising their services.

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Comments

  • brendanm on 22/01/2024 - 21:10
    +26

    They are based in China, what power do we have over them? People have the choice not to buy from them.

  • Hybroid on 22/01/2024 - 21:11
    +14

    You may want to elaborate further on your thoughts and reasoning.

    Temu is a marketplace offering cheap Chinese products with cheap/free postage by leveraging status within the Universal Postal Union. You pay for crap, you get crap.

    They do have plenty scummy tactics like whipping people in a frenzy over referral links and getting 'freebies', but that says more about the desperation of people than the company.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/01/2024 - 23:17

      I thought there were documents of a court case involving Temu and data being sold to third party companies that wasn't in the terms and conditions of Temu's use. You make a good point though

      • this is us on 22/01/2024 - 23:21
        +7

        Like every other company?

        • [Deactivated] on 22/01/2024 - 23:21

          Trueee

    • HeWhoKnows on 23/01/2024 - 08:05
      +10

      Personally I havent had a problem with Temu

      Yes some products are cheap and nasty but others are quite satisfactory indeed
      No different to AliExpress or eBay (items sent from China).
      Yes they have a very high level of customer engagement.
      But Ali has gone that way as well.
      Really its no differnt to walking through a retail store with SPECIAL signs everywhere in your face
      And their tracking updates and delivery speed is second to none.

      Just need to manage "Communications" options properly

      • LFO on 23/01/2024 - 11:38
        +1

        Personally I havent had a problem with Temu

        I did try to buy a Boonie hat via web browser.
        Excellent pricing and photos "showed" good quality.
        But couldn't get further than clicking OK.
        Couldn't pay. Couldn't register. Nothing.

        Do I need a dreaded App to buy?
        What did I do wrong?

      • rossnroller on 24/01/2024 - 13:46

        Well reasoned summing up. My experience with Temu has been excellent. Items cheap as hell and fine for what they are (a silicon tamping mat and a $7 WDT for home espresso making - both fantastic!). Depends what you buy, but I wouldn't hesitate to purchase these sorts of items from Temu.

  • AustriaBargain on 22/01/2024 - 21:17
    +3

    They sell cheap stuff. That will always be popular.

  • altomic on 22/01/2024 - 21:18
    +19

    How is temu a scam site?

    I've only ever received what I've ordered.

    I've had some banger deals/products.

    • Mechz on 22/01/2024 - 21:23
      -6

      Only from the perspective that people like buying future landfill in order to be entertained for a few hours.

      • AustriaBargain on 23/01/2024 - 02:06
        +9

        Sir, this is a bargain site.

        • Sinnerator on 23/01/2024 - 08:28

          correct, NOT A LANDFILL SITE

      • Flying Ace on 23/01/2024 - 08:51
        +6

        Dude you're on a bargain site where people get whipped into a frenzy over free stickers that probably all went into landfill - and you're complaining about people buying things they want or need?

        • Clear on 23/01/2024 - 09:13
          +1

          Moved house the other day and found my Stickermule stickers from 2014 unopened. They nearly went to landfill.

  • CyberMurning on 22/01/2024 - 21:25
    +2

    Yeah they were cheaper than Ali and faster delivery. It's all legit

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 22/01/2024 - 21:28
    +4

    Do they sell cheaply made flags?

    • DashCam AKA Rolts on 22/01/2024 - 23:09
      +2

      Only through Coles apparently.

      • try2bhelpful on 22/01/2024 - 23:19
        +3

        Who label it “Summer” not Australia Day.

  • kerfuffle on 22/01/2024 - 21:36
    +43

    Bit rich to call out scammers

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 22/01/2024 - 21:39
      +3

      As I sip on my 8th coffee of the day and enjoy a dart or three, all I can say reading that thread is: wow.

    • mbck on 22/01/2024 - 22:49
      +1

      Lol

    • runamuck on 22/01/2024 - 23:00
      +2

      I wonder who the real scammer is.

    • Craze on 22/01/2024 - 23:07
      -1

      Always amazing to see some of the investigative works around here!

    • [Deactivated] on 22/01/2024 - 23:15
      -5

      Honestly yeah, that was quite dumb of me :(

      • [Deactivated] on 22/01/2024 - 23:24
        -3

        I was hoping that it wouldn't follow the posts I made but that's the internet for you

        • altomic on 23/01/2024 - 01:16
          +8

          it's almost like everybody else is doing the wrong thing by calling you out for your shit.

      • Gunnar on 23/01/2024 - 06:20

        No sh.t

    • this is us on 22/01/2024 - 23:26

      Maybe he decided to buy the "SD to USB - C Adapter" from Temu and they sent a lollipop instead…

      • [Deactivated] on 22/01/2024 - 23:34

        Or half of a lollipop even….

  • Brick Tamland on 22/01/2024 - 21:47
    +2

    Temu isnt a scam

  • ihfree on 22/01/2024 - 22:47
    -1

    You could get a decent present for a 18th birthday off temu for around $20

  • Wiadro on 22/01/2024 - 22:54

    if you meet the maximum purchase price its all cheap, but if you're spending $25 for an item you need and a few you don't, you're just adding to the problem

  • randomusername2017 on 22/01/2024 - 23:08
    +1

    scam shopping websites

    6 billion in revenue equals scam …

    When does school go back?¿

  • Nutrino on 22/01/2024 - 23:39
    +3

    how else are we going to shop like a billionaire?

  • prodrome on 23/01/2024 - 04:14
    +2

    Vevor, Temu, Aliexpress and Amazon sell the same cheap crap.

    You don't have to buy it.

    • eckorock on 23/01/2024 - 13:23
      +1

      Amazon not really. Different class of products and much better review system to determine product quality

  • Clear on 23/01/2024 - 07:07

    Temu were good when they first opened as you could actually get a dozen items for free without the referral crap. As well as having proper 50% off coupons and cheap stuff.

    Now a lot of the good knock off stuff (i.e. Lego) has been removed from the platform and prices shot up. For anything branded AliExpress is much better value.

    • Clear on 23/01/2024 - 09:08
      +1

      To hang off this you can now easily speak to AliExpress support through live chat. Gives you the option to go straight to a real person instead of tricking the bot like you had to previously.

      • [Deactivated] on 23/01/2024 - 09:49

        Ohh nice to know, thanks!

  • try2bhelpful on 23/01/2024 - 07:32
    +1

    https://www.choice.com.au/shopping/online-shopping/buying-on…

    Thought I would prove Choice’s views on Temu.

    • Clear on 23/01/2024 - 09:09

      One thing they've neglected to mention is that if you're a seller on Temu you have very little say over discounts on your products. Temu will override your prices to make them cheaper and you'll have to take the loss. It's part of the reason why there's far less stores and products on there now than a few months ago.

      • try2bhelpful on 23/01/2024 - 09:28

        Certainly a point worth highlighting.

  • Flying Ace on 23/01/2024 - 08:52

    I've bought many things from Temu without issue. As long as you read the description properly, you are generally not disappointed.

  • Hvrd on 23/01/2024 - 09:32

    Ive bought things off temu that amazon and eBay were selling for twice the price. Just buy stuff you don't need to be good quality like plastics etc.

  • hasher22 on 23/01/2024 - 09:55

    I wouldn't say they're scammers, but they're mostly data harvesting.

    No different to apple or Google who have way more data on us than temu.

    But in terms of scamming, some products don't match the picture and some listings have slightly different pics but it's cheap crap. I have returned alot of things but also kept alot of good cheap crap I use.

    • richadam on 23/01/2024 - 10:06
      -2

      No different to apple or Google who have way more data on us than temu.

      Except this data would 100% be fed into the China machine so the west can be further coerced online by Chinese propaganda.

      • try2bhelpful on 23/01/2024 - 10:26
        +2

        Look up Cambridge Analytica. They helped get Trump elected. You want to look at Oppression look at a GOP lead state.

        Me, I’m not interested in the propaganda or “machines” of either side. Why do you feel the need to distract from the bad behaviour happening on both sides? Nobody is saying we should, necessarily, trust the Chinese sites we are just saying you shouldn’t totally trust either mob. They will all try to find ways to exploit you. You want to have real fun look at what the Israeli Government gets up to. They’ve even used fake Australian passports to go after targets in foreign countries. I guarantee they are hoovering vast quantities of data on lots of people around the world. They don’t even pretend to care about international laws.

        Me, I don’t believe in conspiracy theory bullshit. I just try to go into situations with my eyes open. It is why I refuse to be on the major social media sites. If you can’t identify what the product being sold is then it is you. You might as well hand them the keys to your existence.

        • Speckled Jim on 23/01/2024 - 11:16

          When the temple is built and "golden calf" presents itself (real or not) the "tribulations" cycle begins.

          Puts into sharp context the recent gouging levels of profit-taking, eh? I've often joked the 1% are saving for their escape flight to the moon/Mars etc.

          • try2bhelpful on 23/01/2024 - 13:33

            @Speckled Jim: Oh man, if the 1% offered to go now I’d kick in a few bucks. The alternative is send them on a submarine voyage to look at the Titanic. Just being sarcastic, before some rightwinger gets all affronted. Apparently left wingers aren’t meant to joke like that.

            Money breeds money. If you can ride out the peaks and troughs it makes life much more comfortable. The secret, for us, was not to get too greedy or too stupid. We are pretty comfortable in retirement but, certainly, not rich rich.

  • mj always rules on 23/01/2024 - 09:59

    Temu isn't any different to Kmart. Some stuff is great and some stuff is absolute crap. Anything I've wanted to return (which has been quite a few things) has been refunded straight away and I've been told to keep the item or donate it. Never actually sent anything back.

  • richadam on 23/01/2024 - 10:04
    -1

    Just watched this Future Proof video today about Temu coincidentally: https://youtu.be/vFII7t9FtO8

    Essentially boils down to:
    - Pressuring sellers & manufactures to offer the lowest prices
    - Utilising very very cheap parts and labour
    - Collecting and selling data, to the point that the sister app of Temu was banned from the Google Play store for spying on it's users (Temu would be the same, they just hide it better)

    All of this is hidden behind flashy ads at the Super Bowl and gorilla online marketing from influencers online. I wouldn't be surprised if there were bots or paid shills on OzB even trying to astroturf on behalf of Temu

    • try2bhelpful on 23/01/2024 - 10:11

      Me, I’ve never used Temu but you have probably covered the business plan of quite a few retailing sites. Also many of the social media sites. We should be careful wherever we go.

      Frankly your last statement has the touch of the paranoia about it. There may be a few like that but the vast majority would outweigh them.

      • richadam on 23/01/2024 - 10:25

        Perhaps it's paranoia. However I know of some people who would consider themselves to be TikTok "influencers" though only have a very small following in comparison. And even they are receiving very regular requests to promote TEMU. It's easy money to throw around to people.

        • try2bhelpful on 23/01/2024 - 10:34

          There are influencers on every platform, including the Western based ones. That is my point. Companies use influencers to push products, that is how influencers make most of their money. It is up to people to decide if they will follow them or not.

          Frankly I don’t understand how influencers are a thing. I don’t even understand using celebrity endorsements. A product is good or bad. It suits your purpose or not. A decision shouldn’t be based on “face” touting it.

          • brendanm on 23/01/2024 - 12:46

            @try2bhelpful:

            Frankly I don’t understand how influencers are a thing. I don’t even understand using celebrity endorsements. A product is good or bad. It suits your purpose or not. A decision shouldn’t be based on “face” touting it.

            Lots of people are stupid and easily led, they like to take money off these people.

            • try2bhelpful on 23/01/2024 - 13:01

              @brendanm: When I was at school we did a clear thinking course that taught us to analyse the information we were receiving to see if it made logical sense. To understand the source of information and why they were telling us these things.

              Has this sort of course gone out of fashion or are people just too distracted by “shiny things”?

              • brendanm on 23/01/2024 - 13:34
                +1

                @try2bhelpful: A bit of both sadly.

                • try2bhelpful on 23/01/2024 - 13:48
                  +1

                  @brendanm: Now we are both depressed. 😭😭😭😭😭😭

                  Sorry about that.

              • Craze on 23/01/2024 - 23:25

                @try2bhelpful: Genuinely intrigued- there should be something similar available on Udemy or LinkedIn learning maybe?

                Otherwise known as "critical thinking"

                • try2bhelpful on 24/01/2024 - 07:23
                  -1

                  @Craze: This was in Form Two in the 1970s. One article that stuck with me was a tow truck driver talking about road accident victims. He said “some people just exploded like bin bags full of offal”. If you forgive the pun on something this gruesome, it had a visceral effect. However, it was also about what the author was trying to achieve, why the tow truck driver would make this quote and what would be included and left out with writing it. It highlights that we think about the effect these horrors have on first responders but anyone who deals with the aftermath might have to process what they’ve seen.

                  It is about getting beyond the emotional reaction to think rationally. Emotion is a powerful way to sway people to a particular viewpoint. I’m sure Conservatives at the time would’ve complained it took kids away from the core curriculum but I would’ve applied these principles a lot more than some of the “facts” I learnt in other subjects. The most important thing is the capacity to be rational and dispassionate when doing the analysis. You can use anger as a fuel once you’ve confirmed your position is justified.

  • Nickels n Dimes on 23/01/2024 - 14:37

    I have had problems with similar sites, including DHGate, AliExpress, BangGood, GearBest, Wish, EBay, Amazon (no issue using Prime), for example not delivering what I've purchased or getting defective / quickly wornout items and not being able to return or get refund.

    So far, I've only used TEMU a few times, and they've not let me down (touch wood); However they are not all branded items, so you don't know if you're getting the same thing as a branded product, and there's very limited / no warranty period. Also, their ads are about as intrusive as Facebook (ie. everywhere and you need to disable notifications from the app and ignore their '95%-off' special offers and discounts, which they send regularly.

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