Temu - does anyone on here shop like a billionaire?

[gremlin]

I'm being bombarded from every angle with adverts for Temu. It looks like cheap, Chinese tat to me, but maybe I'm wrong and I'm missing a cornucopia of bargain goods.

Tat or treasure?

[MrLongbeard]

I'd sooner chop off my left nut than give them one penny.
They represent everything that's wrong in todays world (IMHO) same goes for all of them banggood, ALiexpress etc etc etc.

[Felix]

Most of it is tat. I got two Satellite speedometers, one reads two miles per hour slow and when i complained i got a full refund and told to keep it. Angled tyre valved came in hands as my bus is twin rear wheels. Under a fiver for 4 posted. Never bought any of the clothing yet. Probably end up as a fireball if i walk past a candle.

[Taipan]

A few years back we were going to buy some pendant lights from NEXT. My daughter said to do a reverse image search first, so we did. Same lights from Temu/Shein/Ali Express but about the 3rd of a price. I was reluctant, but my daughter said go into NEXT and look at the box and yes it was manufactured in China, so we ordered direct from China. I have an unbranded CObra chain oiler which is very well made. Ali Express under £20 delivered. Cobra branded one £80.

Until we rebuild a manufacturing industry and i can buy everything i want thats been manufactured in GB, i'll keep buying abroad and don't seperate China from Europe in that sense. YMMV as those Americans would say.

[MrLongbeard]

look at the box and yes it was manufactured in China, so we ordered direct from China.

There's made in China by slave labour not adhering to any safety regulations, and then there's made in China with an EU / UK company taking the responsibility of the manufacturer and ensuring the goods comply with the regs and audit the factories.

[Taipan]

look at the box and yes it was manufactured in China, so we ordered direct from China.

There's made in China by slave labour not adhering to any safety regulations, and then there's made in China with an EU / UK company taking the responsibility of the manufacturer and ensuring the goods comply with the regs and audit the factories.

Cobalt mining is worse than a sweatshop etc but we all have mobiles etc. So many companies like Nike use sweatshops, how does the consumer know who only sells ethically manufactured goods. Until that info is widely available, or goods are only manufactured here, i'll keep cutting the cloth to suit the wallet.

[Felix]

I would think twice about anything being supplied with a battery. Look at how many electric scooters have went up in smoke and vape pens. I took my cheap sat nav battery out to relace it with a Nokia one. Out of curiosity i started to strip it down and as soon as i got the first layer of foil type material off it started to smoke. Ill buy another sat nav but order a better battery at the same time.

[Yorick]

My enduro mate has got shares in AliExpress. He buys shitloads and a nice flogging it on local FB group

[MrLongbeard]

look at the box and yes it was manufactured in China, so we ordered direct from China.

There's made in China by slave labour not adhering to any safety regulations, and then there's made in China with an EU / UK company taking the responsibility of the manufacturer and ensuring the goods comply with the regs and audit the factories.

Cobalt mining is worse than a sweatshop etc but we all have mobiles etc. So many companies like Nike use sweatshops, how does the consumer know who only sells ethically manufactured goods. Until that info is widely available, or goods are only manufactured here, i'll keep cutting the cloth to suit the wallet.

No one is clean, but reputable manufacturers are a hell of a lot cleaner.
And ethics is only a small part of the problem, what about the environmental impact of throw away fashion, and safety, would you buy brake pads from Temu for your bike, would you buy them for your daughters car????

And that's the easy stuff that can fail and be seen instantly, never mind the nasties they can use making clothing or anything else you have long term skin contact with that fuck you up over time.

Hey, it your life / choice, you do you, me I'd ban 'em all, but then my job gives me a greater exposure to horror stories.

[Yorick]

There's made in China by slave labour not adhering to any safety regulations, and then there's made in China with an EU / UK company taking the responsibility of the manufacturer and ensuring the goods comply with the regs and audit the factories.

Cobalt mining is worse than a sweatshop etc but we all have mobiles etc. So many companies like Nike use sweatshops, how does the consumer know who only sells ethically manufactured goods. Until that info is widely available, or goods are only manufactured here, i'll keep cutting the cloth to suit the wallet.

No one is clean, but reputable manufacturers are a hell of a lot cleaner.
And ethics is only a small part of the problem,

Isn't that near thuthex?

And home of Shandyman?

[Skub]

I don't use Ali-express or any of the others,but I know plenty of folk who think I'm a mug for paying extra for the same thing,as they see it.

[Demannu]

There's made in China by slave labour not adhering to any safety regulations, and then there's made in China with an EU / UK company taking the responsibility of the manufacturer and ensuring the goods comply with the regs and audit the factories.

Cobalt mining is worse than a sweatshop etc but we all have mobiles etc. So many companies like Nike use sweatshops, how does the consumer know who only sells ethically manufactured goods. Until that info is widely available, or goods are only manufactured here, i'll keep cutting the cloth to suit the wallet.

No one is clean, but reputable manufacturers are a hell of a lot cleaner.
And ethics is only a small part of the problem

I think you are being a smidge naive.
I'll just say, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, CIBA off the top of my head.
I would imagine that you buy products from The Range, or other low cost emporiums.
Where do you think all their stuff comes from?

[gremlin]

I think you are being a smidge naive.
I'll just say, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, CIBA off the top of my head.
I would imagine that you buy products from The Range, or other low cost emporiums.
Where do you think all their stuff comes from?

In theory, UK companies and those doing business in the UK should be adhering to the Modern Day Slavery Act, whereby they ensure that they, and everybody in their supply chain, isn't up for a bit of naughtiness in that respect. This forms part of their annual statement. How this gets applied to companies such as Primark, I really don't know.

I'm pretty sure that online marketplaces can cross their fingers and claim 'vay-knights' as they are only operating a venue to enable sales.

[MrLongbeard]

I would imagine that you buy products from The Range, or other low cost emporiums.
Where do you think all their stuff comes from?

China, Taiwan etc etc.
I have no problem with stuff from China, 75% of everything I own probably came from or incorporates something from China, that's not the point I'm making.

If I buy cheap widget from the Range, then the Range is legally held as the manufacturer when they put their name and details on the widget, I also know I can go to the Range if there's a problem, I also know that as a large UK retailer / manufacturer that the Range have their stuff tested to ensure it is safe.

If I buy that same widget for a 1/3 of the price, including shipping from China, there are no such safety nets, no come back, no nothing.

[Demannu]

I would imagine that you buy products from The Range, or other low cost emporiums.
Where do you think all their stuff comes from?

China, Taiwan etc etc.
I have no problem with stuff from China, 75% of everything I own probably came from or incorporates something from China, that's not the point I'm making.

If I buy cheap widget from the Range, then the Range is legally held as the manufacturer when they put their name and details on the widget, I also know I can go to the Range if there's a problem, I also know that as a large UK retailer / manufacturer that the Range have their stuff tested to ensure it is safe.

If I buy that same widget for a 1/3 of the price, including shipping from China, there are no such safety nets, no come back, no nothing.

Aha!
You are that naive.
I would love to see the CoC for the stuff I used to handle.
Many a time we would be unloading a container and find very small footprints in the dust on top of the boxes.
BTW, The Range manufacture nothing, they are basically Temu with multiple branches.
Yes, if there's an issue you can go back and exchange it, however if you factor in your time, fuel, nipping into maccy d, then sometimes it's better to take a punt online.
Not criticising your opinion btw, my mum wouldn't buy kerrygold because she boycotted irish products in the 70s.

[DefTrap]

I've bought a reasonable amount of stuff on slow-boat-from-china 'shops' on eBay. Most of it has been ok-enough quality, no different from the other cheap stuff you might buy elsewhere (case in point - some faux 'Rizoma' style shorty brake / clutch levers - 10 years use, no problems) (although - anecdote #2 - a "no name" PC power supply bought from eBay literally caught fire in front of my eyes - never again, until I forget and do it again).
An awful lot of what Amazon sell is effectively these same shops as resellers - I can't be arsed to investigate which sweatshop the stuff is made in, to be honest I expect Amazon to do that for me.

I get the impression that a lot of these big sell-anything-sell-cheap places like Temu have a limited shelflife because their products are at the low-end of iffy and their customer-service policy is so bad as to be non-existent. Sooner or later their reputation goes totally down the toilet and they're forced to rebrand.

[MrLongbeard]

Aha!
You are that naive.
I would love to see the CoC for the stuff I used to handle.
Many a time we would be unloading a container and find very small footprints in the dust on top of the boxes.
BTW, The Range manufacture nothing, they are basically Temu with multiple branches.
Yes, if there's an issue you can go back and exchange it, however if you factor in your time, fuel, nipping into maccy d, then sometimes it's better to take a punt online.
Not criticising your opinion btw, my mum wouldn't buy kerrygold because she boycotted irish products in the 70s.

No I really am not, my 9 - 5 job is consumer product safety.

And yes I am well aware the Range make nothing, however under EU & UK law the minute they slap their name and details on a products (assuming they don't preface it with 'imported by') they are legally considered to be the manufacturer, and in my experience (25 years so far) UK & EU manufacturers (in the legal sense) are more likely to ensure their products adhere to the relevant safety laws. And yes I fully accept that a very large reason they do this is to protect their name and reputation rather then their gushing concern for my safety, naïve my ass.

[Cousin Jack]

I have very recently researched buying a new rucksack to replace my old one which is 20 years old and getting tired. Lots of stuff pops up on t'internet, from e-bay, Amazon, Temu and every other shop. Most of it doesn't meet my requirements (which are a bit specialised) but quite a few do, and most of it is obviously generic Chinese stuff. Lots of good reviews, but lots of crap ones too. It is obvious to me that QC is non-existent. You pays your money and takes your chance. Customer service on many appears to not exist, even if it breaks on day 2.

Thank you, I want something that will last 20 years, and in this instance I am prepared to go spendy for someone else to do the QC So , no, I haven't bought the cheap stuff, the new one IS made in China, but someone has specified it and made sure it meets the spec.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Cheap for a reason.

Can't recall many specifics but I do recall more than one person on here ordering one thing and then something else turning up. Jody's KTM "speedo" for one.

Basically CBA, my time/faff/annoyance is way more valuable to me.

I've no issue with stuff made in China per se, if I did I wouldn't fly on basically any airliner or drive any car, but in a nutshell what beardy boy said.

[Count Steer]

I have very recently researched buying a new rucksack to replace my old one which is 20 years old and getting tired. Lots of stuff pops up on t'internet, from e-bay, Amazon, Temu and every other shop. Most of it doesn't meet my requirements (which are a bit specialised) but quite a few do, and most of it is obviously generic Chinese stuff. Lots of good reviews, but lots of crap ones too. It is obvious to me that QC is non-existent. You pays your money and takes your chance. Customer service on many appears to not exist, even if it breaks on day 2.

Thank you, I want something that will last 20 years, and in this instance I am prepared to go spendy for someone else to do the QC So , no, I haven't bought the cheap stuff, the new one IS made in China, but someone has specified it and made sure it meets the spec.

QC? I just bought a pair of 'Made in England' leather winter shoes/boots on-line for myself. (From a company I've bought from before). They're nicely made...but...when I tried them on I thought 'That's odd, this lace is frayed'. Turns out that 5 or six eyelets haven't been punched in properly and threading the laces through is like putting them through a grater.

I suspect a previous customer has returned them and they've just punted them out to the next sucker...me.

Sucker I must be, or too damn lazy to return them, because I sat down with a diamond needle-file and dressed all the rough edges, beeswaxed the eyelets, put some new laces in and we're good to go.

(I'm not too lazy to write and tell them I'm a tad disappointed. On the + side, SWMBO is v pleased with her new boots that I ordered at the same time and looks a bit pleased when I say she looks like Tank Girl in them ).