Temu is a relatively new online marketplace, where they sell non-branded and generic “factory direct” products at incredibly low prices.
If you try to look at the website or their products on your phone, it repeatedly prompts you to install the app.
According to news reports, more than 50 million Americans have downloaded the Temu app since September 2022. Every couple of weeks, that number gets higher and higher.
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On a desktop computer or laptop, the page uses just about every psychological retail marketing trick there is.
For the wire cutters shown in the screenshot, there are pop-up overlays anytime someone adds the item to their cart or a logged-in member is currently viewing it.
There’s a Bonus Coupons countdown. Click it and a spinner comes up that promises you more savings and discounts once you install the app on your phone.
There’s a Mother’s Day free shipping on all orders countdown. Sorry, two countdowns.
There’s a “Hurry!” message that tells you how many people have this in their carts, and it alternates with an “In Demand” message that tells you how many they sold in the past 24 hours.
“Temu is committed to environmental sustainability.”
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Free returns within 90 days. They make a strong case of purchases being risk-free.
There’s a 20% off offer popping out from the right side of the browser.
Temu doesn’t have a lot of tools yet, but they do have some, and it’s likely they will continue to expand their selection.
Temu sells products that appear to violate US laws, such as realistic-looking toy blasters that are shown without mandated orange tips. This gives me cause for concern. What about regulations regarding lead or other heavy metals in toys and kitchen items?
You know the no-name tools and accessories you can find on Amazon for cheap? Temu has them for half the price and free international shipping.
Temu has a mini stubby Phillips screwdriver for 88 cents, including what appears to be free international shipping.
On Amazon, a generic company “Buspoll” has a Phillips and slotted 2pc set for $7 with Prime shipping. So that’s less than $2 on Temu for both screwdrivers, compared to $7 on Amazon, which is still a lot cheaper than you can find for similar from better-established brands.
Temu says the item will arrive by May 3rd. If it doesn’t, they’ll give you a $5 credit.
I cannot find anything on Temu’s website with a bad rating or review. For the products that don’t have any verified customer reviews, Temu shows positive 4+ star “shop reviews” for the store or seller.
Temu has been experiencing a surge in popularity lately, and has been in the news repeatedly. On one hand, I can see why. On the other hand, the direct-ship online retailer doesn’t seem that much different from existing companies like Dealextreme and Alibaba.
What’s better about Temu?
On their “About” page, Temu says they were founded in Boston in 2022. Temu is a subsidiary of PDD Holdings, which is based in China. According to news reports, most Temu products are made in China.
Temu is advertising affiliate programs where you can earn up to $100,000 per month, free product influencer programs, and are recruiting “campus ambassadors” so that college students can get their friends to join.
If you haven’t heard about Temu before now, you will soon, as the people in you life add to their growing number of app users and shoppers.
What’s your thoughts on Temu? What might you buy or avoid from a store like this?
Mopar
They look like junk quality tools.
When I was 16yrs old, I bought a 40 piece socket set for $9.99. My very first tool purchase (other stuff was hand me downs from my father and grandfather, both woodworkers).
Learned my lesson about 30 minutes after buying them. Don’t buy junk tools.
JoeM
Tools, agreed. Go with a Store House Brand for cheap, Affordable options when you are first entering into tool user fields. When you’ve made enough to replace them with the investment-level tools of the better brands? Upgrade, and give the purchasing a rest for a while. Let the investment pay for itself, or pay for the next full purchase.
Temu, like AliExpress/Alibaba before it, this is where you get things you deliberately don’t expect to last. Gadgets, Socks, Mops/Brooms/etc. Grocery and Hardware stores for cleaning supplies though. The disposable stuff can come from these bargain places, and even dollar stores.
josh Morris
Less factory direct and more Chinese illegal clones.
Filled with copyright violating garbage
Ill hard pass on the chinesium clones
Chris I
I, too, used my first socket set as a hammer when I was 16yo.
Mopar
LOL, no, wasn’t using it as a hammer.
I was working on my first car (1968 Charger. Bought it for $300 with a fried clutch. That should date me!). I first broke a socket. Got a ride to Sears and replaced it with a Craftsman socket that cost $2 I think (remember the entire no-name set from Kmart or whatever was $10).
Got home and tried the bolt again with my new socket, and broke the ratchet. That’s when I borrowed $100 from dad (who was probably waiting for this moment) and we went back to Sears and bought a “Complete Mechanics Set” that served me well for many years until lost in a move.
Matt+the+Hoople
Tool version of the quintessential gas station pocket knife.
Arvind
There is a bit of concern regarding the practices of the parent company Pinduoduo and also the service quality/delivery commitment from Temu. The times article details the issues US customers faced when ordering items from Temu:
https://time.com/6243738/temu-app-complaints/
Also, security research’s have advised to be cautious when downloading the Apps from Temu or Pinduoduo. One of the article linked below mentions these apps bypass users’ cell phone security to monitor activities on other apps, check notifications, read private messages and change settings.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/02/tech/china-pinduoduo-malware-cybersecurity-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html
Steve L
TikTok has been banned in a number of countries and in the US is prohibited from being loaded on federal government devices.
So, for security reasons I would never use Temu.
For all of the reasons listed here about tool quality, warranties, and returns I would not buy from Temu.
Don+Julio
I got the CCP Tik Tok vibe from the first moment Temu crossed my radar. Happy I’ve never downloaded either of them.
Violet Lemm
Learn3d my lesson after buying a walking canes for under 10$ and it collapsed as I was walking. Almost fell. No more junk from them!
Jacqueline Cherrie
I bought some clothes from Temu the material seem like parachute material big out of shape was dissatisfied with the clothes one I did like was the skirt demin don’t know if I’ll buy anything from them again.
Scott Scheibe
I ordered 2 power strips, which when I tested them have hot and neutral swaped.. I ask for a refund and got it on my PayPal account in a couple of days
Jack S
No, I would not after looking over the tools, products and marketing on their websites: https://www.temu.com/tools-equipment-o3-583.html and https://www.temu.com/. There’s a place for these products, but it’s not with me.
PETE
I have that tiny red ph2 screw driver shown in your post. Got it as an assembly tool with something i bought on amazon or something. It’s a cool little tiny tool that has a home in my tool box. BUT i wouldn’t order one.
Big Richard
I also have those, or similar, super stubby screwdrivers. They were free after mail in rebate at Menards, so I could not say no. I even had to use one not too long ago, I don’t remember what for.
Currently they are the same $0.88 after mail in rebate, BUT for a 6pc set – https://www.menards.com/main/tools/hand-tools/screwdrivers-nut-drivers-sets/project-pro-trade-mini-stubby-screwdriver-set-6-piece/1420/p-1547623819710-c-9158.htm
David
Menard’s has some great deals. Make it at least once a week(they have good snacks). They also carry Bessey, Knipex, Halderhammers(although prices have crept up a little). It doesn’t help that they’re close to home.
I keep looking at the Masterforce Tool chests.
Big Richard
Agreed. Love their sales and snacks. They are great for consumables (screws, nails, lumber, TP, cleaning supplies, light bulbs, etc.). As well as the brands you listed, I buy Metabo HPT tools, CMT router bits, MK Morse blades. I’m less than 2 miles from my store so I probably stop there weekly, 2-3x in the summer, and feel bad for people who do not have one near by.
The Masterforce tool chests are actually really really nice, but are priced as such. I went with their lesser Performax brand for mine and have no complaints.
David
I think the Performax might be USA made. My store is 2 levels. Sometimes they even have someone playing the piano too.
Jim Felt
Sadly Menard’s isn’t on the West Coast. (Love their model railroad items)…
TonyT
Menard’s doesn’t only have no West Coast stores, but they also have ridiculous shipping charges. If their shipping costs were better, I’d be very tempted by a lot of the deal e-mails I receive from them, but instead, all that happens is that I get jealous of those who have one close by.
MFC
Menards pricing on pretty much everything is better than HD or Lowes but the nearest one is 7+ hours away. I once took a flatbed to pickup $8,000 worth of materials from them because Lowe’s and HD was charging $12,000 for the same things (lumber and vinyl siding mainly). Hope they come to Texas…
Joatman
Menards is an awesome place to shop for just about anything. They do carry some higher end hand tools as mentioned in this thread. A few years ago I bought a set of Felo screwdrivers for $20 through their website……But they charge you a handling fee for everything if I remember correctly. I once ordered something online to pickup in the store and had to pay that fee. That’s the only complaint I have about Menards online shopping.
Getting back on topic, I listen to a podcast of two of my favorite comedians and they did an ad for Temu……I guess they were desperate for sponsorship ……… so I went to the Temu website and couldn’t believe the nickel and dime flea market crap on there. Nope…..not for me
kent_skinner
“free returns” are worthless if you have to mail the package back to China. Postage will ll cost far more than you paid for the item, and the company is aware of this.
There’s an odd international shipping bug that allows somebody in China to mail a screwdriver to the US so cheaply that even at $0.88 they can still make a profit, but returning it costs orders of magnitude more.
Only buy directly from China if you are willing to give up any ability to get your money back if something goes wrong.
Bonnie
Yep, there’s a bunch of sellers on Amazon that pull the same crap, offering free returns on underpriced stuff but deducting shipping costs from the refund (meaning you’ll get basically nothing back and instead just keep the bad order).
David
This happened to my wife(not what was advertised). Cost more to ship it back. Need to be careful.
fred
While I’ve never used Temu, AliBaba or any of the other Chinese eCommerce sites – nor am I likely to – I’ve bought from China vendors via Amazon with mixed results. Some have been pretty straightforward transactions with shipment and delivery as expected.
Others (possibly taking advantage of Amazon billing policies) have provided quick but spurious tracking information with goods arriving (if at all) way beyond the promised dates. Over the years I’ve learned not to deal with Amazon third party vendors that do not have a reasonably long track record with mostly positive reviews. I will never buy from a site that is said to have been recently launched. In all cases if what I want and can tolerate mediocre quality goods that will not risk anyone’s health and safety for one-time use then shopping for low price (throwaway nitrile gloves for gardening/staining come to mind) may not be too bad and the tradeoffs can be worth it. On the other hand, buying through installed apps on my phone – or providing credit card info to possibly dicey sites will never appeal to me.
Jim Felt
All because of a decades old USPS agreement to help Chinese businesses by allowing really cheap Import postage rates. But Returns only at standard overseas rates.
Why isn’t this sunsetted by now? No. Seriously.
Al
The UPU changes started in July 2020. Right now, prices for parcels from China to US are double the cost or more of when USPS was subsidizing most of the cost. That subsidized program was only for small companies or individuals shipping small packages under 1kg. (Costs to ship to other countries are going up for everybody too.)
The big shippers don’t use the postal services the same way. They load hundreds/thousands of pre-addressed envelopes and packages in boxes and shipping containers. They go surface to a distribution warehouse in-country. Then they use the cheapest delivery method closest to the customer address. That’s why small computer parts take a couple of weeks to make it stateside, get unboxed, and re-shipped.
DFWChief
You don’t pay postage on returns. That’s why returns are *free*. They send you a label for UPS or USPS and it goes to California.
You pay nothing to return products.
V
Free return is exactly that. No cost to the consumer at all, to return items. They provide you with a shipping label.
M
Looks like cheap crap. Not just tools but everything in general. Aliexpress is pretty bad, this looks worse.
Fowler
It looks pretty much identical to Banggood and AliExpress, I wouldn’t buy anything from Temu, just because those sites already exist and I sort of know what I’m getting myself into there.
I will say that for a lot of budget tools you can get equivalent quality for a lot cheaper, or higher quality for the same price on these sites. A T12 soldering station from AliExpress will beat the pants off anything you could buy at home depot or RadioShack (rip) and most things you can buy at Microcenter.
Jamie MacDonald
Hell no , after diving into the them there paying for all those great deals with you, access to you, your data (even if you didn’t approve it) and a ton more sketchy shit.
Multiple source available online. For reference.
So nope nope and nope uninstalled and wiped completely.
Warren Littles
I will never buy tools from temu again, unless they are name brand. Or made in America.
Kilroy
Ordered 2 rugs from TEMU a month or two ago.
Not impressed with S&H time or quality (even given the low price, which turned out to be higher than expected), will not order from them again.
“Direct from China dollar store quality” is an apt description of much of what TEMU appears to sell.
Mike
Those look like the cheap knock off versions of the knock off versions. To each their own tool budget, but those look like straight junk. For example, I really like the spring loaded corner clamps the orange and black ones Amazon sells them for $10 gives you a set of four Tamu offers them for six dollars but they look to be of significantly worse quality of an already very cheap tool.
Mopar4wd
Reminds me of Wish.com. Which some how became the third largest internet retailer briefly in 2019 to now almost unheard of again. Based on that I’m going to say no, not going to shop there. At this point Walmart seems to be going after Amazon more then most upstarts. I’m not a big walmart guy but I have gotten some very good deals there over the past year.
Joseph
In the first five sentences, you’ve given me enough from them that I’d close the tab on my browser and never go back.
bg100
I don’t order from these types of sites because I fear the apocalyptic wasteland of tools that would inevitably come from too many people eschewing the big brands for the cheapos. I like that my tool brands use quality materials and tooling, do R&D on form and function, and put items in stores so I can see & touch the tool before spending money. I don’t want that model to evaporate. So I spend money on Stanley chisels, Milwaukee hole saws, DeWalt bit sets, Diablo spade bits, Bosch routers… I very much dislike the landscape on Amazon these days, where no – name junk dominates the results and it’s hard to find a product with service and support. I say “No thank you” to $.88 screwdrivers!
Dean in Des Moines
These aren’t tools; they are decorations! Display ’em on a shelf or hang ’em on your tree, but you’ll ruin them if you use them to do work. Worse, you won’t have the real tool you need to get the job done.
Dean in Des Moines
And here, now, your site is covered in ads by this “company” (maoist government). It’s like a contagion. I need to go wash…
BigTimeTommy
I wouldn’t buy from Temu even though I buy from Amazon which is inundated with scammers and counterfeit products, shrug.
Paul Edward Hacker
Seems very risky to use their site when you have to give so much information for cheap possibly non-existent tools ..
Koko The Talking Ape
Nee-ope.
1. Garbage products
2. Sleazy marketing
3. Chinese OF THE Chinese (meaning I’d expect poor or no customer support, service, ethics, integrity, etc.)
4. THEY WANT YOU TO INSTALL AN APP. Are you kidding me? I imagine they’ll make more money selling your personal data than they will selling their garbage.
So no.
Of course, much of the same can be said of Amazon nowadays. But at least they sell cheap OTC meds.
Birdseed
I buy dumb, little things from Wish.com a lot. Like, prob four items a month. I’m picky, though – like I’d never buy a ratchet, wrench, tap/die set, vise-grips, spirit level, knock-off Bench Made pocket knife – stuff like that but where you truthfully want to know what steel it’s made of, etc.
The items I have bought I’m very happy with. Prob 10 times over the last 10 or so years I wasn’t happy. They have a 30 day no problem guarantee. You go to your acct, click on purchases or orders (can’t remember which), find the item, click on it, scroll down to where it says “contact customer service” or something like that and then type in the problem.
Every single time the system, not a human, instantly says something like “We have your back and have issued a refund to your account. Don’t worry about sending the item back.”
Every time. About 3 years ago they switched to this new chat bot deal where you tell it the problem and it’s like oh no, sorry, issuing you a refund. It take about 30 seconds. I honestly feel like I don’t complain about Wish’s stuff any more than Amazon or Menards.
I keep my expectations where they should be, however. I wouldn’t get a steamer, coffee pot, timing light, hammer drill, cell phone charger, knock-off 18V battery, red dot, scope, etc from them. The things I do get I read reviews first on Wish.com and their app which is for some reason called Geek.
Their knock-off? Mechanix gloves are amazing and every bit as good as the ones on Amazon or in the brick and mortar stores, for instance for $10ish. The little square adapter that let’s you screw/retract a caliper piston up into the caliper on many new cars, especially Japanese and S. Korean ones? Awesome. Heat shrink? Yes! Heat gun? No!
Things like that.
As far as Temu, I have not even logged onto their site yet. I’m gonna let others go on their first. After a couple of years we’ll all know the truth. Wish.com already has all of my info. Hell the whole dark web has our info if you have used Facebook, Experian, and other of the other hundreds of giant companies that have been hacked. Type your email address into haveIbeenpwned.com and see how many times your info has been hacked. Note, yes it is pwned, not owned. Anyway Wish.com has my info and has had it for years. I doubt if there’s anything on Temu that’s not on Wish, and if there is, the chances of me wanting that item and absolutely having to get it from them is nil.
I like Wish. I might like Temu but I’m not going to give them a go for a couple of years.
dandLyons
I don’t buy tools from Temu. Wouldn’t load their app, etc.
I did buy a couple of small items. I bought some patches. NASA & space related. I use to work at JPL & we would receive little commemorative swag, things like lapel pins, Christmas tree ornaments, mission stickers/patches. It was all Made in China, kid you not. Got a whole box of the crap from my NASA days. For a couple of dollars I bought dozens of varied space stickers/patches. A friends granddaughter is interested in space. So I bought her some age appropriate books just to add to the gift. The other thing I’ve bought are Molle/Pals type keychains and some little devices to hold things to my pack. I haven’t & wouldn’t buy anything else off of there. But I never had any problem with deliveries, missing items, fraudulent charges, etc. But as I said, I also only spent a few dollar here and there.
I too completely agree with the dollar store comparison.
What I have done is compared product I seen on Amazon or Walmart websites from third party sellers to see if it is really cheap crap being passed of as “quality”. Usually you can tell from the ton of identical listings. I mostly look at AliExpress for this.
.
You would be surprised that items in Boutique Tool Catalogs can be order. Think Lee Valley, Garrett Wade, etc. I’m not naming names, just presenting the type of catalogs I mean.
I will give an example of product category though. These days I try to stock supplies that I use in more than one way.
For example, I have a 5″ RO sander. Rather than stock all different shapes and sizes of sandpaper, I use manual sanding blocks that take 5″ circular sheets. I buy disks in bulk at the holidays
I bought a couple of such items, namely a rectangular and a circular semi rigid foam sanding block that accepts hook & loop. AliExpress had a seemingly identical item. I ended up ordering that at about a third the price. I compared them side by side and cannot for the life of me see any difference. The relatively expensive ones came from a trusted catalog not a third party seller. Another item was a stack of plastic paint pyramids. Found no difference.
The truth is I have more time than money these days. It likely wouldn’t be worth it for most folks to waste the time over a few bucks. You are just as likely to find an item listed on Amazon from a third party to have an identical price on AliExpress & you have to wait weeks for the AliExpress purchase to makes its way by slow boat from China.
I get curious every now and then about the Temu & AliExpress stuff. I tried Temu for some Molle widgets but will not buy from them again. There are things I might occasionally try an item on AliExpress, but it’s a wash when you consider the time invested in bargain hunting.
I will continue to use AliExpress to do quick checks on products from catalogs.
Steve
I tend to be pretty brand loyal. I may look at something off brand if it is truly revolutionary, but that’s rare. I do have a few other brands of tools, but they themselves are bigger, quality brands. Price is really not the issue (for the most part), it’s the quality…
Steve
Nope – won’t use them. I don’t need any cheap Chinese tools, but I certainly don’t want to deal directly with red China. And – I certainly am not going to install and app from them and just open the doors to them siphoning everything from my phone – contacts, call history, location history, emails. I don’t care if a cheap piece of garbage stubby screwdriver is 88 cents.
Don’t think that this does not happen.
Mark M.
Nahhhh. Why bother taking a risk with 1) Getting frustrated or hurt using cheap tools, or 2) Getting your personal info compromised by some carnival barker website? We’ve got Amazon, many of us are close (or close-ish) to a Harbor Freight or Northern Tool or Home Depot (or Walmart for that matter). I have zero curiosity or interest in that site based on what you described. The market is thoroughly saturated in the cheap tool department.
Jared
It’s been interesting to sit back and read the comments. Pretty universal condemnation really!
I’ve purchased things from Aliexpress and Dealextreme before. This strikes me as just a knockoff, higher-pressure version of those sites. I probably wouldn’t bother with it.
The thing is, with these types of sites there are occasionally things I can’t find elsewhere. The last thing I bought from Aliexpress was a unique little swivel-opening pocket knife.
Not only do you not have the same consumer protections with sites like this, but if something is defective, you usually just have to eat it. If it’s something unique and cheap, I’ve judged it worth the risk on occasion.
TonyT
That’s my point of view – it’s an additional place to find things. For example, I really wanted a particular model of hand warmer/power bank (apparently, they’re really popular in China), and ended up getting 2 from a third party seller on Temu. They came on time, and are working well so far.
Including shipping, Temu was the cheapest by a bit (10%?), AliExpress next, BUT the AliExpress sellers weren’t really set up for ordering just 1 or 2, and Amazon 3rd party was about 3x the price.
I’ve also had good experiences with Chinese eBay sellers, but I’m careful who I’m buying from, have realistic expectations, and am typically buying specialized stuff, not trinkets.
tommy kane
Not the first place I’d go looking for tools. If it’s something obscure that doesn’t require a lot of torque and only going to be use once, then maybe.
Bläkø
Everything there seems like the cheap Harbor Freight sh!t, before they upped there game and started carrying halfway decent stuff
Munklepunk
I buy from AliExpress and Banggood on the regular, also eBay from China. I’m not interested in temu, ali may look like a casino that’s desperately trying to not fail, but they have always come through. If you know what to look for and what businesses to use the Chinese companies are great. Shipping is usually two weeks but I never order something I need now.
Returns are the issue, they do not have the customer service that the US stores have, the few times I have had issues it’s always been a pain. They want details on everything, dates, order numbers, shipping numbers, date of arrival. Seriously annoying. Here’s a picture, here’s my order, refund me. So you have to be willing to deal with that, if it’s cheap enough I just let it go.
Jp
I won’t bother because of a few articles regarding pinduoduo. Everything I read was from security researchers. They didn’t prove actual abuse of the data gathered, but still. I forgot what they said about Temu other than not to trust it.
MacLean Flood
App is probably loaded with spyware and zero day exploits.
-Mac
Munklepunk
So, most shopping, game and social apps
IronWood
I would never buy from Temu. Looks like they scraped everything I hate about the internet into one site to sell tools I wouldn’t want for free. But one man’s trash is another man’s international e-commerce site as the saying goes.
Frank D
Having ordered a few things internationally, return shipping is often impractical and in pretty much all cases always cost prohibitive. When it comes to shopping, it is pretty much just a toss it & move on. Typically the shipping is more than the item. For a valuable item, they may claim it did not arrive or did not arrive in time.
For family I quit sending small packages overseas, a while ago. Bad experiences with a lost package, customs holds, custom surcharges as new retail for a used item, …
spark
I don’t get it. Looks like a lot of the same stuff from aliexpress. I guess this is one of the cycles where everything old is new again?
fm2176
Nope, I won’t buy from them. I’m app averse, don’t trust foreign low-ball suppliers or companies, and would rather pay more for something I know will last a while. If I want cheap tools, I’ll visit Harbor Freight or even the $7.98/whatever price tool bin at the local grocery store.
ITCD
I’m also app averse. Which is a shame because sometimes I’m looking for something on Lowes and they keep pushing the app and I don’t want it, but the mobile website is just so atrociously sllllooooooowwwwwwww.
ACP the 3rd
just say NO to china…
Joe A
No sir. Not in a plane. Not on a train.
Charles
It is well settled that the app most likely scrapes your computer for information that can be sent back to the mothership.
It is also well settled that the items are cheap (what we used to call dime store) pieces of junk that, at best, will be one-time use.
Considering that this information has been out there for quite some time, I’m very surprised that my favorite tool site seems to be shilling for these guys with absolutely no mention of the well known issues with the company.
I’d love to hear a response.
Mopar
“Temu sells products that appear to violate US laws, such as realistic-looking toy guns that are shown without mandated orange tips. This gives me cause for concern. What about regulations regarding lead or other heavy metals in toys and kitchen items?”
That hardly sounds like shilling for those guys. I think Stuart is just raising awareness, since most have probably not seen them as a source of tools as of yet. That looks to be changing, so now if you were to search for something like “Does Temu sell good tools?” you will most likely find this page with almost 60 comments and growing full of warnings about the site. A shill would not have done that. A shill would have also used an affiliate link to the site, whereas Stuart didn’t even link to the site or app at all. If Stuart is shilling for Temu, he’s the worst shill they have, and they have 10s of thousands.
Stuart
Thanks!
One of the first things I said was they they use “just about every psychological retail marketing trick there is.”
Everything about the retailer seems fishy to me.
Stuart
I hear about Temu in the news every other day, about how popular it is, about how much people like it, etc, and wanted to see what the ToolGuyd community thought about it.
I didn’t share my explicit views so as to not color anyone’s opinions (yet), or draw counterpoints rather than thoughts and opinions.
Read the post again, what part would you allege is positive or supportive?
Charles
Our (collective) problem is that we want to get everything really cheap – and the Chinese government knows that.
Sell crap really cheap (in many cases well below the price that they can be produced when you factor in shipping) and people will buy it. Now, they have a huge database of names, addresses, phone numbers and credit information that they can use whenever they want – maybe not next week, next month or even next year.
You’d be surprised by the amount of information they can get from you voluntarily – and then there is all the stuff that they can get from your computer.
If it is too good to be true then it is. If it is too cheap then there is an ulterior motive.
Maybe my post was a bit harsh and yes, you started off with a bit of a “these guys are flaky”, but you closed on what I read was a much more positive note.
I’m happy to hear that you are skeptical about Temu too. We good?
ITCD
Why buy the Buspoll for $7 when for just a buck more you can get the Chapman super stubby 2-pack? Flip bits even so you’re getting 4 drivers for $8 (plus shipping), USA-made.
Stuart
I wouldn’t buy it either, it’s just an example of how Temu is selling the same generic-branded doodads as on Amazon, just cheaper. That’s how they’re attracting customers.
ITCD
Indeed. I’m just pointing out that while for some people price is king or sometimes they don’t know what all is out there because if it isn’t at Lowe’s, Home Depot, Ace or Amazon it may as well not exist, that with some digging around one can still find even USA-made stuff at a fair enough price.
I personally have had my fill of ultra cheap metal-colored string cheese tools so I think Temu would be a hard hard pass for me. I could get by with that sort of stuff way back when, before I got older and my patience got thinner and my salary started allowing me to stay out of the bargain bins and dollar stores for tools.
Nowadays I just want something that works, and works at least decent but ideally at least good. May not be the best thing on the planet but can accomplish the job and doesn’t tempt me to make it one with the drywall. I just don’t have a lot of confidence in the ultra-discount wares like Temu is hucking after my past experiences.
S
I buy from Alibaba more often than most because they tend to have some more obscure componentry other sites don’t. most specifically in the project finishing category. Like speaker box handles, or mesh grilles with a decorative trim ring. They’ve also got what I’d call ‘product overstock’ which are all the individual pieces from some sort of official product, but sold separately. They can make for some unique projects in their own respect.
It’s simple stuff that makes a project look less like a DIY and more like a professionally designed/bought product.
I’ve tried temu for a few things, but have overall been disappointed in their options. Their algorithm is more designed to push past search results into your new search to make it appear like there’s more product available than there really are, or make past considerations an option again.
For instance, one search was for led flashlights. I got somewhere near 30 results. But a past search was for a bike gear shifter. The led flashlights topped the results, but then had another 500+ ‘results’ that were bike related.
I ended up buying a Bluetooth speaker and a smart-ish watch off the site just to try. I feel I got exactly what I paid for. The speaker is dollar store quality, with a dollar store price, and the watch has every function they showed on the product page, I just don’t agree on the styling and implementation of those functions. But both do in fact function as they said they were going to.
I’m hoping they expand their product offerings a little, but it’s not normally a place I would get tools from. Between a Menards and harbor freight near by, I have no use for the excessive shipping times/delays and customs issues that the site has to deal with for a competitive product.
Walter Bordett
No spying, no chinesium junk tools by mail for me. You don’t get what you don’t pay for. No TEMU, no TikTok and no Zuckerberg or Musk for me
eddie sky
Nope. I’m not xenophobic, and really prefer some EU/Japan/SK/Taiwan tooling for value and features. But I find PRC-sponsored websites and manufacturing just more about ripping off IP and supporting state-sponsored attacks and persecution of their own. Just like WISH and other cheap goods sites.
Charles
There are lots of decent products made in China – normally for a western company that has stringent quality controls – but this isn’t about the products – it is about the site and the amount of data that the PRC steals from consumers through that site.
Pete M
Not for me. As an IT guy for 30yrs I will never install a Chinese app for ordering el cheapo tools that are guaranteed to fail sooner than you think and give my personal data to China or tinkering for ever to close the loopholes through which the app will snoop into your computer.
As for the tools here is an example. A couple of years ago got a compression tester as an impulse drive. Tried it this year on my mower and leaks like crazy where the pressure release valve is pressed fit on the coupler. I guess a screw on release valve which is replaceable does not make sense in China.
As my dad told me, when it comes to tools buy once-cry once otherwise Murphy law will screw you when you least expect it.
Michael Hammer
When ever I see stuff like this, I just shake my head. 50 million app downloads. Probably the same 50 million people that complain that the government shipped manufacturing over seas. We, the consumer, ship these jobs over seas every time we open our wallets to China. During the pandemic, we finally learned the perils of having key components to our society produced off shore. We’re still feeling the pain in the construction industry today. Will we ever learn to stay away from sellers like this via app or Amazon or Alibaba? Seems like it’s often someone else’s problem. 50 million people decided lack of manufacturing in the US is someone else’s problem. And I don’t trust that app for one second.
Charles
Yes, the pandemic has shown us the fallacy of “just in time” deliveries and the reliance on the global supply chain. We’ve outsourced everything to the lowest bidder – not always a bad thing for unimportant consumer goods. Might not even be bad for cheap consumer grade tools assuming you have a reliable source for decent tools.
The problem here is the app and the personal and financial information gathered by an openly hostile nation – but it is all good because their crap is cheap. (Where is that sarcasm emoji?)
Charles
While I’m at it, I have a question – has anyone bought cheap junky tools and were satisfied with using them? Not just a “yeah, this’ll do in a pinch” but a proper “yeah, this is a pretty decent piece of kit that will become a frequent use item in my toolbox”?
I haven’t. Every time I bought cheap junk, I kicked myself for having bought it – either it didn’t work because it was made badly, broke immediately or was downright dangerous.
This might actually make a good topic for an article.
Stuart
It’s highly subjective.
If people weren’t satisfied with junky tools, the vast number of cheap accessory makers selling their drill bits, saw blades, oscillating accessories, and other such consumables wouldn’t be topping Amazon’s bestsellers charts. Similar goes for hand tools, power tools, equipment, and similar.
Charles
Good point. Perhaps a better question is “once you’ve used a quality tool, can you use a cheap junky tool without swearing and pulling your hair out?”
Dean in Des Moines
Stuart, your comment assumes Amazon is telling the truth with their rankings. I haven’t found Amazon’s rankings to be trustworthy in over a decade.
Stuart
If someone believes premium brand-name oscillating multi-tool blades are pricier without being any better than cheap no-name blades on Amazon, there’s little that can be said to convince them otherwise.
A cheap drill bit might indeed deliver okay performance in drywall or softwood. When they try to drill hardwood or metal, then they’ll learn differently.
Charles
My point exactly. We’ve all bought cheap (insert item here) that had great reviews and then realized that it didn’t do the job – then we went out and bought the proper (insert item here) and ended up throwing the cheap item away.
DRT42
Oh yeah. You have grasped the reality of the situation.
StuartT
“If you try to look at the website or their products on your phone, it repeatedly prompts you to install the app.”
Not. A. Chance. Nope. Not going there.
I’ll stick with known brands from known vendors.