I made my first order on Temu and this is how it went

You may have heard of a new online retailer with too-good-to-be-true prices on household essentials and budget tech – and a highly unusual shopping experience. So what's the deal? Is it real? The short answer is: yes. But there are a few things you should know before preparing to shop with Temu, the new orange-themed online digital marketplace. 

With horror stories about orders arriving with some questionable product designs that look nothing like the listing image and an extremely cluttered website design, I was apprehensive about ordering (word of mouth is essential to growing and building an e-commerce website). But, since other customers report a positive experience with no, or minimal, issues I thought I'd try it out. 

(If you're an artist looking to start an online store, see these 6 best ecommerce platforms for selling your work online and the best e-commerce website builders).

But what is Temu?

Let's look into what Temu actually is. The online website and smartphone app is new on the market (launched in late 2022), yet it sits at the top spot of both the Google Play and Apple Store free app charts, with over 50 million downloads... and a steaming bag of mixed reviews. The company is China-owned and operated, and the product quality and design can be unpredictable to put it politely. 

Like most e-commerce shopping platforms, including the hugely popular Shein, Temu has a generic system where you can browse for what you want, add it to a basket, pay with your card, and receive your items a few weeks later (or sometimes as fast as 10 days depending on your region). The strange thing about Temu, though, is on top of the already cheap products, it will bombard you with coupons (see above). 

I should note here that there's been a debate around whether buying from Temu is ethiclal, given the issues surrounding the cheap materials used to create these products. There's also a discussion surrounding the authenticity of the product designs, with some accusing Temu of copying the designs of other businesses. 

I'll go into more detail on my own first-time purchase with Temu shortly, but here's what others are saying surrounding the controversial new way to shop:

Clearly, the internet isn't quite sure what to make of Temu yet, and as a relatively new retailer, it's difficult to know if it can be trusted and why items are so cheap. Is this because Temu is stealing products from other creators? See our FAQs at the bottom for answers to the most common Temu concerns. 

My first Temu order

My first order with Temu involved a promotion which encouraged the shopper to add 10 things to their basket or "cart" to make six of those items free at checkout. This cut my order down from what would have been £170 originally to just £33 with free shipping! No wonder people are sceptical. Delivery was also super speedy and my order with 10 items arrived in just under 12 days. 

As a website shopping experience, it wasn't subtle. The aim is clearly to get you to buy as much as possible (tying neatly into the brand hook of "shop like a billionaire"), and it does that through endless banners and pop-ups. It kinda works though, as I added plenty to my cart that I wouldn't have originally considered (though I'm not sure any budding online shop owners should follow suit).

But what about the product design? The good news is that my Temu order for the most part was a success, receiving functioning items that certainly aren't the best quality in the world – but I guess you can't argue because of the low price. Maybe that's the problem with Temu, aside from the very poor website design that clutters your eyes, it almost begs you to purchase things you don't really need out of sheer curiosity.

I ordered a gaming shelf that was a little disappointing in terms of build quality as my Switch games keep slipping out of it. But everything else I ordered including a miniature fruit blender and splash pool for my dog all work perfectly.

For example, as a photographer, I purchased a studio light box for product and commercial photography, plus a budget photo printer. Both of these items work just fine, but if I were to have purchased these from higher quality sellers I'd be more reassured in the reliability, as they do look cheaply made and as if they could fall apart at a moment's notice.

Would I purchase from Temu again? Sure. Do I need to? Not really. Everything I could possibly need as a creative can be ordered from Amazon, although as we've uncovered the poor warehouse and working conditions for Amazon staff, should we be spending our hard-earned money there either? 

Where do you think is the best place to shop for artists and creatives with limited income? We would love to hear your thoughts.