Modern Marketing in a Capitalist World

[Huntn]

Any of you familiar with Temu.com? Online retailer based in China. Wondering what you think.

Temu | Explore the Latest Clothing, Beauty, Home, Jewelry & More

Make Temu your one-stop destination for the latest fashion products, cosmetics & more. Free shipping on items shipped from Temu. Free returns within 90 days. Shop on Temu and start saving.

www.temu.com

Temu - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

- check the product quality section of this link. I hadn’t noticed it when I made this post.😳

Recently at a family get together my brother in law had a cap he was wearing not your standard baseball cap, but a newsboy profile. He told me temu.com and by the way he told me don’t worry about all the spinning wheels and lures. So I got the app and the first thing I noticed was a bunch of spinning wheels promising for me to win things a discounted prices. And I have to admit the prices are pretty damn discounted. I can buy plain T-shirts for $3, a news boy cat for $7, a battery powered portable drill, and a box of tools for $10 each, a rechargeable battery powered auto tire inflator for $6, rechargeable flashlights for $3.

OK, the caveat here is that I’m in a trial phase of my own making. The real question in my mind is this a deal or is it an illusion, just a bunch of cheap crap? So far undetermined, the T-shirts I ordered are OK they’re synthetic, I prefer cotton or cotton blend, but they’re lightweight and feel dry in a hot climate. The battery powered tire inflator, I’ve topped off the tires on two of my cars and it ended up at about half charge. The question will be how long does it last? The battery powered drill, I’ve always resisted lithium powered drills because my understanding is that the battery becomes an expense down the road. This drill is smaller than a standard electric drill that I’m used to, and it remains to be seen how much power it has and how long it holds up. Granted, these days I’m not doing that much drilling, but I’m going to need to set a screw in a concrete wall and I’m gonna see how it does with drilling the hole. I figure for eight dollars I could take the risk.

i ordered a set of sockets for working on the car and these things are cheap as hell. Two of the sockets were damaged so I returned them hasslefree. I ordered two button up shirts, maybe a total of eight dollars and one was too big (check the size chart) and the other one didn’t look anything like what was image of it. So those got returned and the revelation is, they don’t want you to send it back to them, so far they won’t ask for them back because it’s not viable for their expense to return it. They’ll offer you a credit of the same value of your purchase to keep it or if you insist on returning, they will refund it back to your credit card.

Then there’s the phone app they’re running a promotion where you get $100 back but it’s very misleading. Buy three items to get your hundred dollars cash except it’s not that, it’s by three items to get some credit towards $100 back and to qualify my guesses, you’d have to spend $200 or $300 or $400:dollars. Seems like your phone is constantly dinging with alerts from them. We got a deal, spin the wheel, get your guaranteed discount for items for a penny each. The caveat is you have to buy enough stuff to make up a $25 order so it’s very likely with your deals, you feel pressured to buy stuff you don’t need. I’m starting to ignore their phone messaging, but I have not deleted this app yet… 🤔

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Any of you familiar with Temu.com? Online retailer based in China. Wondering what you think.

Temu | Explore the Latest Clothing, Beauty, Home, Jewelry & More

Make Temu your one-stop destination for the latest fashion products, cosmetics & more. Free shipping on items shipped from Temu. Free returns within 90 days. Shop on Temu and start saving.

www.temu.com

Temu - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

- check the product quality section of this link. I hadn’t noticed it when I made this post.😳

Recently at a family get together my brother in law had a cap he was wearing not your standard baseball cap, but a newsboy profile. He told me temu.com and by the way he told me don’t worry about all the spinning wheels and lures. So I got the app and the first thing I noticed was a bunch of spinning wheels promising for me to win things a discounted prices. And I have to admit the prices are pretty damn discounted. I can buy plain T-shirts for $3, a news boy cat for $7, a battery powered portable drill, and a box of tools for $10 each, a rechargeable battery powered auto tire inflator for $6, rechargeable flashlights for $3.

OK, the caveat here is that I’m in a trial phase of my own making. The real question in my mind is this a deal or is it an illusion, just a bunch of cheap crap? So far undetermined, the T-shirts I ordered are OK they’re synthetic, I prefer cotton or cotton blend, but they’re lightweight and feel dry in a hot climate. The battery powered tire inflator, I’ve topped off the tires on two of my cars and it ended up at about half charge. The question will be how long does it last? The battery powered drill, I’ve always resisted lithium powered drills because my understanding is that the battery becomes an expense down the road. This drill is smaller than a standard electric drill that I’m used to, and it remains to be seen how much power it has and how long it holds up. Granted, these days I’m not doing that much drilling, but I’m going to need to set a screw in a concrete wall and I’m gonna see how it does with drilling the hole. I figure for eight dollars I could take the risk.

i ordered a set of sockets for working on the car and these things are cheap as hell. Two of the sockets were damaged so I returned them hasslefree. I ordered two button up shirts, maybe a total of eight dollars and one was too big (check the size chart) and the other one didn’t look anything like what was image of it. So those got returned and the revelation is, they don’t want you to send it back to them, so far they won’t ask for them back because it’s not viable for their expense to return it. They’ll offer you a credit of the same value of your purchase to keep it or if you insist on returning, they will refund it back to your credit card.

Then there’s the phone app they’re running a promotion where you get $100 back but it’s very misleading. Buy three items to get your hundred dollars cash except it’s not that, it’s by three items to get some credit towards $100 back and to qualify my guesses, you’d have to spend $200 or $300 or $400:dollars. Seems like your phone is constantly dinging with alerts from them. We got a deal, spin the wheel, get your guaranteed discount for items for a penny each. The caveat is you have to buy enough stuff to make up a $25 order so it’s very likely with your deals, you feel pressured to buy stuff you don’t need. I’m starting to ignore their phone messaging, but I have not deleted this app yet… 🤔

Why - apart from price - would you even wish to buy any of this stuff?

Personally, to take one example from your list, it is not just that I deeply dislike synthetic material, rather, it is that I loathe it, and am profoundly allergic to it; there is no price on the planet that could persuade me to purchase a synthetic garment.

And, irrespective of price, (and the blandishments of marketing) there is the not so minor matter of poor quality: I see no reason - short of dire need - why one should wish to buy goods where the quality is shoddy.

 

[KaliYoni]

Temu.com

Just a quick comment (disclosure: I’m not a Temu user but I follow retailing and e-commerce closely from an investor’s perspective) about buying anything that involves shipments directly to you from outside the United States: be sure to check your duty and tariff liability before placing an order. Earlier this week the direct-to-consumer exemption from customs charges on shipments valued under US$800 was rescinded. So even if an item’s retail price is low, your actual cost could end up being extremely high in addition to the time and effort required to deal with importing goods.

—————
The OP in this discussion, which predates last week’s federal government actions, went though an experience that shows what can happen:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/tariffs-anyone-have-to-pay-recently.2463169/

And if that sounds bad, I think things are only going to get worse.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Any of you familiar with Temu.com? Online retailer based in China. Wondering what you think.

Temu | Explore the Latest Clothing, Beauty, Home, Jewelry & More

Make Temu your one-stop destination for the latest fashion products, cosmetics & more. Free shipping on items shipped from Temu. Free returns within 90 days. Shop on Temu and start saving.

www.temu.com

Temu - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

- check the product quality section of this link. I hadn’t noticed it when I made this post.😳

Recently at a family get together my brother in law had a cap he was wearing not your standard baseball cap, but a newsboy profile. He told me temu.com and by the way he told me don’t worry about all the spinning wheels and lures. So I got the app and the first thing I noticed was a bunch of spinning wheels promising for me to win things a discounted prices. And I have to admit the prices are pretty damn discounted. I can buy plain T-shirts for $3, a news boy cat for $7, a battery powered portable drill, and a box of tools for $10 each, a rechargeable battery powered auto tire inflator for $6, rechargeable flashlights for $3.

OK, the caveat here is that I’m in a trial phase of my own making. The real question in my mind is this a deal or is it an illusion, just a bunch of cheap crap? So far undetermined, the T-shirts I ordered are OK they’re synthetic, I prefer cotton or cotton blend, but they’re lightweight and feel dry in a hot climate. The battery powered tire inflator, I’ve topped off the tires on two of my cars and it ended up at about half charge. The question will be how long does it last? The battery powered drill, I’ve always resisted lithium powered drills because my understanding is that the battery becomes an expense down the road. This drill is smaller than a standard electric drill that I’m used to, and it remains to be seen how much power it has and how long it holds up. Granted, these days I’m not doing that much drilling, but I’m going to need to set a screw in a concrete wall and I’m gonna see how it does with drilling the hole. I figure for eight dollars I could take the risk.

i ordered a set of sockets for working on the car and these things are cheap as hell. Two of the sockets were damaged so I returned them hasslefree. I ordered two button up shirts, maybe a total of eight dollars and one was too big (check the size chart) and the other one didn’t look anything like what was image of it. So those got returned and the revelation is, they don’t want you to send it back to them, so far they won’t ask for them back because it’s not viable for their expense to return it. They’ll offer you a credit of the same value of your purchase to keep it or if you insist on returning, they will refund it back to your credit card.

Then there’s the phone app they’re running a promotion where you get $100 back but it’s very misleading. Buy three items to get your hundred dollars cash except it’s not that, it’s by three items to get some credit towards $100 back and to qualify my guesses, you’d have to spend $200 or $300 or $400:dollars. Seems like your phone is constantly dinging with alerts from them. We got a deal, spin the wheel, get your guaranteed discount for items for a penny each. The caveat is you have to buy enough stuff to make up a $25 order so it’s very likely with your deals, you feel pressured to buy stuff you don’t need. I’m starting to ignore their phone messaging, but I have not deleted this app yet… 🤔

Heard of them? How could you not as their adverts are everywhere!

I’d not touch them personally. They pay zero tax in my country (everyone else pays 20% VAT to the government).
Plus you might save a few pounds, but I really don’t think it’s worth it.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Just a quick comment (disclosure: I’m not a Temu user but I follow retailing and e-commerce closely from an investor’s perspective) about buying anything that involves shipments directly to you from outside the United States: be sure to check your duty and tariff liability before placing an order. Earlier this week the direct-to-consumer exemption from customs charges on shipments valued under US$800 was rescinded. So even if an item’s retail price is low, your actual cost could end up being extremely high in addition to the time and effort required to deal with importing goods.

—————
The OP in this discussion, which predates last week’s federal government actions, went though an experience that shows what can happen:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/tariffs-anyone-have-to-pay-recently.2463169/

And if that sounds bad, I think things are only going to get worse.

This is also an angle, or perspective, that needs to be taken into account.

 

[Huntn]

Why - apart from price - would you even wish to buy any of this stuff?

Personally, to take one example from your list, it is not just that I deeply dislike synthetic material, rather, it is that I loathe it, and am profoundly allergic to it; there is no price on the planet that could persuade me to purchase a synthetic garment.

And, irrespective of price, (and the blandishments of marketing) there is the not so minor matter of poor quality: I see no reason - short of dire need - why one should wish to buy goods where the quality is shoddy.

The reality is we are in a capitalist sink hole. The Wki link I posted does indicates a lot in the buyer beware category. And as I said this was a test on my part. If these things are junk, I will be happy to say so.

• The hat I purchased is fine.
• The T shirts I got are acceptably wearable and presentable. People I talk to in hot climates swear by synthetic material as not becoming sopping wet on you like cotton. But normally, I prefer cotton or a cotton blend
• The battery powered drill, I’ve been wanting one, and figure $10 was not too much of a gamble to verify if garbage or not, cause why pay $100+ for one used very infrequently?

I’ve had some experience with another US retailer, Harbor Freight, which used to offer excellent value on hardware tools at a lower price, but they too have slipped into the cheap Chinese mode. I will still buy things there for a limited intended use, and the absolute junk, I return first thing.

 

[Huntn]

Just a quick comment (disclosure: I’m not a Temu user but I follow retailing and e-commerce closely from an investor’s perspective) about buying anything that involves shipments directly to you from outside the United States: be sure to check your duty and tariff liability before placing an order. Earlier this week the direct-to-consumer exemption from customs charges on shipments valued under US$800 was rescinded. So even if an item’s retail price is low, your actual cost could end up being extremely high in addition to the time and effort required to deal with importing goods.

—————
The OP in this discussion, which predates last week’s federal government actions, went though an experience that shows what can happen:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/tariffs-anyone-have-to-pay-recently.2463169/

And if that sounds bad, I think things are only going to get worse.

Of interest this site mentions on individual items “no tarrif fees” at least so far.

 

[eyoungren]

My wife was buying from TEMU for a while. She's a elementary school teacher, so while this stuff is cheap (both in price and quality) it's not something you're expecting to be durable in a classroom environment.

My daughter wanted a backpack from there once. It lasted about a year and I think was smaller than she expected. I bought some cheap robot toys my wife wanted from there as well. All of this was quite a few years ago.

Then my wife's TEMU account got hacked and her card fraudulently charged. We got that back and she removed the card from her account. Haven't used TEMU since because the value of what we were getting isn't worth that.

Periodically I will see some news headline where a tech reporter bought some weird mini-vehicle or something off TEMU and then was reporting on what actually came in the box. 🤷‍♂️

TEMU is the Amazon of China. About all that can be said on that.

 

[chown33]

• The battery powered drill, I’ve been wanting one, and figure $10 was not too much of a gamble to verify if garbage or not, cause why pay $100+ for one used very infrequently?

A cheap battery can catch fire, and burn down the building where it's stored, or being charged.

An acquaintance of mine had a garage fire a few years ago that was started by a battery-powered leaf-blower's battery being recharged overnite. It was a lithium-ion battery, of significant capacity, from a "no-name" brand, and it took out the garage and the car that was in it. Insurance covered it, but still, better safe than sorry.

In truth, any lithium-ion battery, even from a well-known mfgr can go up in flames. It doesn't need to be old or visibly damaged, either.

 

[Huntn]

A cheap battery can catch fire, and burn down the building where it's stored, or being charged.

An acquaintance of mine had a garage fire a few years ago that was started by a battery-powered leaf-blower's battery being recharged overnite. It was a lithium-ion battery, of significant capacity, from a "no-name" brand, and it took out the garage and the car that was in it. Insurance covered it, but still, better safe than sorry.

In truth, any lithium-ion battery, even from a well-known mfgr can go up in flames. It doesn't need to be old or visibly damaged, either.

I’m not sure what kind of batteries the drill has and I’m more than ready to acknowledge that it’s is a piece of junk when it comes time to do that. As I said, this is a low cost experiment for me.

 

[Huntn]

My wife was buying from TEMU for a while. She's a elementary school teacher, so while this stuff is cheap (both in price and quality) it's not something you're expecting to be durable in a classroom environment.

My daughter wanted a backpack from there once. It lasted about a year and I think was smaller than she expected. I bought some cheap robot toys my wife wanted from there as well. All of this was quite a few years ago.

Then my wife's TEMU account got hacked and her card fraudulently charged. We got that back and she removed the card from her account. Haven't used TEMU since because the value of what we were getting isn't worth that.

Periodically I will see some news headline where a tech reporter bought some weird mini-vehicle or something off TEMU and then was reporting on what actually came in the box. 🤷‍♂️

TEMU is the Amazon of China. About all that can be said on that.

On my phone, I’m getting constantly bombarded by “free stuff”, “$.01” stuff,” “spin to win”, note you always win. I anticipate I’ll be removing this app from my phone soon…