A company by the name of Temu has gained lots of attention in the past year. That’s thanks in part to partnerships with influencers across TikTok and other social media platforms promoting their ultra-affordable goods and trying to show potential customers that the site is legit. But Temu has also faced flack about issues with shipping and delivery times. So how long Temu actually take to ship?
What is Temu?
Temu is an online store for heavily discounted consumer goods—everything from clothing to household items to electronics. For instance, you can find bracelets for $0.78 and sunglasses at 66% off. They frequently advertise additional sales, and opportunities to earn credits or coupons on the site or through referral programs.
How long does Temu take to ship?
Products ordered from Temu come from China-based vendors, so they take a longer time to ship to the United States than if you were simply purchasing from Amazon, Target, or another US-based retailer.
Standard shipping is “free on almost all orders,” according to the website, and is expected to take from six to 20 days. For those hoping to receive their products more quickly, express shipping is also an option, with an estimated arrival time of four to nine days. The upgrade is free on orders over $129, whereas those that fail to meet that threshold will have to pay an additional $12.90 in shipping fees. All orders reportedly take between one and three days for the warehouse to process before being sent out.
What’s the catch?
Temu only launched in September 2022, but has already been the subject of a number of complaints revolving around shipping delays. Time Magazine reported that the Better Business Bureau already had 31 complaints against Temu by December of the same year, leaving it with a 1.4 star (out of 5) rating at the time. That number has since swelled to 1,020 complaints, although all have been marked as closed and the rating has since bumped up to a 2.58.
Though the reasons for the complaints vary, a number revolve around issues with shipping, delivery, and returns. Temu offers delivery tracking through its website, and asks customers to contact them immediately and again within 90 days if an order has not shown up in time or has been marked as delivered but was not received.
It’s unclear whether the shipping concerns with Temu in its earliest days have improved, although they have started offering a “late delivery compensation” in the form of Temu credit for most orders not delivered within 48 hours of the latest estimated delivery date.
Still, with large delivery windows, overseas transportation, and a history of issues from other customers, placing time-sensitive orders on the site may be a gamble.
What do people think of Temu?
As evinced by the Daily Dot’s coverage, there are concerns about the company from some TikTokers. One chronicled the number of Temu packages at their job awaiting delivery, though some commenters on that video weren’t sympathetic to that worker having work to do. Some have contended that Temu is “hacking” their financial information, with one documenting American Express fraud charges allegedly related to using it on the site. Another claimed her info was sold to the “black market,” which her bank account keeping siphoned a few dollars at a time, until she realized $400 was missing from the account as a result.