TEMU Bargains

[MileyWiley]

Any chance we can have a thread on TEMU items? I keep seeing items I know my (by Xmas) 8 year old girl would adore. So far bits and bobs we have had from there have been good - more luggage and summer based items so far. Have been looking at all the jewellery and bedroom organisers, night lights, etc. Would love to see anyone else’s finds! Also thinking that the whilst deliver is about a week at the moment, this is likely to increase my Xmas.

please no comments about human rights/ slave labour etc. the likes of other Chinese based bargain website, Shein, Amazon, Primark will be no better 🙂

There's vast a middle ground between only buying expensive ethical stuff and buying a massive mound of cheap, unnecessary novelties. Reduced consumption is the most ethical choice of all.

If you buy something in eg John Lewis or Sainsbury's it's not guaranteed that it will be safe and produced without the use of slave Labour as things can always slip through the net but they will have quality controls, safety protocols, anti-slavers policies, etc and they will undoubtedly regularly audit their suppliers and verify their supply chain. I would rather buy less/ pay a little more for that comfort.

I agree with you, but it’s not always the case.

A year or so ago I decided to stop buying makeup and other products that were tested on animals. It’s often the cruelty free products that are much cheaper. For example ELF v Chanel or Tesco own brand washing powder v Bold.

Hey, but if it sells to countries that require the CE marking, wouldn't it be illegal to sell without a CE marking?

And do you know that food wasn't harvested by children?

Do it come packaged without the use of plastic or paper etc...

Have you verified all the additives to make sure theres ZERO chemical contamination?

Unless you are filling it with eggs from your own chickens and cress you grew you have ZERO idea about what, how and where it came from same as any other stocking filler.

But isn't it illegal to sell without a CE marking to countries that require it for selling?

The issue here is people 'throwing stuff away' not that those things exist... if your wasteful that on you.

This cheap Chinese stuff is such poor quality it inevitably gets broken and thrown away very quickly. And that's the same whether you buy it from Temu or Amazon. So just don't buy cheap crap. Kids don't need stockings full of brand new toys they will play with twice.

The judgement of posters on this thread is sickening.

That’s quite a sensitive stomach that you have there op.

No, this is bollocks. It's not a choice between knowing every single thing about an item and knowing nothing at all (or even knowing full well it's poor quality and made by slave labour).

Most adults do not buy cheap tat. As said previously I buy things I know my children will enjoy such as pin badges. The quality has been the same as the £15 Disney pin badges she has! In fact the Disney pins all have lost their backs but the tat ones from temu all still have their original backs.

People know about child/slave labour and even expensive brands are apart of the problem. Not everyone can afford to source hand made items and as we are all aware companies hide their affiliation to these things.

Maybe the right thing to do would be to educate the employers and countries about these things so that conditions improve. If nobody buys these items who do you think suffers? So wouldn't it be better to improve their lives and conditions rather than just preach about how others choose to spend their money.

There is cheap (shein and primark) and too cheap (Temu).Of course China can produce more cheaply than Europe but the prices actually don’t make sense, even if you take into account slave labour, the raw materials have to cost more than the price. It’s not the 1980s anymore, China is developed now.

Temu is like Facebook (or MN). The commodity is you, the consumer. You are providing valuable information about yourself via the Temu app. That’s why I won’t buy from them.

You are an adult buying cheap tat though aren't you? I consider teaching my children to be mindful consumers an important part of parenting.

You’ve hit the nail on the head. It is too cheap. Too good to be true.

How is buying pin badges that my daughter collects tat?
The other thing I buy are craft supplies that I use.

So no tat. Maybe you need to keep your judgement to yourself. You have no idea about my children or my parenting. So you have no reason to make veiled digs.

I've bought stationery items mainly - post it notes, page marker tabs, stickers. Many of the exact same items are on Amazon for 3x the price.

I've also bought some socks that seem decent quality. Oh, and a pair of slippers and they are lovely.

Wouldn't buy jewellery, clothes or anything that goes near food just in case of the materials not being safe but I doubt something made of paper is going to be dangerous.

I really don't see how it's different from the stuff in pound shops or B&M and the like, and of course Amazon etc. I've been involved in product manufacturing a little through a previous job and you'd be surprised how much of what small UK businesses sell at a huge markup is actually made in just these same Chinese factories. Enamel pin badges mentioned on this thread for example are nearly always from China.

The fact that this stuff is cheaper on temu is a large part of the problem though. If people were just buying 1 cheap badge, rather than 1 £15 badge it would be less of an issue. But in reality they're probably just spending £15 on more cheap badges. Mindless consumerism. And however much people may like them, it is just tat.

@stripytees
I really don't see how it's different from the stuff in pound shops or B&M and the like, and of course Amazon etc

Temu is completely different. They force you to buy through their app. The consumer is the commodity.

Isn’t collecting things like pin badges the poster child definition of owning things for the sake of owning them? Or do pin badges have some sort of hidden purpose that I’m unaware of? They’re cute sure, and owning cute pointless things isn’t completely bad, but isn’t it better to own a few carefully curated pin badges in quality materials and of a decent standard than trying to own as many as logistically possible by buying cheap crappy ones?

The OP asked what Xmas things people had bought on Temu. She doesn't need a lecture from the morality police.

This thread is a shocker.

• "Temu could be trying to get your data" - MumsNet asks your kids birth dates when you sign up.

• "Someone buying off Temu is buying tat" - Tons of UK suppliers/retailers sell the same items, made in China, as Temu sells.

• "Buying off Temu isn't helping the environment" - I purchased a packet of ham from a supermarket last week, they were circular slices, the packet was so big that I could fit 3 slices next to each other.

If someone wants to purchase things from Temu that's up to them, they shouldn't be criticised for it.

Literally every person on this thread will have something in their house that is 'made in China' if they didn't buy it cheap the chances are the company they got it from did and just charged a higher price to sell it on to the them.

Hate on China all you like but at the end of the day almost every electrical item you see is made in China or contains components made in China.

It's an open forum. You don't get to dictate what other people say.

Seriously the only difference between "carefully curated" pin badges and temu/wish is the price