Temu takes 10 days or less to air ship something from China to the USA's west coast and the prices are significantly cheaper. HOWEVER, they don't pack things well (unlike Shopee sellers who OVERPACK things!) meaning I am very leery of ordering anything expensive or breakable from them. HOWEVER, I did order my parents a $20 egg steamer from Temu that I had seen on KL Foodie and they said it arrived OK BUT my mother still has to figure out the nuisances of it though as the directions are a bit vague and there can be a bit of variance when it comes to eggs and timings... However, Temu has opened warehouses in the USA and when I visit my parents later this summer, I might order a garden trellis (that would come from their warehouse), solar powered security camera, a cat collar with a camera (for fun!) etc...
Shopee can be annoying as if you orders items from different sellers, its RM3-4 for shipping from each seller...
ALSO I WROTE THIS IN A RECENT POST: "Tucker Carlson just interviewed https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1789052798870471092 an Amazon seller who appeared in a recent documentary (Amazon — Market. Power! Monopoly? | How Amazon Hikes Prices & Copies Product https://youtu.be/8L6MaNVNBuQ) and sells a $17 product - of which, Amazon takes $10 leaving him with just $7 to cover the product’s cost, rent, employees, etc. And if he tries to sell his product cheaper elsewhere, Amazon’s computers will detect it and he looses his Amazon “buy box” along with most of his sales....He also said that the Chinese make up roughly half of the top sellers on Amazon as they can still undercut American sellers after Amazon’s take (something that is also happening on the ground in Nicaragua: Chinese Megastores are Suffocating Nicaraguan Businesses)...."
FRANKLY, I would rather wait 2 weeks and get something alot cheaper from Temu at the source in China than give Jeff Bezos $10 of a $17 item!
Thanks for your input. It’s very interesting. My main concern is delivery within China, but with more Chinese companies expanding abroad, it’s an important topic.
Have no idea how delivery is done in China but have heard they can literally get it to you w/i hours (by motorcycle?) as that's how efficient they are albeit Chinese cities are more densely populated than KL and nearly all American cities - so probably not to difficult to do for the big players...
I included this in my post today - it might be interesting if you could write about how selling works on these platforms and what sellers or suppliers actually earn vs platform etc - the amazon documentary and tucker interview I mentioned earlier were eye openers:
China’s major e-commerce players, including Alibaba (NYSE: BABA)’s AliExpress, PDD Holdings (NASDAQ: PDD)’ Temu, and Shein, introduced a "semi-consignment" business model to enhance logistics and sales.
The semi-consignment model allows merchants more control over pricing and quicker delivery by using overseas inventory, compared to the full-consignment model.
This new model diversifies services and helps platforms respond to increased regulatory scrutiny, especially regarding U.S. air freight and de minimis rules.
I wrote about my experiences and what I have ordered from Temu + Amazon in the USA and Shopee + Lazada in Malaysia: https://emergingmarketskeptic.substack.com/p/can-temu-take-on-amazon-and-the-rest-of-world
Temu takes 10 days or less to air ship something from China to the USA's west coast and the prices are significantly cheaper. HOWEVER, they don't pack things well (unlike Shopee sellers who OVERPACK things!) meaning I am very leery of ordering anything expensive or breakable from them. HOWEVER, I did order my parents a $20 egg steamer from Temu that I had seen on KL Foodie and they said it arrived OK BUT my mother still has to figure out the nuisances of it though as the directions are a bit vague and there can be a bit of variance when it comes to eggs and timings... However, Temu has opened warehouses in the USA and when I visit my parents later this summer, I might order a garden trellis (that would come from their warehouse), solar powered security camera, a cat collar with a camera (for fun!) etc...
Shopee can be annoying as if you orders items from different sellers, its RM3-4 for shipping from each seller...
ALSO I WROTE THIS IN A RECENT POST: "Tucker Carlson just interviewed https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1789052798870471092 an Amazon seller who appeared in a recent documentary (Amazon — Market. Power! Monopoly? | How Amazon Hikes Prices & Copies Product https://youtu.be/8L6MaNVNBuQ) and sells a $17 product - of which, Amazon takes $10 leaving him with just $7 to cover the product’s cost, rent, employees, etc. And if he tries to sell his product cheaper elsewhere, Amazon’s computers will detect it and he looses his Amazon “buy box” along with most of his sales....He also said that the Chinese make up roughly half of the top sellers on Amazon as they can still undercut American sellers after Amazon’s take (something that is also happening on the ground in Nicaragua: Chinese Megastores are Suffocating Nicaraguan Businesses)...."
FRANKLY, I would rather wait 2 weeks and get something alot cheaper from Temu at the source in China than give Jeff Bezos $10 of a $17 item!
Thanks for your input. It’s very interesting. My main concern is delivery within China, but with more Chinese companies expanding abroad, it’s an important topic.
Have no idea how delivery is done in China but have heard they can literally get it to you w/i hours (by motorcycle?) as that's how efficient they are albeit Chinese cities are more densely populated than KL and nearly all American cities - so probably not to difficult to do for the big players...
Yes 30 minutes is standard. Can't imagine my life without it. Totally spoiled.
I included this in my post today - it might be interesting if you could write about how selling works on these platforms and what sellers or suppliers actually earn vs platform etc - the amazon documentary and tucker interview I mentioned earlier were eye openers:
🇨🇳 China’s Cross-Border Ecommerce Platforms Try to Lure More Sellers With Better Terms (Caixin) $ https://www.caixinglobal.com/2024-06-19/chinas-cross-border-ecommerce-platforms-try-to-lure-more-sellers-with-better-terms-102207773.html
China’s major e-commerce players, including Alibaba (NYSE: BABA)’s AliExpress, PDD Holdings (NASDAQ: PDD)’ Temu, and Shein, introduced a "semi-consignment" business model to enhance logistics and sales.
The semi-consignment model allows merchants more control over pricing and quicker delivery by using overseas inventory, compared to the full-consignment model.
This new model diversifies services and helps platforms respond to increased regulatory scrutiny, especially regarding U.S. air freight and de minimis rules.