TEMU experience

[Martin Roper]

Nothing seems to elicit more controversy than this new Chinese online retailer. Their prices range from pretty good to how-the-heck-do-they-do-that? Some of it is very similar or even identical to items marketed by Milescraft, Rockler, Woodcraft, etc.

On the plus side, many on YouTube and elsewhere were delighted with their purchases and some complained that it was junk. Just type "TEMU" into YT and you'll see what I mean.

I decided to test them out and ordered some less-expensive items to see if they were decent, and if they were crapola I wouldn't be out much. I followed the same "rules" I used to use years ago when buying stuff from Harbor Freight: nothing with a motor, no consumables, and nothing with an irreplaceable blade that needed to keep an edge.

One of the critiques of TEMU is that your order comes in a plastic bag. Folks who ordered fragile items like rules and such had items that were bent or dented.

Here's some mini-reviews of the stuff I bought.

MFT Bench clamp

$31.03 I couldn't find anything like this on Amazon or other US retail sites. They're nicely made and finished and exert better clamping pressure than the cam-type clamps I bought on Amazon. I can see these getting a lot of use.

450mm Aluminum Miter Bar

$10.98 This size is about $16.00 on Amazon. I paid $9.98. I'm planning on making some table saw jigs so I ordered three of these. They look perfectly reasonable.

Tongue & groove router bit set

$13.28 for the set. I paid $12.66. This was an experiment. I'll be interested to see how these hold up. I'm not expecting much. We'll see. I did buy a cheap Chinese lock miter bit on Amazon some time back and it has been good enough, comparable to most "budget" bits from name brand manufacturers.

Dowel maker

$23.83 This is $29.99 on Amazon. The pic shows metric sizes so I thought I'd end up having to drill metric holes for the dowels, but to my surprise the one I received is Imperial. It's machined aluminum and the fit and finish is excellent. I haven't tried it yet. I'll give it a go this weekend and report how it goes. This came in a nice cardboard box with foam lining.

 

[tri4sale]

I did a test ordering from Temu and same item from Amazon. Multi-tool blades, some garden items. When I put the Temu and Amazon blades side by side there was zero difference, but Temu blades cost about 30% less. Honestly couldn't tell you which were Temu and which were Amazon at this point. And compared to buying from Lowe's and Home Depot the cost was considerably less.

 

[HITCH-]

Temu takes data mining to a whole new level.
IMHO, the low prices for the items that they are selling are not worth the trade off for all of the information that they are stealing from you.

Temu: An In-depth Look as Data and Malware Concerns Spike - Grit Daily News

Learn about popular shopping site Temu as surrounding data collection and malware concerns leave some wary.

gritdaily.com

 

[creasman]

I purchased a small square from them b/c I couldn't find what I wanted anywhere else. It came in a plastic bag (as mentioned), but I had no issues with the quality. It works and was very inexpensive. They do pop up in all sorts of ads now when I surf the web, though.

 

[Michael Mathews]

I have also ordered some stuff from Temu. So far it's been a hit and miss experience. I've attempted to send a couple things back and they just refund my money and tell me to keep the item. I did order a corner woodworking square that looks very much like a Woodpeckers made unit. Very inexpensive and nice quality! I'm very happy with that purchase. One thing I've found is once you order from them they begin to hound you to order more. They are very aggressive. Also I've been getting a lot of spam from fake Temu emails so I have to be very diligent and pay attention before clicking on any emails from them. I just delete most anyway. I agree with the others experience, nothing comes in a box! It's all packaged loosely wrapped in a sealed bag. Very poor packaging! Oh, one other item I've be very happy with is I bought an after market watch band for my Samsung Galaxy Smart watch. It's a pretty nice band, very comfortable, and well made.

 

[PeteM]

Adding to what Hutch said earlier:

"Temu is doing next to nothing to keep its supply chains free from slave labor,” said Congressman Mike Gallagher. “At the same time, Temu and Shein are building empires around the de minimis loophole in our import rules—dodging import taxes and evading scrutiny on the millions of goods they sell to Americans.”"

Is Temu Ethical? Here's Why You Should Be Wary

Just something to consider.

 

[Martin Roper]

Is Temu Ethical? Here's Why You Should Be Wary

Just something to consider.

It seems that the article is mostly addressing clothing. Most of the tools on TEMU and Banggood come from the same factories that make tools for Amazon, Home Depot or Lowes.

For instance, compare the dowel jig above to this one from Amazon:

 

[Martin Roper]

I found a comp available in the US through TSO Products for the TEMU MFT ratchet clamps I post above.

Axminster Ratchet Hold Down Clamp

This one does offer the option of using the supplied locking knob and washer to secure it from below. I guess it's up to the buyer to determine if that's worth double the price. They do look identical otherwise.

 

[tri4sale]

I found a comp available in the US through TSO Products for the TEMU MFT ratchet clamps I post above.


Axminster Ratchet Hold Down Clamp

This one does offer the option of using the supplied locking knob and washer to secure it from below. I guess it's up to the buyer to determine if that's worth double the price. They do look identical otherwise.

They do look identical because they probably roll off the same assembly line. Only difference I can see is the end piece that goes into the hole, which if you look closely looks like its a removable part.

 

[wizerick]

Did you try the dowel maker? Curious how well it worked?

 

[Martin Roper]

Did you try the dowel maker? Curious how well it worked?

I'm going to try to get out there today to play with it.

 

[teesquare]

If price is your only metric......great....I guess.

But if you have a spec of concern for your data, this county's security, and - oh I don't know...watch the news occasionally...WHY would you buy the cheap Chinese stuff? *IS* it worth saving a little money - REALLY? NOT FOR ME......

 

[Gotcha6]

I've been seeing some favorable YouTube reviews on tools made in South Korea that might bear a serious look.

 

[HITCH-]

Today Show just did another story about Temu. (link below) If you download the app it gives them access to everything on your phone : contacts, pictures, text messages, camera, microphone, etc. They basically have full control of your phone.
There are 2 new class action lawsuits against Temu.

https://www.today.com/video/temu-faces-2-class-action-lawsuits-over-data-privacy-concerns-205174341972

 

[Joseph Delfino]

I placed an order on Temu today and used PayPal so they don't get to see my payment info. This is why I like Paypal, and the fact that whenever I had a problem when buying something PayPal has always made it right for me.

They do hammer you when checking out to buy more though. I even got a nag notice that I could still buy more after I had checked out and it would still come in the same order. I went back and almost added stuff LMAO.

 

[mighty_fine_sawdust]

I saw this a couple of weeks ago when Temu popped up on my phone with something I was looking for on google. it looked good and it was super cheap. I'm somewhat disenchanted with all online buying at the moment. I hate how Amazon, Lowes, Home Depot, Staples and the list goes on can't ever show you what you want or are searching for and instead try to get you to buy what they are selling. I hate having to research Amazon to make sure what they offer is what I'm looking for. So, this article is what I found about Temu. It's dirt cheap. could be a long wait for delivery. And who knows what they're using your info for. <Is Temu legit? What to know before you place an order>

 

[Joseph Delfino]

I spent days looking for a replacement wheel and tire for a log splitter I own. It's a Huskee splitter which has changed names to CountyLine. I actually bought two different wheels on Amazon I had to return mostly because I missed a spec but never thought it would or should be difficult to find something that would work seeing that all I ever did was drag the thing around my property. I never did find the axle, offset and tire size combo I was looking until finally somehow, I came across a site that sold a direct replacement. When looking around their site I noticed they sold the thing on Amazons site. Why, no matter how I searched for days couldn't I find it myself? Because Amazon promotes what they want you to see first, Not what you are looking for.
FWIW, whenever I buy from Amazon I also look up the ASIN number and use it here Amazon price tracker, Amazon price history charts, price watches, and price drop alerts. to see the price history. You'll be surprised how often and how much prices change there. Every product has an ASIN usually somewhere on the product page.

 

[mighty_fine_sawdust]

I spent days looking for a replacement wheel and tire for a log splitter I own. It's a Huskee splitter which has changed names to CountyLine. I actually bought two different wheels on Amazon I had to return mostly because I missed a spec but never thought it would or should be difficult to find something that would work seeing that all I ever did was drag the thing around my property. I never did find the axle, offset and tire size combo I was looking until finally somehow, I came across a site that sold a direct replacement. When looking around their site I noticed they sold the thing on Amazons site. Why, no matter how I searched for days couldn't I find it myself? Because Amazon promotes what they want you to see first, Not what you are looking for.
FWIW, whenever I buy from Amazon I also look up the ASIN number and use it here Amazon price tracker, Amazon price history charts, price watches, and price drop alerts. to see the price history. You'll be surprised how often and how much prices change there. Every product has an ASIN usually somewhere on the product page.

Agree. Over the last set of Thanksgiving and new year holidays I watched some things we wanted to buy for the home we are building. And just before black Friday, the prices went up and when black friday came, they were on sale at the price they were previously. Same all the way through Christmas.

 

[Oka]

I bought one og these on Aliexpress paid less than 20 bucks and did a recent review about a month ago. I works pretty well.

But, Temu was actually more expensive than Aliexpress.... just sayin'

It seems that the article is mostly addressing clothing. Most of the tools on TEMU and Banggood come from the same factories that make tools for Amazon, Home Depot or Lowes.

For instance, compare the dowel jig above to this one from Amazon:

View attachment 223383

 

[Gotcha6]

I saw this a couple of weeks ago when Temu popped up on my phone with something I was looking for on google. it looked good and it was super cheap. I'm somewhat disenchanted with all online buying at the moment. I hate how Amazon, Lowes, Home Depot, Staples and the list goes on can't ever show you what you want or are searching for and instead try to get you to buy what they are selling. I hate having to research Amazon to make sure what they offer is what I'm looking for. So, this article is what I found about Temu. It's dirt cheap. could be a long wait for delivery. And who knows what they're using your info for. <Is Temu legit? What to know before you place an order>

My pet peeve with Lowe's is I always ask for an email and printed receipt. I've not received an email receipt in over 1 year, but do you know what I HAVE received every time I buy? A customer survey form to fill out about what I bought - sent to the SAME email address I asked for the receipt from. I mention it in every survey I bother to fill out, but it still isn't fixed. The Temu stuff I bought turned out to be junk. Had 2 items replaced twice each because they were defective, and the on item that worked started to rust after 3 weeks outdoors. BTW, it was a wind art arrangement meant to be outdoors.