by To divide
Online retailer Temu advertises cheap products and generous return conditions. But the reality is often different. What customers need to know.
Kassel – He advertises quality products at low prices and wants to give Amazon a lot of competition: the Temu online store wants to conquer the world market. He tempts with offers such as smartwatches for around 17 euros or floor mats for less than five euros – but what initially seems attractive turns out to be a trap for the customer.
Returns at the Temu cheap store – customers should be careful
The Boston-based company sells, among other things, defective products. The number of complaints continues to increase, as can be seen on the Temu app. Customers write about “poor product quality”, “waste of resources” and “goods in plastic bags”. The online seller has attracted attention in the past due to negative headlines.
Consumer advocates are now warning against Temu because the store aggressively advertises its cheap products on social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Despite everything, he is successful. The founder’s private assets are constantly growing, reported Handelszeitung.ch in September this year. One of the reasons why some fake stores also target Temu.
But rapid growth and success in online commerce also often has its downsides. This means that more and more damaged products reach buyers in Germany. While Temu doesn’t just offer free shipping on all orders, it also offers free 90-day returns. But: customers who want to return the products they delivered must “be aware of some pitfalls”, now warns chip.de.
Temu customers in Germany should know this
- 90-day return period: This only applies to the first order. If the customer purchases multiple products and returns some or all of them within the deadline, there will be no return shipping costs. If customers later return the products they ordered from this order, they will have to pay a shipping fee of three euros for each additional return. However, this is often not profitable for cheap products purchased with a value of less than three euros. Temu therefore advises on its website to group returns into a single shipment to avoid additional fees. This would also reduce the environmental impact of multiple returns.
- Defective packaging: Temu products often arrive in inadequate packaging or are easily damaged when opened. Customers would then have to pay the packaging costs themselves, he warns chip.de. Therefore, it is important to open products and their packaging carefully – and protect order boxes. If the goods have to be returned later.
- Refunds are delayed: Additionally, it can often take a long time for customers to receive refunds for returned items. The online store writes on its website: “Depending on your financial institution, it may take five to 14 business days (up to 30 days) for the refund to be credited to your original payment account.” Customers therefore have the option of accepting Temu credits in lieu of refunds. According to the online retailer, this is faster.
However, returns are not always possible. For example, Temu does not accept returns on used or washed clothing items. Anyone who has removed hygiene labels or stickers will also not be able to return the ordered merchandise. Additionally, the seller also excludes returns items marked as non-refundable. The same applies to giveaways.
If you are still impressed by the cheap products, only order from Temu if you don’t need your money back quickly. A collective order, of which only some items must be kept, is not recommended due to the complex return option. Only recently did the consumer advisory center warn about scams involving Amazon packages. (O)
Machine assistance was used for this article written by the editorial team. The article was carefully checked by editor Alina Schröder before publication.
