[Misc] Has anyone used temu or Ali express?

[boik]

Look, if European sellers could produce the same goods for the same price, more people would use the more local sites. Why should I pay four times the price for something just because a bunny hugger say China is abusing the planet?
It really pisses me off when people go all Thunberg on issues like this....I'll become more environmentally aware when the alternative is financially viable

It really pisses me off when people sacrifice their grandchildrens future for a few bits of plastic tat, but then I guess we've all got our priorities eh?

 

[Zeberdi]

Look, if European sellers could produce the same goods for the same price, more people would use the more local sites. Why should I pay four times the price for something just because a bunny hugger say China is abusing the planet?
It really pisses me off when people go all Thunberg on issues like this....I'll become more environmentally aware when the alternative is financially viable

So no ethical shopping on environmental grounds for you despite the UK consumer import market contributing to CC?

There are two other main reasons we in the UK can get cheap products from China and it may have more to do with how China manages it’s cheap labour market than people realise:

Forced labor still haunts China’s Xinjiang, report finds

Findings will likely raise pressure on Western lawmakers to restrict imports from the region.

www.politico.eu

Migrant workers who helped power China’s economic miracle face bleak future

China’s first generation of migrant workers helped build the country into an economic powerhouse. But now, as they age out of the workforce, they face a bleak future with meagre benefits – or none at all.

www.scmp.com

If forced migrant labour or poor working conditions for Chinese mass production workers doesn’t appeal to one’s sense of social justice then perhaps health & safety issues might - How about the cheap but unsafe imports for kids and grandkids Christmas and Birthdays that can be bought online? Or uncertified electrical goods that can cause a fire?

https://www.btha.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Dont-toy-with-childrens-safety-Online-Marketplaces-Report-2019.pdf

I avoid buying any Chinese products through online markets for good reason.

 

[BN41Albion]

Look, if European sellers could produce the same goods for the same price, more people would use the more local sites. Why should I pay four times the price for something just because a bunny hugger say China is abusing the planet?
It really pisses me off when people go all Thunberg on issues like this....I'll become more environmentally aware when the alternative is financially viable

Bunny hugger? Ffs
I hope you don't have kids and have aspirations for their future

No-one here has blamed individuals. It's the culture we live in. We're all to blame for f***ing ourselves over to a lesser or greater extent. Just a shame so many people don't seem to give a shit enough to even try to change their ways , even a little bit, continuing to buy cheap shit they don't really need, fast fashion, etc

 

[Guinness Boy]

Absolute shit, mostly shipped from China on order, environmentally awful. These kind of companies certainly play their part in the reason we've no chance of saving ourselves from climate change

This. Avoid at all costs.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Look, if European sellers could produce the same goods for the same price, more people would use the more local sites. Why should I pay four times the price for something just because a bunny hugger say China is abusing the planet?
It really pisses me off when people go all Thunberg on issues like this....I'll become more environmentally aware when the alternative is financially viable

What if that "bunny hugger" points out that the cheap prices are because of slave labour ?

 

[Coldeanseagull]

Obviously, my need for a cheaper way to live my life outweighs the social issues involved. I'm not going to argue with people who have a social conscience and the finances to shop at places that sell the same goods at a higher price.
Maybe it's best I just ignore this thread

 

[Zeberdi]

Look, if European sellers could produce the same goods for the same price, more people would use the more local sites. Why should I pay four times the price for something just because a bunny hugger say China is abusing the planet?
It really pisses me off when people go all Thunberg on issues like this....I'll become more environmentally aware when the alternative is financially viable

I’m assuming this is in part to my post above pointing out the impact of China’s export industry on emissions as well China’s record on using slave labour to produce them.

However, I can assure you that I am not a ”bunny hugger” or a “tree hugger” in the derogatory sense you meant it nor even a ‘social rights warrior’ - I work in the field of environmental sciences and have a reasonable social concience but I also support your freedom of choice.

The facts are there about the impact of your shopping choices.

If you chose to ignore them that’s up to you.

If you chose to ignore the very real safety concerns about 3rd party Chinese sellers on online market platforms like Amazon selling cheap toys for your kids and the fire risk of uncertified electrical goods that is also your choice but more fool you..

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

Look, if European sellers could produce the same goods for the same price, more people would use the more local sites. Why should I pay four times the price for something just because a bunny hugger say China is abusing the planet?
It really pisses me off when people go all Thunberg on issues like this....I'll become more environmentally aware when the alternative is financially viable

It's not a question of price. A lot of this is unnecessary plastic crap.

A golf ball retriever? Come on. I'm no bunny hugger and dismissing people's concerns as such says a great deal about you and not about me.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

It's not a question of price. A lot of this is unnecessary plastic crap.

A golf ball retriever? Come on. I'm no bunny hugger and dismissing people's concerns as such says a great deal about you and not about me.

Indeed - I have two golf ball retrievers though ( bad me ) :

and

 

[Super Steve Earle]

Got a golf ball retriever and cleaning cloth from Temu for Fathers day presents - not used either in the field yet.

I do try to make a point of avoiding anything "made in China" but on price alone it's getting harder.

Bought 2 DFS sofas in Feb - made / built to order and shipped from China - I would imagine the boat fare was as much as I paid in full.
Arrived 17 weeks after date of order. Quality seems okay (so far).

 

[vegster]

Absolute shit, mostly shipped from China on order, environmentally awful. These kind of companies certainly play their part in the reason we've no chance of saving ourselves from climate change

Until the majority of people in work get a decent wage this stuff will keep flooding in.
Most of the stuff in the shops comes from China, India, Vietnam or Cambodia in order to maximise store profits Anyway, going Temu/Ali Express merely undercuts the price and a bit of quality.

 

[Dave the OAP]

It's not a question of price. A lot of this is unnecessary plastic crap.

A golf ball retriever? Come on. I'm no bunny hugger and dismissing people's concerns as such says a great deal about you and not about me.

Erm, if you play golf you need a golf ball retriever from either a pond, lake, river, stream, bush, forest, deep rough you can’t get to

they are invaluable when you use expensive balls!

 

[Bry Nylon]

Aside from the obvious and compelling environmental and ethical reasons for not using these sites and other like them, there is absolutely no way I’d buy any electrical goods from these type of retailers, especially chargers or replacement batteries.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Erm, if you play golf you need a golf ball retriever from either a pond, lake, river, stream, bush, forest, deep rough you can’t get to

they are invaluable when you use expensive balls!

and, and, a mahoosive stingers bush, like I experienced the other day - defo would cause major grief to @Westdene Seagull hands, not sure if his dog's sensitive nose would be affected by said stingers.

My 10 FOOT LONG [longer than any normal hand/arm-reach, I'd wager] £7.50 Temu golf ball retriever only has to make 3 successful recoveries and it's paid for itself! After the 4th ball, it can fall apart for all I care.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

A new experience to share ....

Purchased a USB cable from AliExpress - bit specialist as it has an RS232 chip in the USB jack and a 3.5mm jack on the other end - but that's beside the point.

Postman delivered a package on the expected date (11 days after order placed).
Bizarrely, the package (sealed and undamaged) did NOT contain a USB cable (it was empty).

Despite, requesting a refund (twice) and being rejected (even after sending photos of sealed, undamaged empty bag)
So I escalated via the appeal option - this was also rejected by AliExpress.
Next I had an online "chat" with their customer services who said they needed more evidence.
So I created a short video that clearly showed, sealed, undamaged, empty package.
They rejected this saying I need official weight document from the post office WTF !

Anyway, another online chat and they agreed a refund was due.
Next I get an email from AliExpress customer services to say I need to contact the seller.

I lost patience at this point and have now contacted Barclaycard to request a claw-back for undelivered goods.

All for a poxy £12

So my one and only experience with AliExpress is: Don't expect them to refund without a huge amount of effort.

Still happy with my Temu purchases but now I try VERY hard to avoid buying ANYTHING that's "Made in China"

Trust Pilot entry added ....

 

[Albion my Albion]

simply keep the best and then throw away the ones you won't use.

The term "throw away" is no longer very useful or accurate. The term "dispose of in an environmentally friendly way" should be used as often as possible.

 

[BrianB]

I've recently bought some prints/posters from Temu , the quality was impressive and cheap as chips , reasonably fast delivery .

 

[Professor Plum]

We bought some baking stuff through Temu a few months ago. About 5 or 6 items. Would have cost about double on Amazon what we actually paid.

Pros - very cheap and excellent quality. Cons - had to wait a couple of weeks + I still have the nagging feeling that there’s some sort of data harvesting / financial shenanigans going on. I’ve really no evidence for that TBH but the cheapness baffles me plus you hear the rumours about 'the Chinese' adopting some pretty dubious commercial practices.

The other cons are the suspicion that there’s slave laboured involved somewhere + the negative environmental impact of shipping cheap stuff halfway across the globe. But it’s one of those troubling dilemmas when faced with short term financial gains at the possible risk of longer term drawbacks.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

We bought some baking stuff through Temu a few months ago. About 5 or 6 items. Would have cost about double on Amazon what we actually paid.

Pros - very cheap and excellent quality. Cons - had to wait a couple of weeks + I still have the nagging feeling that there’s some sort of data harvesting / financial shenanigans going on. I’ve really no evidence for that TBH but the cheapness baffles me plus you hear the rumours about 'the Chinese' adopting some pretty dubious commercial practices.

The other cons are the suspicion that there’s slave laboured involved somewhere + the negative environmental impact of shipping cheap stuff halfway across the globe. But it’s one of those troubling dilemmas when faced with short term financial gains at the possible risk of longer term drawbacks.

The app for Pinduoduo who are Temu in china was rife with malware and vulnerabilities that allowed it to harvest data from other apps and services. They employed people to find vulnerabilities in Android that could be abused.

I expect European data agencies would be all over the Temu app if they were doing the same here but the company overall are incredibly sketchy.

 

[Triggaaar]

Not sure if this is still true, but explains why an item can cost less sent from China than posted in the UK.
"....a little known international postal treaty that requires the Royal Mail to deliver packages that arrive from China at a fraction of the cost that it normally charges.

Under the agreement China is classed as a developing country alongside Gabon, Kazakhstan and Cuba and is entitled to a huge subsidy on the cost of delivering all packages. The exact amount of the subsidy is classed as "commercially confidential information" but it is understood that Chinese retailers are able to send lightweight packages within the UK for as little as half a pence each. The cheapest stamp for sending a letter in the UK is 56p.

The system is beneficial to Chinese retailers because it is based on weight rather than total number of packages. This means that they can send thousands of small and lightweight packages via China Post to the UK to fulfil online orders and pay per kilogram. The cost of this subsidy is paid for by UK consumers in higher stamp prices.

May I be so bold as to say we change this agreement? 1) They have the second highest GDP in the world. 2) The use of transport in this way is bad for the environment. 3) It's bad for our own economy.