Temu is a rising star in the online shopping world. Launched in September 2022 by the Chinese company PDD Holdings, Temu has quickly gained popularity due to its incredibly low prices on a wide variety of products.
Despite the policy not supporting dropshipping stated on Temu's website, still there's a lot online content (like videos and articles) that discuss dropshipping with Temu.
While Temu is the new comer in the ecommerce industry, AliExpress has long been established as a leading platform since 2010. Both of them offer a wide range of products at competitive prices, making them popular among shoppers around the world. But for dropshippers, choosing between them can be tricky. Let's explore the key differences of both platforms.
Table of contents
1. Overview of Temu
Temu is a relatively new online marketplace that launched in September 2022. It's owned by a Chinese e-commerce company called PDD Holdings. Temu focuses on offering a wide variety of heavily discounted consumer goods. Most of these items are shipped directly from China to customers around the world. The standout feature is undoubtedly the deep discounts. Think $15 shoes, $1 necklaces, and air fryers under $20. All of the prices seem impossibly low and highly competitive.
With a huge budget in marketing, Temu became viral and is now a common brand name. In the last year, Temu spent billions of dollars on ads for Google searches, on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. Nearly all social media platforms have been seen promoting Temu, particularly to the US audience.
As of May 2024, Temu has 100 million active users in the United States, and 420 million monthly website visits. The app has over 130 million app downloads globally, and 480-490 million users globally. According to some estimates, Temu is shipping as many as a million packages a day into the U.S. Temu has 40–50 million monthly active users in Europe also.
Shopping on Temu feels like kind of playing games. Imagine this, you begin by choosing items you'd love to win. Then you feed a little digital pet fish. The more your fish grows, the closer you get to your desired reward. If you do a good enough job feeding your fish, some stuff will cost you almost nothing. Maybe we can call this a gamified social shopping experience with all sorts of perks and incentives for looping your friends in. If you can convince enough of your friends to buy a thing with you, it gets cheaper. This is where comes the name, Temu, team up, price down.
2. Overview of Aliexpress
AliExpress, a giant in the e-commerce world since 2010, is a one-stop shop for international shoppers. Owned by the Alibaba Group, it connects shoppers with a massive network of sellers, mostly from China and other parts of Asia.
With an average of over 400 million monthly visits throughout recent years, AliExpress is undoubtedly one of the most well-known site. There are more than 100 million products on AliExpress, in categories such as fashion, toys, consumer electronics, skin care products, jewelry, furniture, and even cars and motorcycles. Most products are sourced directly from wholesalers and manufacturers and at competitive prices. Entrepreneurs can use AliExpress to find trending products, do market research, build relationships with vendors, and order wholesale.
Though based in China, Aliexpress ships around the world with its robust logistics system. The only drawback is that it can take a long time to ship overseas. It’s a good place to start when testing out profitable niche and researching potential competitors.
3. Temu vs. AliExpress: Head-to-Head Comparision
Temu or AliExpress? Without a complete comparison, it could be not fair to conclude which is better. So let’s take a deeper look at the comparison between their features.
Product Range and Quality
Both Temu and AliExpress offer an extensive range of products.
Temu provides a variety of products in different categories, covering clothing, electronics, home products, pet supplies, etc. Temu focuses on providing a direct connection between customers and vendors.
Aliexpress also offers a wide range of products such as clothing, electronics, household items, and motor parts. With more than a decade of development, Aliexpress owns a vaster product base than Temu. As of now, AliExpress claims they have over 100 million products on the homepage.
Product quality, this is where things diverge. Temu physically inspects products before listing, aiming to ensure a baseline quality standard. But with the low price strategies, products on Temu can be more hit or miss regarding specifications and brand names.
AliExpress, have been in business longer and have more supplier partnerships. With its wider selection, it relies on individual sellers for quality control. This means you might find incredible deals alongside items that don't meet expectations.
So it is really hard to say which platform has better quality products, but quality level can be judged referring to price levels more on Temu. This means you're more likely to get what you expect based on the price you pay. Lower prices might indicate a simpler design or less durable materials. When comes to Aliexpress, you need to focus on seller's ratings and reviews. You can find incredible deals on high-quality items, but consistency can vary.
Product price & Shipping cost
Both platforms are known for competitive pricing, but Temu might have a slight edge overall.
Temu Aims for the absolute lowest prices. You might find some incredible bargains, especially for trendy consumer goods. They often advertise rock-bottom deals and heavily discounted items.
On Aliexpress prices can vary depending on the seller and the specific product . You can find deals even better than Temu in some cases, but there might also be items with slightly higher prices.
Remember to factor in shipping costs when comparing prices. While Temu often offers free shipping within the US, AliExpress might have additional shipping fees. Shipping costs can be variable depending on the seller, item weight/size, and your location. While some sellers might offer free shipping, others might charge extra.
But in bulk purchasing, AliExpress always wins. Producers ofen offers bulk discounts for buyers, which can bring the overall price down if you're buying multiple quantities of the same item.
So if you prioritize the absolute lowest upfront price and are okay with a potentially smaller selection, Temu could be the winner. If you're willing to do some research and compare prices across sellers, you might find even better deals on AliExpress, especially for bulk purchases.
It's not a straightforward answer. The best platform for price depends on your specific needs and shopping style.
Delivery times
AliExpress Standard shipping and Premium shipping are two well-liked choices. Normal shipment takes 15 to 35 days. Premium shipping takes 7 to 15 days. The shipping time is a bit long.
Temu takes less shipping time. Expedited delivery requires 5–10 days. The standard delivery process takes 7 to 15 days. They also offer a $5 shipping credit as compensation for late deliveries, which can incentivize faster fulfillment.
Returns & Refund
Both Temu and AliExpress protect customers with a buyer protection policy in the following cases.
- Your order doesn’t match the descriptions or photos
- Your item arrives damaged or missing parts
- Your item is not received within the promised time or was lost in transit
Temu Offers a generous 90-day window for return after purchase. This gives you plenty of time to decide if you need to send something back. You can return the item within 14 days after you submit your return request. Free shipping can be used on your first return for every order. You can initiate returns directly through the Temu app and potentially receive a full refund (including original shipping costs) if the item meets their return criteria (e.g., unused, unopened, with tags).
On Aliexpress, the protection period is 75 days, shorter than Temu. You can place a return request within 15 days from receiving the order. The process can be more seller-dependent. AliExpress provides buyer protection and mediates disputes, but the specific return policy and refund terms might vary depending on the individual seller's policies. This could involve additional steps or communication with the seller. Free return service is only available on items with a “Free Return” label.
Dropshipping Support
Dropshipping is a business model where you sell without inventory and the supplier fulfills orders.
Temu does not offer dropshipping support. Here is a screenshot of their policy on dropshipping.
Because of competitive prices and faster delivery, some dropshippers choose to ship the goods to their own warehouses than to the clients. Yet, it may be a bit complicated and the extra costs such as shipping fees and warehouse storage fees need to be considered.
Different from Temu, AliExpress supports a dropshipping business. It has been one of the major sourcing platforms for dropshippers across the globe. Almost each seller on Aliexpress knows and understands the dropshipping process. They also have a Dropshipping Center where you can find products specific to dropshipping. Aliexpress is better choice for dropshipper in this aspect.
Customization
Unfortunately, neither Temu nor AliExpress offer extensive customization options for the products themselves. Both platforms primarily focus on pre-made, mass-produced items from various sellers.
While a few sellers on AliExpress might offer some basic customization options (like personalized engravings or choosing a specific color). It's best to check the individual product description and communicate with supplier if customization is available. Searching customization products into the search bar, and you will see that.
4. Summary
Let's have a quick look at the summary above in the table below.
Overall, for Temu vs. AliExpress, both are excellent online marketplaces to find affordable products from China and around the world. The best choice between them will depend on your individual shopping needs and priorities. For typical buyers and sellers, both are good, but for dropshippers, AliExpress is absolutely a better option. But don’t forget that Temu was launched just recently. If it continues to grow at this pace, it’s possible that it might actually be an active competitor of AliExpress in the future.
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