‘Incentivized to buy;’ Online company racking in millions of customers, thousands of complaints

Temu, one of the most downloaded apps in the world right now is facing consumer complaints.

Jesse Jones with our sister station KIRO looked into the app and what people should know before they start shopping.

The main marketing asset of Temu is its customers who post about their purchases on social media.

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They share their ‘hauls’: a lot of stuff for not a lot of money.

“The reason Temu has really taken off is they encourage people buying these items to post about it on social media, post what they purchase, and then they’ve incentivized people to buy from their link, which they then get a win award for doing,” Logan Hickle with the Better Business Bureau said.

Customers can find almost everything on the site, from women’s clothes for $1.47 to earbuds for $10.

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“But even my mother is purchasing at an optimist. So it’s not just young people on TikTok. It is expanding to other demographics as well,” Hickle said.

Temu says it has more than 100 million customers worldwide and with lots of customers, there will be complaints.

The BBB has received nearly a thousand complaints about Temu in the past 12 months.

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“Most of what we are hearing is just quality control or customer service issues. Just know that if you’re buying something for $2, that may be 8-10 dollars with other competitors,” Hickle said.

With nearly everything being shipped from China, speedy delivery isn’t exactly an option.

“It doesn’t sit in a warehouse. It comes directly from China to your doorstep. So that’s how they can get those lower prices but then that’s why there is that longer lead time,” Hickle said.

In a statement, Temu said it “strives to be transparent about shipping times and their business partners. The BBB said they are watching the company and game it a C-minus rating.

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