So I was wondering if Temu is legit, in India. I decided to order from Temu three times to see what would happen. Here is what actually happened when I ordered from Temu. 

You cannot really escape Temu ads anymore. They just keep popping up. When you see a t-shirt listed at ₹199 your first reaction is not that you think it is a deal. You think there has to be some kind of catch. 

Most of us have been fooled by Temu ads with prices like that before. Instead of trusting Temu ads you start questioning Temu ads. You try to figure out how Temu ads can sell something cheap. You run the numbers in your head. You still end up unsure, about Temu ads. At that point you are not even thinking about buying something. You are just wondering if any of this buying thing is real or if buying only looks good on the screen. 

I was really tired of wondering about Temu. So I decided to try it out myself. I placed three orders to my home in India. I wanted to see what would happen. I pursued every step of the way. Then I unboxed everything on camera. This is not some list of things I found online. This is what I learned from my experience with Temu. It was a bit annoying, at times. It was also really revealing. I got to see how Temu actually works. 

The TL;DR: My Quick Verdict 

This is not a scam. You will definitely get a package. The package will be sent to you. You will receive the package. 

Is it good? It’s a high-stakes lottery. A few wins, many losses. 

This is really surprising. The biggest shock is that customs duty can add a 40 to 55 percent to the things you buy. This means you have to pay a lot money, for customs duty on your bill. The biggest shock is that customs duty is so expensive and it can be 40 to 55 percent of what you pay. 

My biggest fear is product safety. I think some things we buy can be really dangerous. Some items feel genuinely risky to me. I worry about the safety of these products. Product safety is what scares me the most. 

Final Call? Only for trivial, not reusable, non-urgent purchases. For anything important, use Meesho, Amazon, or Flipkart. 

My Temu Experiment: Three Orders, Three Lessons 

I bought a lot of things so I could see what the items are really like. I ordered types of items to get a real sense of what the items are. 

Order 1: The “Testing the Waters” Kit 

Items: A cute patterned phone case, some colourful silicone spatulas. 

The cost of this thing was ₹457. They said it would take 7 to 12 days to get.. The reality is that it arrived on day 16. I was really looking forward to getting my ₹457 worth. It took a long time 16 days to be exact which is a lot more, than the 7 to 12 days they promised. The ₹457 item finally arrived,. It was late. 

The Unboxing Truth: The spatulas were really something. You know how some things are just what you expect. The spatulas were like that. They. Looked just like the pictures. The spatulas looked like the spatulas in the photos. No surprises, with the spatulas. 

The phone case was really bad. It was so thin. It felt like it would break easily. I put it on my phone. I thought to myself this phone case is not going to protect my phone if I drop it. It felt like something you get at a party. You do not really care about it. The phone case did not feel like it was made to protection a ₹30,000 phone. What I discovered from this is that on Temu, the price of something tells you how good it is. The phone case, on Temu was cheap so it was not good. 

Order 2: The Mixed Bag Surprise 

Items: A graphic cotton-blend T-shirt (Size L), a simple wall clock, a braided USB-C cable. 

I paid ₹892 for something that was supposed to arrive in 7 to 12 days.. The reality is that it took a lot longer. I am still waiting on day 19. The cost was ₹892. They promised it would take 7 to 12 days but the reality of the situation is that it has been 19 days. I still do not have it. 

The Unboxing Truth: I got a clock and it is a thing. It works and it looks okay. The T-shirt was not so good. The Large size was like a Medium size and the material was not very nice. It was thin and felt weird on my skin. The cable was bad too. It stopped working after I used it to charge something two times. So I learned something just because one thing is good does not mean the next thing will be good too. The Unboxing Truth is that it is like a game of chance. You never know what you are going to get. One good thing does not mean the next thing is not going to be bad. The Unboxing Truth is that you have to be careful and not expect much, from these things. 

Order 3: The Customs Wake-Up Call 

Item: A sleek-looking 8000mAh “compact” power bank. 

Cost: ₹624 (on paper) | Promised: 10-15 days | Reality: Day 22 (+ Customs Drama) 

This is what really got to me. The tracker said my package had arrived. Then it just stopped. It did not move all. A week went by. The delivery guy showed up at my door. He was not just giving me my package he was also asking me for a ₹180 for customs duty. I thought I had gotten a deal for ₹624.. That was not the real price. The real price of my package was actually ₹804. I was not happy, about paying ₹804 for my package when I thought it was ₹624. The power bank was a disappointment. It could only charge my phone one and a half times. 

I learned something from this experience. The power bank experience taught me a lesson. 

Lesson 3 is that the power bank issue is related to the hidden customs duty surprise which’s real. 

This power bank customs duty surprise can make the power bank deal more expensive than the power bank options that’re available locally. 

The Real Talk:. What You Must Avoid The Real Talk. You need to know about The Real Talk. The Real Talk is important. The Real Talk will help you understand what is going on. The Dangers of The Talk are real. You must avoid The Dangers. The Real Talk is not a joke. The Dangers are serious. You have to be careful, with The Real Talk. The Real Talk can hurt you if you are not careful. So you must avoid The Dangers of The Real Talk at all costs. The Real Talk is something you should take seriously. 

This is the most important part of this review. Temu isn’t just about bad quality; it’s about potential risk. 

1. The safety of the product is not something that we canpromise youwill happen.

We do not guarantee the safety of the product. When you use the product you need to remember that the product safety is not guaranteed. 

I was really worried, about this. It kept me up at night. I think it is an idea to avoid using electronics that plug into a socket like heaters and kettles and those fancy chargers. The thing is, these electronics may not be safe to use in India because they do not meet safety standards. This means they could catch fire or give you a shock. I bought a power bank. It felt warm which was really worrying to me. The power bank was a problem because it felt warm in a way that was not normal. 

2. The things that touch your skinare a gamble.

You never really know what your skin is going to react to. Sometimes it is something that you use everyday like soap or lotion that can cause problems. What touches your skin is a gamble because you do not know how your skin will react to it. 

I do not want Temus makeup, skincare or nail polish, near me. The thing is, Temus makeup, skincare and nail polish are not regulated. This means Temus makeup, skincare and nail polish could have things in them like harmful chemicals. And that is not all Temus makeup, skincare and nail polish can also cause bad reactions. So I think it is best to stay from these things, especially Temus makeup, skincare and nail polish categories. 

3. Kids’ Toys Are a No-Go

I am not a parent. This really caught my attention. These toys do not have to meet our safety standards for toys. This means that small parts of the toys can break off or even worse the toys might be made with materials that you do not want your kids to be around. I think about the toys. I wonder if saving a hundred rupees is really worth the worry, about the toys. 

4. Protect Your Data

Temus parent company has a bad record when it comes to handling data. My strong advice: Don’t use the app. Use their website on your mobile browser (like Chrome) to avoid granting intrusive app permissions. 

You should use an email address that you do not mind getting rid of. This email address is, for this one thing so it does not matter if you lose it or if it gets a lot of junk mail. Use a throwaway email address you do not care about. 

Do not save your card details on the site. It is better to use UPI or a credit card for the transaction because credit cards have fraud protection. When you are done with the transaction make sure to log out of the site. Always remember to log out after using your credit card for the transaction, on the site. 

The Other Nitty-Gritty Details 

The Returns Process: Easier Than Expected? 

I tried to return the cable and the wrong sized T-shirt. The whole thing was done using the app. I did everything for the return of the cable and the wrong sized T-shirt, in the app. 

I went to the section that says My Orders then I selected the item I was having trouble with. After that I uploaded some photos and a video that show the defect, in the item My Orders. 

For these cheap things the company approved a refund within 2 days and told me I could just keep the cheap items or give them to someone else. It seems that sending the items back, to China would cost the company even more money. 

The refund went back, to the payment method I used and it took about a week for the refund to show up on my account. 

When you are buying something that costs a lot of money the company will probably ask you to send it to a warehouse that’s close to you. The whole process can be really frustrating. It seems like it is made to make you feel like giving up.. One good thing about this company is that they have a “no-return refund” policy, for things that do not cost a lot of money which is a bit strange but it is also kind of convenient. 

Delivery: Patience is Not an Option, It’s a Requirement 

When you get an estimate from Temu you should add least one extra week to it. I do not think it is an idea to order something from Temu for a birthday or a festival because they probably will not deliver it on time. I think it is really important to remember that Temu is not always on time. You should plan ahead. Give yourself a lot of extra time. 

Temu may be late so you have to be prepared for that. This is especially true when you are ordering something for an occasion, like a birthday or a festival. 

You do not want to be stuck without a gift because Temu did not come through on time so always keep that in mind when you are ordering from Temu. 

The Final Verdict: Should You Shop on Temu in India? 

I am going to be honest. Shopping on Temu does not feel like shopping at a store to me. It feels like going to one of those sales where they throw everything into big bins. Then you have to dig through all the stuff to find what you want. You have to look through page after page of things you would never buy from Temu. Most of the things on Temu are not what you want when you shop on Temu.. Sometimes you see something on Temu that really catches your eye. You are shopping on Temu. Something, on Temu stands out to you. You have to stop and take a look.. Usually it takes a long time and a lot of patience to find something like that. The process is not easy or neat. It is like searching hoping that all your effort will eventually pay off and you will find something worth buying. Shopping can be, like that it feels like digging around hoping that the shopping effort eventually turns into something worth buying like the shopping experience is not smooth. 

You should think about trying Temu for things. Temu is an option to consider. I think Temu is worth looking into. You might find that Temu is really useful, for things. Temu has a lot to offer. 

Fun, disposable junk: Party decorations, single-use craft supplies, novelty keychains. 

The patient people are the ones who can forget they even ordered something and then be happy when it finally arrives a month later. These people are the patient. They do not get upset when the utterly patient have to wait a time for something to arrive. The utterly patient just wait. Then they are pleasantly surprised when it shows up at their door after a month. 

The thrill of taking a chance is what gets you going: you actually, like betting five hundred rupees on an one percent chance of getting something that is worth two thousand rupees. The thrill-seeking gambler is someone who enjoys this kind of betting. 

I do not like Temu. I think you should avoid Temu for certain things. Temu is not good. That is why I say avoid Temu. There are reasons to avoid Temu. 

* Some people have experiences, with Temu 

* Temu has some problems that make it hard to use 

I think it is best to avoid Temu because of these things. Avoiding Temu is an idea. 

I do not need anything by a date. Just do not worry about the deadline, for the things that I need. 

Anything where quality matters. Daily wear, shoes, proper kitchen tools. 

Things that touch your skin or your childs skin are really important. Your childs skin is very sensitive. Anything that comes into contact, with your skin or your childs skin can be a deal. This includes things that touch your childs skin every day. 

I am looking for things that plug into a wall. Things like a television or a computer these are examples of things that plug in. Anything that uses electricity and plugs, in is what I am thinking of. 

The Last Word: You Have Better Options 

I am a shopper from India and I have to say, when it comes to shopping Indian shoppers like me have a lot of options to choose from. We get to pick from many different things. Indian shoppers are really lucky, in that sense. 

If you are looking for a price thrill you should try Meesho. Meesho works in India so it delivers things to you faster and it is also easy to return things if you do not like them. The prices of things on Meesho are really low like what you are looking for and you will know what to expect when you use it because it is more familiar, to you when you use Meesho. 

For anything that really matters: The little bit of money you save on Temu is not worth all the trouble, risk or disappointment that you might get. 

Amazon and Flipkart are better because they have good buyer protection and return policies. 

These things are worth spending an extra money on because they give you peace of mind. 

You do not have to worry when you buy from Amazon and Flipkart because they take care of you. 

The hundred rupees you save on Temu are not as important, as being safe when you shop online. 

Amazon and Flipkart are choices because they help you when something goes wrong with your order. 

So it is better to shop on Amazon and Flipkart of Temu.