When I want something cheap, I usually hit Aliexpress (website). As I was looking at the Aliexpress app page on the Google Play Store to check its privacy details, TEMU came up as a recommended app.

Now, my wife has used TEMU in the past, but since she often can’t find her way around things, I downplayed her negative experience as “user error”. That said, I went to the TEMU website and started looking around.

I found something that was a reasonable price, but then get this message saying I could get this item free through the app… sigh. OK. I sign up with my usual fake/random credentials and add this “free” item to my cart.

A spinning prize wheel comes up. Hey, I can get THREE free items now! Sweet. I spend the next 3 hours looking for stuff I can actually use, doom-scrolling through everything from women’s underwear to t-shirts with assault rifle print. Literally something for everyone. LOL

Then I select my third “free” item, and another spinning prize wheel comes up. “100% off the next $35”. Ok.

I didn’t need more stuff, but hey, 100% off sounds like more free stuff!

I spend another hour looking, keeping an eye on the amount “saved” (apparently $600+, for stuff that is sold on Aliexpress for maybe $25).

When I finally get to check out, I get another spinning prize wheel. “100% off $100”!! Goddamn, I’m on a roll here. How do these guys make any money?!!

More time looking… I must have spent well over 4 hours on their app. Time to check out.

$67? Huh? What about 100% off and all that nonsense? Enter your phone number*

  • You must agree to get promotional texts, or you can’t check out… hmm, maybe my wife wasn’t wrong.

In any case, there was no way to actually get anything “free”. I deleted the app, deleted my account, and will never touch this scam ever again.

Do people actually end up getting anything from Temu? I thought AliExpress was bad, but the experience is 1000x better.

  • DominusOfMegadeus@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    30·
    5 months ago

    From what I have come to understand (from Lemmy), they make their real money off of your data, and are a privacy nightmare. I actually was ordering from them regularly until I learned that.

    • Showroom7561@lemmy.caOPEnglish
      8·
      5 months ago

      I was prepared for this, despite seeing all their banners saying how private they are. All the details I gave them were disposable, and had they let me actually order these items, I would have likely used some kind of disposable credit card to process the payment.

      But it’s so bizarre, like they keep throwing one promotion after another, and none actually materialize.

    • ShepherdPie@midwest.socialEnglish
      4·
      5 months ago

      I’d been using AliExpress for quite a while before hearing about Temu. Went to go check it out and it’s like an exact clone of AE (including the discount popups) but then it forces you to install an app in order to buy anything so I noped out. Not sure why anyone would use them when you can get the same shit off AE without all the hoops.