I wanted to get into the festive spirit so I bought a ‘wreath’ from Temu… I was stunned when I opened the package
WITH the festive season right around the corner and Christmas markets slowly popping up across the world, many of us have started to deck our homes.
Amongst them was also one woman, Tracey Robinson, who decided to order what she thought was a Christmas wreath from the China-based online giant Temu.
Upon a quick glance at the advertisement on the website, where the product is currently slashed to under £5, shoppers can see that the white ”wreath” comes with adorable snowman design and gorgeous blooms.
With hundreds of rave reviews and a bargain price too good to sleep on, Tracey immediately added the purse-friendly Christmas essential to the basket before placing an order.
However, when the package finally arrived and the Temu customer opened the parcel, Tracey was stunned to discover what the fabulous ”wreath” really was.
Sharing the hilarious moment on TikTok, Tracey’s daughter, Rachel, was seen filming her mum holding the product – a door banner with a festive print.
Left in total stiches at the epic fail, Rachel wrote in the caption of the now-viral video: ”When you buy a ‘wreath’ off Temu.”
Needless to say, the clip has since taken the internet by storm, winning the duo over 5million views and close to 3k comments.
One Temu shopper had, luckily, seen the video just in time, as they, too, were considering buying the ”wreath”.
”This is in my basket, taking that straight out rn [right now].”
But not everyone was so fortunate, as some had already purchased the banner without realising what it really was.
”I’m waiting on mine to come. Deep down, I’m gutted,” wrote one viewer.
Someone else chimed in: ”My mum did this last year and she was like ‘I’ve ordered some nice wooden decorations from Temu’. They turned up and were window stickers.”
A fourth chuckled: ”Can’t see a problem, just hang it over your front door, close and job done. The snowman is an added bonus.”
It appears that this is not the first time a shopper hasn’t read the description properly, as several of ”wreaths” on Temu now say it’s a ”door cover”.
Why is Temu so cheap?
TEMU exploded onto the scene in late 2022, with people all over social media raving about the low prices.
The company is a Chinese-owned digital marketplace – essentially an online shopping app where people are connected to the retailer directly while the app takes care of the shipping element.
The frenzy over the app is not completely unfounded either as it offers a wide variety of products, including fashion, make-up, electronics and furniture.
According to a report from the US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Temu takes advantage of a trade loophole that allows the company to ship duty-free goods directly to the US.
The loophole is called the de minimis exception and it means they can ship goods valued up to $800 (£643) to the US without it being inspected or taxed by US customs.
Temu connects customers directly to manufacturers and only manages how the items are sent to customers.
It means Chinese vendors can essentially sell their products directly to customers and ship it without building a network of warehouses across the globe.
By doing this, they cut down on huge costs and ensure the product itself isn’t marked up extra.
While many of the products seen on the Temu app are from brands with extensive, original collections, many more are dupes of designer brands.
Recently, another shopper, Kate, shared her hilarious blunder after snapping up a mini calendar on the cheap, costing her a mere 47p – so, can YOU spot the error?
Kate’s calendar runs from December 2023, to the end of 2024.
The mini calendar, which is small and portable, is currently available to order from Temu, for less than 50p.
Kate opened up the tiny black calendar but was left shocked to see that although the numbers of each month and each day were in English, the days of the week were not.
The online shopper, who also ordered some faux flowers and an LED clock in her haul, assumed the writing to be Chinese.
But as a result, Kate was left baffled as to how to read the calendar, unsure if it ran from Sunday to Saturday or Monday to Sunday.
Making light of the blunder, Kate later penned: “I can’t read Chinese, so can’t work out what day is what date lol.
“Have no idea which date is what day.”