Too Good to Be True? Experts Had This to Say About Products Sold on Temu

WELLINGTON, Fla. — It’s a website that lets you “shop like a billionaire.”

If you watched the Super Bowl, you probably remember a series of ads for online retailer Temu, which lured customers with colorful discounts and almost impossibly cheap products.

“You can find a lot of different things there,” said Jack West of West Palm Beach.

She is one of several people WPTV spoke with who have either heard of Temu, purchased products through the website or downloaded its bright orange app.

For many of them, the advantage is speed, ease and affordability.

“A lot cheaper,” said Jessica Rosen, who said she’s never made an in-app purchase before. “The prices, doesn’t that make sense?”

“I was going to say it was a bargain purchase!” added Cortney Salley.

This online megastore, owned by Chinese e-commerce giant PDD Holdings, sells virtually everything from school supplies to furniture, clothes and electronics, at significantly lower prices.

Users who download the app immediately receive gifts: multiple free items with one purchase and discounts that seem too good to be true.

No wonder the company is taking the world by storm.

“I hear it’s more popular now,” West said.

“And then once you buy something, you get… a ton of coupons, so that motivates you to keep buying,” Kai O’Donnell said.

“The fact that they’re saying, ‘Hey, pay a dollar for this and you get 11 free items,'” Rosen said, “and it’s not like a paintbrush. It’s like expensive electronics, so I’m like, ‘How is that possible?'”

While the company’s sales are growing rapidly, the number of baby product recalls on the site is on the rise.

In July of this year, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of 45,300 pairs of children’s pajamas sold exclusively on Temu between October 2022 and May 2024, warning that they posed a risk of burns to children.

Amy Gerlitz, a mother living in Wellington, bought children’s pyjamas for her three sons at Temu around the same time.

“I liked them because they were loose,” said Gerlitz, who, like tens of thousands of moms, never thought pajamas could be a safety hazard.

WPTV

So far, authorities haven’t linked the recall to any injuries, but Gerlitz worried about what might have happened or still might happen.

“It’s pretty scary,” Gerlitz said. “Of course, no one wants to have pajamas that could bring fire to your kids. Those are the things that really worry me as a parent.”

The recall of the pajamas is the latest in several recalls of children’s products sold on Temu.

In April, the federal government recalled 200 children’s bike helmets sold on the platform, saying they did not provide children with adequate protection in the event of a crash.

In June, the United States recalled 2,600 magnetic chess games sold on Temu, warning that children could easily swallow the pieces, which could lead to infection, blood poisoning and death.

Then the organization Safekids.org warned that some car seats sold on Temu were counterfeits, and the digital parenting site Baby Center reported that a review of the website had found a number of products that could be dangerous to children.

“Because these products are manufactured overseas and shipped directly to consumers rather than first going through a U.S. retailer, they are not subject to the same federal safety standards as products manufactured in the U.S.,” said Robin Hilmantel, senior director of editorial strategy and development at Baby Center.

WPTV reached out to Temu for clarification on these issues.

The company sent us the following statement, an excerpt of which reads as follows:

Still, WPTV saw a House committee report released in 2023 that found the vast majority of products Temu ships to American consumers are shipped in packages under $800. That means they fall under the U.S. Customs Service’s “de minimus exception,” which makes the products cheap enough to bypass U.S. customs inspections.

The report warned that Temu products are not subject to the same level of scrutiny as those of other retailers shipping to the U.S., and that items that fail customs inspection could pose a risk to public safety and could contain counterfeits or other contraband goods.

“I think it’s just important to do your research before you buy certain things, where they’re made, where they’re coming from,” says Dr. Sara Tano, a pediatric emergency room physician at St. Mary’s and West Boca Medical Centers.

Tano said she has treated children for lead poisoning and other toy-related injuries before, but she has not seen many cases of children being injured related to children’s products sold on Temu.

Tano, however, fears we may see this phenomenon more often as Temu sales continue to grow.

A year after its launch, the company was estimated to have sales exceeding $15 billion in 2023. It is now forecast to reach $37 billion this year and more than $50 billion next year.

Baby Center estimates that every third parent shops on the Temu website.

“What are you going to do with your pajamas?” WPTV reporter Kate Hussey asked Gerlitz.

“I guess you should throw them in the trash,” Gerlitz replied.

In the same House of Representatives committee report, lawmakers also found there was an extremely high risk that Tem products were made using forced labor.

Temu also addressed the issue in an interview with WPTV, saying in a statement that, “Temu strictly prohibits all forms of forced labor. Our standards are consistent with those of other major U.S. e-commerce platforms.”

You can read the full text of Temu’s statement below: