Temu pulls its U.S. Google Shopping ads • Hacker News Board

Re: Temu pulls its U.S. Google Shopping ads

#121

Post by Nursie » Tue, Apr 15, 2025, 6:52 AM UTC

ipsum2 wrote: post #73

riku_iki wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

realistically speaking, it is likely not possible to deliver envelop from China at 75c cost, its likely someone else is paying for your 75c envelops (like taxpayers through subsidies).

You've been downvoted, but you are 100% correct. It is the result of the UPU treaty: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2018/10/us-withdrawing-144-y...

Yeah the outcomes here are insane -

Here in Australia I can order a $10 (AUD) item from aliexpress and get free shipping from China. But as a consumer or small busines, if I want to send anything bigger than a letter within Australia it's likely to cost me way more than $10 just for the postage.

It doesn't make sense and it must distort retail trade in China's favour. I'm honestly not surprised the US withdrew from that treaty, I think it needs reworking.

Re: Temu pulls its U.S. Google Shopping ads

#122

Post by misja111 » Tue, Apr 15, 2025, 6:52 AM UTC

4gotunameagain wrote: post #82

geor9e wrote: post #20

I loved temu, aliexpress, and shein. I probably averaged 1 item per day arriving to my house, for years and years. Mostly little electronics parts and specialized tools for my workshop. Buying from Amazon or locally would have cost me 10x as much. Obviously it's over now. Anyone getting a package in May will be hit with a $75-$150 or more bill per package, even a 75 cent envelope will be charged +$75. I feel bad for…

I'm sorry for your convenience loss, but I'm happy for the environment. Not only because of the unrestricted consumerism, but also because of the environmental costs of logistics. I too have ordered fusible resistors from aliexpress that I could not find locally. But things I barely need, only for a small dopamine kick ? I do my best to not have a small baggie shipped from the other side of the planet for that. And n…

Who would have thought that Trump would bring in a policy that would benefit the environment? Also, who would have guessed that right wing governments would start buying Tesla's? Quite a plot twist ..

Re: Temu pulls its U.S. Google Shopping ads

#123

Post by simianwords » Tue, Apr 15, 2025, 6:54 AM UTC

seydor wrote: post #68

i dont know how long temu will last without americans, but it feels surreal that europeans have more buying power than americans

Americans definitely have more buying power than Europe. This doesn't look to be true.

Re: Temu pulls its U.S. Google Shopping ads

#124

Post by MIC132 » Tue, Apr 15, 2025, 6:55 AM UTC

mixermachine wrote: post #105

ipsum2 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aliexpress has the same problem, quite frustrating.

I can find some bad reviews on items that have a lot of positive reviews on Aliexpress. Seems like they don't completely filter all of them.

But they do have a time limit on leaving a review, as far as I can tell.

Re: Temu pulls its U.S. Google Shopping ads

#125

Post by einarfd » Tue, Apr 15, 2025, 6:56 AM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #70

darth_avocado wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Temu has notoriously low standards when it comes to jewelry and other jewelry related items. Reddit threads are full of horror stories about toxic materials being used for these items. Be careful what you give out to friends and family.

> Reddit threads are full of horror stories Reddit is full of horror stories about everything. Mostly because it gets eyeballs. I’m open—almost receptive—to the claim that Temu jewellery contains significant quantities of toxic materials. But we should hold ourselves to a higher standard than Reddit comments.

I haven't seen the Reddit posts. But I've seen the same in Articles in the Norwegian press, where they bought a bunch of random Temu stuff and sent it for safety testing. The result where not great and the results for the jewelry was really scary.

Re: Temu pulls its U.S. Google Shopping ads

#126

Post by viraptor » Tue, Apr 15, 2025, 6:56 AM UTC

amanaplanacanal wrote: post #3

I wonder what percentage of their sales has been in the US.

43% in 2023 https://ecdb.com/blog/temu-revenue/4995

They may not be toast, but I suspect there are many panicked planning meetings happening now. (Unless they were clever and had a plan ready for a while)

Re: Temu pulls its U.S. Google Shopping ads

#127

Post by forgotoldacc » Tue, Apr 15, 2025, 6:57 AM UTC

k4rli wrote: post #48

nebula8804 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here you go: enjoy your $120 American jeans: https://originusa.com/collections/jeans (Oh look its on sale 20$ off...yay :/ ) The sale discount is the entire amount I was able to buy my non American jeans for. :/ I guess I can make due with one pair for the week...or wash them each day(oh wait thats gotten more expensive as well).

Proper jeans aren't really washed more than once a month or at all. Especially every day. They also will last for years therefore buying 1-3 pairs a year means your wardrobe will have plenty. Maybe local production will get cheaper once more people start keeping their money in local communities. Sending it to China is just awful for your country/region and kills local businesses. Disclaimer: from Europe so I don't ca…

> Proper jeans aren't really washed more than once a month or at all.

I've had a lot of people say this to me. I've known their policy on washing jeans without them ever having to tell me, though.

People become noseblind to their own stench. Unfortunately, it's not easy to ignore the stench of someone else wearing pants with a month of sweat and fecal bacteria soaked into them. I know lots of people also only wash their coats once a year, and trust me, being more resistant to stinking isn't the same as being completely immune to stinking.

Wash your clothes. The idea of not washing them is a meme and it's incredible how many people have fallen for it lately.

Re: Temu pulls its U.S. Google Shopping ads

#128

Post by blitzar » Tue, Apr 15, 2025, 6:59 AM UTC

k4rli wrote: post #48

nebula8804 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here you go: enjoy your $120 American jeans: https://originusa.com/collections/jeans (Oh look its on sale 20$ off...yay :/ ) The sale discount is the entire amount I was able to buy my non American jeans for. :/ I guess I can make due with one pair for the week...or wash them each day(oh wait thats gotten more expensive as well).

Proper jeans aren't really washed more than once a month or at all. Especially every day. They also will last for years therefore buying 1-3 pairs a year means your wardrobe will have plenty. Maybe local production will get cheaper once more people start keeping their money in local communities. Sending it to China is just awful for your country/region and kills local businesses. Disclaimer: from Europe so I don't ca…

> kills local businesses

The business-to-consumer businesses, which take the largest markup, employ the most people and pay the highest wages in the supply chain, have thrived under this system.

It's not the customers that demand products be made in China, it's these "local" businesses.

Re: Temu pulls its U.S. Google Shopping ads

#129

Post by ungreased0675 » Tue, Apr 15, 2025, 7:01 AM UTC

amadeuspagel wrote: post #84

glimshe wrote: post #15

Good riddance. I'd rather have fewer things I care more about. If we rethink our consumption, we could become happier, need less space and spend less money even at higher prices. And when we do need to buy things, we'll be either supporting local workers or friendly nations.

You were always free to buy fewer things you care more about.

This isn’t true, because the subsidized stuff from China drove medium-quality choices out of the market.

Try to buy some nicer jeans or T-shirts. The choices are stuff made as cheaply as possible, brand name stuff made as cheaply as possible but marked up like it isn’t, and actual quality clothes at 15x the price of the cheapest stuff. Most of the US clothing manufacturers have pivoted to the high-end just to survive or moved production overseas and are coasting along on their brand reputation.

Re: Temu pulls its U.S. Google Shopping ads

#130

Post by jjcob » Tue, Apr 15, 2025, 7:02 AM UTC

probably_wrong wrote: post #104

Aurornis wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If we rethink our consumption, we could become happier, need less space and spend less money even at higher prices. I can't believe how many people are trying to put a positive spin on the government imposing massive taxation on people's right to buy things from other countries. It's easy to sneer at junk fashion from Temu or whatever, but access to cheap tools and parts was the lifeblood of hobbyists and experimen…

I think two things can be true at the same time: these taxes are ridiculous, and ordering a 75-cents part from the other side of the planet is a massive waste of resources.

> ordering a 75-cents part from the other side of the planet is a massive waste of resources

Is it really that bad? Is it better to package the part in retail packaging, ship them in bulk to international warehouses, ahead of time, store them for months, then put them in a new package when someone orders them, and mail them through a local postal service.

Versus just stuffing the part in a tiny envelope and sending it directly to the customer? No re-packaging and storage required.