Temu vs AliExpress for Dropshipping: What is the Better Choice?
I have adequate ordering experience from AliExpress and also in Temu. As far as dropping goes, it is also my opinion that using AliExpress is more practical and convenient.
In this article, I will discuss:
- Detailed comparison of Temu and AliExpress
- Temu versus other known marketplaces
- How AliExpress is better than Temu for dropshipping
Key takeaways:
- Temu does not support dropshipping as a business model; in their eyes, you are a customer
- Temu has little integration options for Shopify and other platforms
- AliExpress has more coverage for buyer protection than Temu
To begin, let us start with knowing what Temu is.
What is Temu?
Temu is an online marketplace like Amazon and AliExpress. Similar to AliExpress, the owners are Chinese, and they sell affordable goods for the masses.
Temu went live in the United States only recently, in 2022. A year later, they expanded their reach to Australia and New Zealand. Today, they have coverage in many other countries, including the UK, Germany, Spain, and top markets in Asia.
With a huge budget in marketing, Temu became viral and is now a common brand name. They spend over $15 million in giveaways through ads in the US Super Bowl, thus giving the impression to people that they are a legitimate company.
As of now, Temu enjoys traffic of 100 million active users, and that is for the United States alone. Globally, there are over 130 million app downloads for the platform. Overall, Temu enjoys 420 million monthly visits to its platform.
1. AliExpress Versus Temu: Product Selection
AliExpress has over 100 million products for sale. The numbers for Temu, on the other hand, are not known.
Despite not having the figures, I can say that AliExpress has a bigger product selection than Temu. A good example of this is physical books. AliExpress offers many kinds of paperback and hardbound books while Temu only has a few.
What Temu does better than AliExpress is the categorization of its products. AliExpress only has 18 product categories while Temu has 33, which makes it easier to look for products in Temu.
Winner: AliExpress
Summary: AliExpress is the clear winner because it has over 100 million products. AliExpress has been around since 2010, giving it an advantage of 12 years over Temu, which means that more suppliers have already signed up on the AliExpress platform than Temu.
2. AliExpress Versus Temu: Product Quality
Both Temu and AliExpress do not have an accreditation with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in the United States, but both of them are listed.
As far as BBB rating is concerned, AliExpress has a rating of 1.04 out of 5 stars while Temu’s score is 2.49. These scores tell us a lot about the quality of service that they provide to US consumers. The BBB rating of AliExpress is D Minus while Temu is C.
In terms of product quality, both of these platforms are merely marketplaces, with many Chinese suppliers listing their products. Truth be told, these must be the same suppliers in China, listing their products in any online marketplace platform they can.
Both AliExpress and Temu sell low-priced goods, which is tantamount to low quality. It is nearly impossible to build high-quality products and sell them at ridiculously low prices.
It is also commonplace or both marketplaces to allow the sale of counterfeit goods. I can only say that as far as product quality goes, you get what you pay for.
Winner: Draw
Summary: Both AliExpress and Temu are marketplaces for super affordable items. The prices are indicative that the goods here are of low quality.
3. AliExpress Versus Temu: Product Pricing
Let us take a look at a sample product I searched for, the E99 drone. Here is the product from AliExpress:
And here is the same product on Temu:
Here is the price comparison:
- AliExpress – $15.77
- Temu – $20.98
Please note that these are both discounted prices. If we take into account the regular price, here is what we have:
- AliExpress – $54.36
- Temu – $103.17
As you can see, AliExpress has a lower price for the same product. Here is another example:
These avocado slippers cost $6.30 in AliExpress, but they are sold for $8.39 in Temu. So, what conclusion can we draw from this? For these two product items, I can say that AliExpress offers better prices.
Now, this is not to say that these price differences apply to all products. After all, there are millions of products on both platforms. At best, I recommend that you take the time to look for the same product on the two platforms and buy the low-cost one.
Winner: AliExpress
Summary: AliExpress offers cheaper prices based on our experiment. It is important to note here that I did not cherry-pick these products. I just typed random keywords and looked at the results. If there are two same products on the result pages, I compared their prices.
4. Temu Versus AliExpress: Shipping
Both AliExpress and Temu offer shipping options available based on the product’s location. The biggest difference is that right now, Temu offers FREE SHIPPING on all orders for as long as it is Standard Shipping. This shipping option takes between 6 and 22 days.
Temu’s standard is to give the seller up to three days to pick up the item from the warehouse and drop it off at the shipping carrier. In my experience, AliExpress does not have this standard. Some sellers in AliExpress take as many as seven days to pack the item and drop it off at the logistics partner.
Both Temu and AliExpress provide tracking numbers if the shipment qualifies for it.
It is important to note here that free shipping only applies in Temu if the product is in Temu’s warehouse. If the product is in a seller’s warehouse, shipping will cost you money.
Winner: Temu
Summary: For a long while, AliExpress offered free shipping and they still do now. The thing is that AliExpress no longer offers free shipping for all products, unlike Temu.
5. Temu Versus AliExpress: Buyer Protection
Both Temu and AliExpress offer buyer protection programs. For Temu, your purchase has coverage for the following:
- The item you received is different from what you ordered
- The item you received is either broken or damaged
- The item you ordered is no longer available, cannot be delivered for any reason, got lost in transit, arrived too late, or did not arrive at all
AliExpress, on the other hand, covers the following situations:
- The product did not arrive
- The item is damaged
- The item is different from what was described on the listing
In addition to all these, AliExpress has explicit buyer protection coverage for:
- Seller failing to provide after-sales service
- The seller’s product quality is poor and is not as promised based on the mentioned warranty
- The seller is asking for additional payment or deliberately choosing another carrier as opposed to what you paid for
- Unacceptable behavior of the seller
Buyer protection in AliExpress lasts 15 days AFTER receiving the item. Temu, on the other hand, gives the buyer up to 90 DAYS to return the item or file for a refund after the day of purchase.
There is a big difference here: the countdown for AliExpress begins on the day your customer RECEIVED the item. The countdown on Temu begins on the DAY OF PURCHASE.
Winner: AliExpress
Summary: AliExpress has better buyer protection coverage in terms of its rules. It also has a more reasonable time allotted for filing a refund or return. With Temu, you can no longer file a refund 90 days after the purchase. What if the shipment arrived after 100 days? It means that you are no longer covered.
6. Temu Versus AliExpress: Integration
There are many options by which you can integrate AliExpress into your Shopify store. Some examples are:
Temu, on the other hand, does not have a of options to offer. Since it is a new platform, dropship supplier database and software programmers are probably still in the process of working out solutions.
This does not mean you cannot integrate Temu with Shopify. It is possible, and you can find apps in the Shopify App Store that will do this. However, these apps are in their infancy stages, and you cannot expect a lot of functionalities.
Winner: AliExpress
Summary: AliExpress has more integration options. In addition, the integration options for AliExpress go beyond connecting your store platform n with AliExpress. there are many third-party programs you can use where you can do the product sorting, choosing, importing, and even fulfillment.
7. Temu Versus AliExpress: Dropshipping Support from Sellers
Temu does not offer dropshipping support. Here is a screenshot of their policy on dropshipping.
On the other hand, AliExpress has a Dropshiping Center. Please see below:
Because of this, you are better off with AliExpress as a dropshipper. Not only will you enjoy fast and easy integrations, but you can also work with suppliers who know that you are a dropshipper.
Winner: AliExpress
Summary: AliExpress has sellers who know and understand the dropshipping process. They also have a Dropshipping Center where you can find products specific to dropshipping, along with support from merchants and AliExpress.
Temu Versus Others
In this section, we will take a quick look at how Temu differs from other known platforms.
1. Temu Versus Wish
Wish is a shopping platform—an online marketplace like Etsy. It operates in over 60 countries, with over 250,00 global merchants. The headquarters of Wish is in California.
Temu is like AliExpress, with most suppliers located in China. While Temu’s concentration is for low-cost products, Wish is for every type of seller.
2. Temu Versus Shein
Shien is a fashion brand that is currently one of the biggest in the world. It is not an online marketplace. What Shein sells is its products. You cannot sell on Shein, but you can dropship their products.
3. Temu Versus Amazon
Amazon is one of the world’s biggest marketplaces, but its main customer base is the United States. Many of the sellers on Amazon now are the same companies that post items in either Temu or AliExpress.
The big difference is that these Chinese suppliers send their items to an Amazon warehouse, and it is Amazon that fulfills the orders. This business model is what we call Fulfillment by Amazon or FBA.
Temu Versus Banggood
Banggood, Temu, and AliExpress are similar companies that have the same business model. Most of the sellers in Banggood are also suppliers and manufacturers looking to sell via retail.
Summary: Banggood, Temu, and AliExpress are similar platforms. These are all Chinese companies with offices and warehouses in the world, but most of their suppliers are Chinese manufacturers.
Temu vs AliExpress: Verdict
Overall, I can say that AliExpress is still a better option than Temu. AliExpress has been in business for so many years that you will have no issues with integration with your Shopify store, processing refunds, looking for suppliers, using third-party software programs, and many more.
What I recommend is to use both. Use Temu now and look for items in Temu that are not in AliExpress. This way, you can take advantage of what both companies have to offer.
Temu vs AliExpress FAQ
What is better than AliExpress?
Nothing beats AliExpress in price and product selection except Alibaba, its parent company. However, Alibaba is a B2B platform where you need to buy wholesale.
What is better than Temu?
AliExpress is better than Temu. Temu is a new platform and its processes and standards have not been tried and tested yet.
Is Temu the same as Wish?
No, Temu is not the same as Wish. Wish is a different company but both of them operate the same business model. These are both online marketplaces where sellers can post their items for sale and buyers can purchase the platforms.
What is the sister company of AliExpress?
AliExpress has no sister company. It has a parent company called Alibaba.
Summary
AliExpress reigns supreme when it comes to mass-produced items that you can dropship.
However, do not limit yourself to these platforms, as there are others that you can choose from. I suggest that you take a look at Printful, Printify, AppScenic, HyperSKU, and Importify.
