This woman’s starfish home accessories from Temu were a bit more real than she bargained for. Now, she’s calling the retailer out.
What is Temu?
Temu is an online retailer known for its wide range of products—selling everything from home goods to electronics to clothes—and extremely low prices. It’s often compared to platforms like Shein, AliExpress, and Wish.
Unlike its counterparts, Temu is primarily used as an app and has had several stints as the most downloaded app on both the App Store and Google Play Store. It’s shipping is also much slower than say, Amazon, with items easily taking a week to a month to arrive.
“These stats are slightly outdated. This would have been true when Temu first launched but is not the case today,” a Temu spokesperson tells the Daily Dot.
“Temu’s delivery times can be as fast as 1 business day when shipped from local warehouses. On each product page, there is a dedicated box showing the average delivery time range for the item, consumers have a clear visibility on delivery times. For your reference, the following are delivery times in the US:
Standard shipping: approximately 6 – 22 days
Express shipping: approximately 4 – 11 days
Detailed shipping information can be found here.”
This is in part because most of Temu’s deeply discounted products ship directly from factories and warehouses in China, Time reported.
“Regarding the compliance issue of products related to forced labor, we attach great importance to it. Our current standards and practices are no different from those of major U.S. e-commerce platforms, such as Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. The allegations in this regard are completely ungrounded,” the Temu spokesperson says.
But despite it’s booming popularity, Temu has also been called out for likely selling items made with forced labor, selling knockoffs, stealing designs, and never delivering on packages, PC Mag reported.
It currently has 2.44 stars on the Better Business Bureau site, a B- rating, and several alerts (including one for copyright infringement).
“Temu is working with the BBB to address customer concerns. Temu’s Better Business Bureau customer review rating of 2.44 is higher than Walmart (1.08), eBay (1.09) and Shein (1.27), all companies with a much longer operating history,” the Temu spokesperson says.
Something’s fishy (literally)
In a viral video with a staggering 9.5 million views, customer Kelly Kaye (@kellykaaaye) shared an order gone wrong.
Kaye, who may have been going for a beach house aesthetic in her home, ordered starfish curtain ties from Temu. But when they arrived, she was disturbed by what she saw and smelled.
“Temu order turned up stinking of shellfish….” the text overlay on the video read.
“We have not been able to confirm that the product in question was purchased on Temu, as similar items are available across various online platforms. Temu operates as an online marketplace where independent third-party sellers list their products,” the spokesperson says.
As she further inspected the starfish on the curtain ties, she realized it was a real (but dead) creature of the sea that they’d attached to the curtain ties. It seemed one of the starfish’s legs broke, and as she looked inside, Kaye could tell there was nothing fake about it.
“Aww Temu!! Ick Ick,” she said in the caption.
“We take product quality and customer satisfaction seriously, which is why our Buyer Protection Program guarantees a full refund for any items that are not as described or arrive damaged, within 90 days of purchase. Customers can apply for a refund at any time via our 24/7 customer service through the Temu website or mobile app.”
One commenter claimed that the Temu site states it’s a natural starfish and that the package may have a smell. “Read the description,” they told Kaye.
Kaye told them she bought them from a listing that stated the ties were “starfish inspired,” and she had assumed they were starfish replicas.
None of the starfish curtain tie listings the Daily Dot found on Temu had many details aside from stating that the tie material was cotton or polyester.
Depending on the seller, one curtain tie costs as little as $2.79.
And this isn’t the first time Temu has been accused of selling something that was ‘too real.’ The company was called out just last month for its croissant lamp, which was giving one woman an ant issue. Turns out it was literally a real croissant covered in resin.
@kellykaaaye Aww Temu!! Ick Ick😪⭐
♬ No No No No No – No No No No No
An environmental and ethical issue
It is often advertised on social media that if you happen upon a starfish at the beach, you should leave it alone. Yes, it’s beautiful and might make for a good photo, but when taken out of water, starfish can quickly suffocate, NZ Herald reported.
On top of that, harvesting starfish for souvenirs and home decor can damage the local ecosystem and lead to a loss of biodiversity.
Commenters react
“The croissant lamp now starfish…. do not order any stuff animals,” a top comment with more than 150,000 likes read.
“When you buy a starfish and get what you ordered,” a person said.
“So if I order a mannequin from temu..” another joked.
“Ok yall she probably didn’t think it was an actual starfish. I would of thought it would be clay or some not a real one,” a commenter pointed out.
The Daily Dot reached out to Kaye for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to Temu via email.
This story has been updated with comment from a Temu spokesperson.
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