The rising wave and online shopping fever They have been increasing by leaps and bounds in recent months in Colombia with the arrival of digital stores such as Shein, AliExpress and more recently Temu, loaded from Asia with attractive promotions and prices that border on disbelief.
These are mega electronic stores with unbeatable prices on products from practically all ranges and industries. The prices are extremely low, compared to other digital sales portals: half or even less than the normal price.
But Why do Temu, Shein and AliExpress sell their products so cheap? According to data from media such as the BBC and The New York Times, the main reason for the low prices is that these platforms directly connect the manufacturers of the products in China with the customers, reducing intermediation costs to the maximum, companies that, in addition, have automated their production and receive subsidies from the Government, precisely, with the idea of accelerating their internationalization.
They also do not have intermediaries or physical stores, which ends up lowering their costs and allows them to transfer those resources to promotions to engage customers such as ‘gifts’, discounts and free shipping, another factor in their success, although delivery times in Colombia are between 10 and 20 days.
Finally, it must be said that They are not products with a well-known brand either.which means that costs of royalties and payments for the use of expensive licenses are also saved, without this meaning that what is sold is of poor quality.
The suspicions
Why then is there so much prevention and care with these digital businesses? The main doubts about buying from Temu, Shein or AliExpress are based on the possibility of a scam, that they do not respond to a product error or that the purchases never arrive.
And it must be said that, except in very particular cases, In short, Temu, Shein and AliExpress always send the products within the declared times; What’s more, they offer among their advantages some ‘purchase insurance’ that indicates that if the product sent does not meet expectations or is wrong (different size, wrong color, etc.) it is replaced or sent again, without the user must return what was received.
In the United States and Europe, according to trade expert Neil Saunders, consulted by the BBC, there are serious suspicions that some of the products sold in these stores come from companies that violate forced labor standards or those involving minors. that these mega e-commerce portals deny, and present evidence that this is not the case. On social networks, complaints are heard mainly about clothing and fashion products.
Where they are?
All these businesses come from China. Temu is part of the Pinduoduo group, founded in 2015 by Colin Huang, initially as a technology company for the agricultural sector (sale of farm products), but which migrated to general commerce during the pandemic.
AliExpress, for its part, belongs to the powerful Alibaba group and began operating in 2010. It currently has millions of manufacturers and companies that sell from China on this so-called ‘Amazon of Asia’, the most popular in the region.
While Since 2015, Shein has specialized in the fashion and accessories market, mainly with the trend ‘what I ordered vs. what came to me’, to dispel the myth that what comes from China is of poor quality, also based on a strong influencer campaign on social networks.
Be careful when purchasing
These are some precautions you should take if you want to buy from Temu, Shein or AliExpress:
Download the app or go to the site. Never enter promotions that reach you by chat, text message or email, as they could be a scam.
Secure payment. Define a method with a virtual card from your bank only for these purchases. Don’t put your credit card.
Control your expenses. These platforms are made to sell aggressively. Don’t fall into the temptation of so much promotion.
Read the policies carefully, both use and transportation, money refunds, etc., so that you know how they respond to you in case of errors.
JOSÉ CARLOS GARCÍA
Multimedia Editor
@JoseCarlosTecno
