Temu and Shein will raise prices for US customers due to Trump's tariffs

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 7:18 PM EDT, April 16, 2025


NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — China-founded e-commerce sites Temu and Shein say they plan to raise prices for U.S. customers starting next week, a ripple effect from President Donald Trump’s attempts to correct the trade imbalance between the world’s two largest economies by imposing a sky-high tariff on goods shipped from China.

Temu, which is owned by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings, and Shein, which is now based in Singapore, said in separate but nearly identical notices that their operating expenses have gone up “due to recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs.”

Both companies said they would be making “price adjustments” starting April 25, although neither provided details about the size of the increases. It was unclear why the two rivals posted almostidentical statements on their shopping sites. Since launching in the United States, Shein and Temu have given Western retailers a run for their money by offering products at ultra-low prices, coupled with avalanches of digital or influencer advertising.

The 145% tariff Trump slapped on most products made in China, coupled with his decision to end a customs exemption that allows goods worth less than $800 to come into the U.S. duty-free, has dented the business models of the two platforms.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/temu-shein-price-increases-trump-tariffs-066a3e729c971fdf9e929bb8a94eea67

[Javaman]

1. people actually order from these trash sites? nt

[BumRushDaShow]

3. The GenZs

[Javaman]

4. ahh. okay. nt

[BumRushDaShow]

5. I have one of my youngest nieces who sent me her Christmas list a couple years ago

that had a link to some things she wanted and one was for something (I think a skirt) at Shein. I was like WTF is that place?

She manages to find stuff that literally either gets here on "the slow boat from China" or like that same year, it was something (I think a sweater dress) that came from Sweden, with a wild route that went from Malmo, then through Denmark, then the UK, and then to NY (Customs), then I think over to Cincinnati (Fedex), and it was like wild watching the tracking - all to get here to Philly.

[samnsara]

7. both my grand daughters shop Shein....

...for their birthdays I bought them a whole line of Frida Kahlo assesories..

[BumRushDaShow]

9. All I can say

is that the site is "very busy" (in terms of al lot going on with the website with stuff flashing and scrolling and whatnot).

[samnsara]

8. Im 74 and I love shopping those sites

...and Im gonna have fun the next 10 days...

However i DONT shop those sites to undercut the animal rescue sites...even tho thats where most their swag comes from. They will probably go under now as well.

[samnsara]

6. HELL YEAH!!!!!! Dont judge it ..or us....til you try it

I have found the BEST fitting leather shoes on that site for 30$ and the 10$ sweaters are gorgeous. Even with the tariffs I most likely will continue to order from them cuz NOTHING locally compares to them.

[StarryNite]

22. I have bought the exact same items advertised on Amazon

for way less on Temu. Amazon sellers get products on Temu then turn around and sell them for a profit on Amazon. So this increase will affect Amazon as well.

[LauraInLA]

26. When something is that cheap, I question the labor practices that are necessary to achieve those prices.

[live love laugh]

13. I like that it's competition for Amazon.

[kimbutgar]

14. I order all the time from TEMU and I'm a boomer

I’ve gotten some good stuff. shoes, shirts, Lego like assembly toys for my son, and some electronics. Knowing this I’ll order one more time before April 25th.


And I’ve ordered nothing from Amazon since Bezos bent over kissed the big fat a$$ of the 🍑💩🤡.

[StarryNite]

24. I've bought lots of those Lego type assembly toys from Temu.

My grandson loves them. And as you know they are a fraction of the price of the Lego brand.

[kimbutgar]

27. Just ordered a record player that Lego has but Temu has the same model !

My son is autistic and since he was little he has been an avid Lego builder. I have a back up of a bunch of models I brought for him to put together at his day program, and back up birthday and Xmas presents !

[StarryNite]

29. Lego or similar types of building blocks are fun at any age.

I bought a typewriter Lego type set on Temu for my son. He bought a Titanic set from Temu for my adult daughter. I'm going to be doing some building block shopping before next week. Those adult sets can be quite complicated and building them is a good distraction from all crap that's going on right now in our country.

[Demsrule86]

18. I have ordered from Shein and been pleased. But now with Tariffs and

what happened with my daughter not getting her package and Shein so far not lifting a finger, I will buy nothing from them. But before the merchandise I picked was decent and well priced. And in case you don't know, pretty much all clothing is made in China or Vietnam.

[barbtries]

20. my niece adores temu.

so, yes

i'm hoping she gets a good dose of sticker shock and understands the why behind it.

[Doodley]

30. Yep, I do. Do you have evidence they are "trash sites?"

[Javaman]

36. I have

Last edited Thu Apr 17, 2025, 08:26 PM - Edit history (1)

I found that most of their merchandise is lot buy outs, returns or irregulars. Very small percentage is actually “new”

I have dumped Amazon as well now source anything I need through original manufactures or private shops and eBay sellers.

The upshot to it all is: i now am given a forced pause to think about anything I buy. I find myself buying so much less crap that I honestly don’t need. The impulse is gone or at least tempered.

[madville]

2. This is kinda doing people a favor

No one should order the junk they sell at any price.

[William Seger]

12. I've ordered over two hundred items from AliExpress (which I assume will follow suit)

Most of the things I've ordered -- I'd guess over 95% -- have been quite satisfactory. You do need to be careful to read the reviews, and to their credit, AliExpress publishes honest reviews, and they have refunded items that were indeed junk or damaged in shipping. (I used to buy a lot of things from Banggood until I found out that they didn't publish negative reviews.) A LOT of the things I bought were exactly the same items you might find locally or on Amazon for a much higher price. For example, the most expensive items I've bought from them were 4 "action" cameras for $110 each, and the cheapest price for the exact same camera on Amazon is over $150. I got backup batteries with a similar savings. I also bought about a dozen name-brand 64GB memory cards on sale for about $2.50 each, and another half-dozen 128GB cards for less than $4.00. The reviews said they weren't counterfeit, which is a BIG problem with memory cards from China, but to be safe, I only ordered one of each to test first, and then ordered more when I found they were indeed the claimed capacity and speed. (I got a little careless, though, and bought two different ones that were only $2.00 each, and they proved to be fake. I posted a review with a screenshot of the test results, which was published -- along with others that I had neglected to read -- and when I applied for a refund, it was granted almost immediately.) And I got a large camera bag, a decent tripod for my DSLR, many assorted camera mounting devices for the action cameras, and a pair of video lights, all of which I'm quite happy with, especially since they were 50% to 75% of the price elsewhere.

That's just the savings from my video hobby. I've also ordered a lot of household items like various kinds of tape and glue, rope, battery chargers, cables and adapters, miscellaneous tools, and a bunch of cheap digital devices that I use a lot -- an oximeter, a battery tester, a small-item scale, a luggage scale, a laser thermometer, a micrometer, a digital level, a laser "tape measure", a digital protractor, a metal detector, a weather station, and a couple of "trail" cameras -- all of which were perfectly functioning items, and for prices that couldn't be beat elsewhere.

So, I'll respectfully disagree with your assessment -- this isn't doing me any favors.

[madville]

16. Half the AliExpress sellers are scammers

I had several bad experiences on there before I gave up on it. They’ll put the good reviews at the very top and you have to scroll down a ways to investigate for bad ones.

Ordered a $186 tool off there, seller initially put a fake FedEx tracking number on it, a few days later I inquired about it and a few minutes later they changed it to a USPS tracking number that said it had been delivered the day I ordered it plus it weighed too much to ship USPS regardless. I always take screenshots luckily. Took me 3 weeks, several conversations and providing the screenshots to get refunded.

Have had to get PayPal involved to get my money back on a misrepresented item that AliExpress would never respond to me about returning. It was shown as a real tool and then they shipped me a miniature Christmas tree ornament version of it.

Another scam item that was never delivered but another fraudulent tracking # was provided that said it delivered to somewhere in my same zip code, that they would not refund my money on. Opened a case with USPS but that was useless since all they will do is confirm what zip code it got delivered in and what date. I did manage to get a return initiated and a shipping label and I sent them back a brick, they refunded me lol.

Most of the drill batteries I ordered off there only lasted maybe 20 charge cycles before failure where as OEM ones last many more times than that, so yeah they cost half as much for 1/4 the performance.

I have gotten a few decent things from there like sunglasses, a kitchen appliance and a few tools but for me it was about a 50/50 shot I’d have to work to get my money back.

[William Seger]

23. It's definitely a "buyer beware" proposition

You can see how many 1-star reviews there are, and you can see just those by clicking on that icon. I don't buy anything there unless there are a lot of reviews. As I said, I've been burned maybe 5% of the time, but I try to be very careful and very skeptical of claims. I know from Banggood what to expect from Chinese batteries, so I do sometimes buy batteries there, but only branded or OEM ones. Twice I've got counterfeits instead, but I was able to get refunds by proving that. And once, I did get a ridiculous bogus item instead of what I ordered, and I couldn't get a refund, but it was only $20, I think. There have been a few other cases where I didn't get a refund for what I considered a misrepresentation, but they were only for a few dollars.

I guess I've just been lucky compared to your experience, but anyway, I was responding to the post that said it was all junk, which isn't true -- you just need to be careful -- more careful than, say, Amazon, but that isn't entirely safe, either. (I recently got burned on a $325 "portable oxygen concentrator" that can't raise my oximeter reading more than 1 point after 20 minutes of sitting still and doesn't help at all when I'm active, but I couldn't get a refund. Again, it was my own fault for not doing some research, which would have revealed that there are a lot of these useless devices for sale, legally because they do increase oxygen a few percent, but a useful portable oxygen concentrator cost $2000 to $3000.)

[madville]

33. The outright postal fraud alone

Should have AliExpress and its sellers banned from using USPS and brought up on federal charges. They can try to hide behind that it’s the sellers doing it but they have allowed and facilitated some sellers to run the tracking number scam for years judging by their review history.

[Demsrule86]

19. My experience has been like yours... I was pleased with the merchandise.

[Doodley]

31. Really? Why do you say that?

[madville]

32. It'll dissuade some from buying

The junk on those sites. The way those sites fraudulently misrepresent products should be criminal if it isn’t already.

[dreamland]

10. I hope they specify what part of the bill is tariff.

People should know what their money is taxed.

[republianmushroom]

11. Live and learn, America.

[sellitman]

15. Temu is one online service I've never used.

I won't miss it if it's gone.

[Demsrule86]

17. My daughter had a $200 order with Shein...

It was delivered in California. We live in Ohio...they said we could drive over and get it...really Shein? When she called next she was allowed to complain...but two weeks and no infor...she is going through the bank, but that is not as easy as it once was. I would not buy anything from Shein...don't know much about Temu.

[underpants]

28. I think I ordered 5 things from Temu. One wasn't a piece of crap

The razors I got didn’t actually shave. They did some but left a layer of whiskers. An XL light jacket was XL around the shoulders but not the rest.
Nose hair trimmer - the razors were so cheap I had to add in something to get to the minimum- that still works.

[madville]

34. AliExpress sellers like the tracking number scam

They will even find a USPS or FedEx tracking number that delivered to your same zip code around the same timeframe and enter that under the order information then claim it was delivered. Of course they never shipped anything. Took me 3 weeks to get a refund from AliExpress the last and final time I tried it, seller first gave me a fake FedEx tracking # then switched it to a USPS one that showed delivered. Luckily I had screenshots, learned that in the past, it helps because I would have opened a fraud case with PayPal if they hadn’t finally agreed to a refund.

[Polybius]

41. Off-topic but glad you're back!

It's been a while since I saw you here.

[Dem4life1970]

21. I heard that Temu is changing its slogan

From "Shop Like A Billionaire" to "Shop Like Someone who stupidly voted for a Billionaire."

[helpisontheway]

25. Need to make sure I place an order on SHEIN this weekend

I need some clothes for our Fall trip to Crete. I have purchased vacation clothes (usually beach) from them a few times. No issues other than size one time.

[samnsara]

39. im doing the same thing....making a big order on Temu and Shein..

Ive never had any problem with Shein and the few times my product from TEMU wasnt right I got an immediate FULL refund and i was told to keep the item. ALSO they give a 10$ credit if your order is late. I have had BETTER customer service from these two companies than from many US companies.

I will pay the extra $ and continue to order front them..just not so much...

One DOES have to do their research on the items as a cpl Items I found cheaper at Walmart...but I dont have a walmart near and I refuse to shop there anyway

[The Mouth]

35. Who cares.

Just like with walmart- if people can't buy cheap chinese crap I could not care less.

[yellowdogdemocrat1]

37. Tariffs start May 2, so you might be too late

It depends on the shipping, whether it can enter our customs before May 2nd. We will be paying customs on all orders after that date. Ordering now doesn't guarantee that it will arrive in the States before that time. Items I ordered two days ago should be here by April 30th. Not sure about now though, you need to hurry up.

[GenThePerservering]

38. I don't buy from Shein

though their global world clothing styles are good.

I do buy from TEMU once in a while, though. Their service is excellent and I've only gotten one bum product.

Having said that, they don't really need to exist.

[samnsara]

40. just curious about all the comments about these two companies..

..how many here have actually shopped there?