Temu and Alibaba are two prominent ecommerce platforms. However, while Alibaba is well-known, not as many people have heard of Temu, which is a newer company that was founded in 2022.
If this is your first time coming across Temu, whether a friend recommended it or you saw it in an ad online, you might be wondering how it compares to Alibaba.
Alibaba is one of the largest driving forces in the global ecommerce economy. While Temu is a newcomer to the market, it is quickly gaining popularity among global ecommerce users.
In this article, I’ll be comparing the two platforms in terms of features, product availability, and more.
The short version: Alibaba is a B2B marketplace that focuses on bulk orders. It sells not only small items but big ones, such as industrial machinery, as well. Meanwhile, Temu is a newer company that focuses on B2C sales, selling items that are shipped from China for cheap.
For a more detailed comparison, continue reading!
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Overview of Temu
Temu is an ecommerce platform that was founded in 2022. It operates in several countries, including the US, Mexico, and various European countries, such as Spain, Belgium, and Austria.
Temu is always launching in new countries and experiencing a lot of global growth.
If you’ve ever heard of Wish, Temu is a bit similar. The prices on Temu are extremely cheap, made possible because most of the goods are shipped from China, directly from the seller to the consumer.
That means that sellers on Temu do not have to rent warehouses in the US, which helps keep costs low.
According to TechCrunch, Temu hit the first spot on both the Android and iOS app stores in the US more than once since it was first launched, and it reached a total of 19 million downloads, with more than 18 million of them coming from the US.
The popularity of Temu is most likely due to its aggressive marketing strategy, which involves running ads on Facebook and Instagram. It also employs the brilliant strategy of encouraging users to get others to sign up by offering free products to customers who refer others.
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Overview of Alibaba
Alibaba.com is owned by Alibaba Group Holding Limited. It was founded by Jack Ma in 1999, and it’s just one of the many websites owned by Alibaba Group Holding Limited; Aliexpress is another popular one.
Alibaba is massive and one of the largest ecommerce sites in the world. In fact, in terms of market cap, it is one of the top five companies in the world, after Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta (Facebook), and Tencent.
However, what makes it distinct is that it focuses more on B2B sales than B2C sales.
Most of the sellers on Alibaba prefer to sell in bulk. However, you can see each product’s minimum order quantity (MOQ), and you will find that there are many products with MOQs of just one or two; others have MOQs of 10 or more.
Some products, on the other hand, have MOQs of 500 or other large amounts.
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Therefore, despite being known as a B2B platform, you can definitely purchase from Alibaba as an individual consumer. However, product prices may vary depending on how many items you purchase.
For example, if you only purchase one item, you may have to pay the higher end of the price range listed. Ordering larger quantities can help reduce the cost of each item, which is why many ecommerce sellers use Alibaba to source their products – it’s cheap and easy.
Comparison of Features
Temu vs Alibaba: Product Availability
Temu
Temu has a wide range of products available. Some categories on the platform include:
- Men’s Clothing
- Women’s Shoes
- Beauty and Health
- Electronics
- Toys and Games
- Patio, Lawn, and Garden
You can browse new arrivals, or you can check out the top-rated products or bestsellers.
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Alibaba
Alibaba also has a wide range of products. Since it’s more established than Temu, you can find a wider range of products on Alibaba.
For example, people purchase large products like kayaks on Alibaba as well.
Here are some of the categories you can see on Alibaba:
- Vehicle Parts and Accessories
- Industrial Machinery
- Personal Care and Household Cleaning
- Medical Devices and Supplies
- Apparel/Fashion Accessories
- Packaging and Printing
As you can see, you can find anything on Alibaba! You’re not limited to clothing, household items, consumer electronics, or cheap and interesting fad products.
We can conclude that while both Temu and Alibaba are great for small items, such as toys, electronics, and clothing, Alibaba is the superior choice for more niche products or larger items.
Those include agricultural machinery, firefighting supplies, professional medical devices, and auto body systems. All of those products – and more – are available on Alibaba.
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Alibaba vs Temu: Price Range
Temu
Most of the products on Temu seem to be under $10, with a large bulk of those products costing just a few dollars. Most of the other products on Temu are under $20; there are just a few products over $20.
That is in line with Temu’s business model – appealing to the consumer interested in cheap, affordable products that cost almost nothing. Customers are willing to put up with long shipping times from China due to the low prices of the products.
Temu constantly runs sales and discounts. For example, it currently has the sales shown in the following screenshot:
While it advertises products as low as $0.05, most of the products are more expensive than that. Still, the majority are still extremely cheap.
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Alibaba
Prices on Alibaba have a broader range. For smaller items, you can expect similar prices as Temu or even lower, especially if you order large quantities – after all, a lot of Alibaba sellers focus on people placing bulk orders.
However, since there is a wider range of products on Alibaba, including larger products like machinery and auto parts, there is a wider price range on the site as well. Some products, like kayaks or machines, can easily cost hundreds of dollars or more.
Still, that doesn’t mean that Alibaba is expensive. In fact, it’s incredibly cheap compared to the prices of those same products on other sites.
For a good idea of the price range of products on Alibaba, take a look at the screenshot above. There is one product that is selling for just $0.01 (one cent!) while there is another product that is selling for $8,424.
Temu vs Alibaba: Seller and Product Reviews
Temu
Temu allows various sellers to sell on the marketplace. To ensure that consumers can make better purchasing decisions, it features seller profiles.
When viewing a product, you can see who is selling it and visit their seller page. On the seller page, you will see all the other products they are selling as well as their total review score, individual reviews, and the number of ratings they have received.
You will also see how many products they are currently selling, how many items they have sold in total, and how many followers they have. Customers can follow sellers if they are interested in their products.
One thing I liked was the ability to see how many repeat followers a seller has, which can help you determine how satisfied people are with their products.
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On each product page, you can also see product reviews from verified customers, along with pictures those customers have uploaded with their reviews.
Alibaba
Alibaba has a better system than Temu for ensuring you choose the right seller to buy from.
First of all, suppliers on Alibaba can have entire seller pages, sort of like mini sites, that can help you learn more about them. These mini sites are hosted on Alibaba and allow you to see a supplier’s contact information, history, and more – here is an example of such a page:
These pages help build trust and ensure you are working with a verified, trusted supplier who has been in business for a while.
Alibaba also has a Verified Supplier program. Verified Suppliers will have a small badge next to their names indicating they are part of the program and have been verified to provide high-quality products and excellent customer service.
Verification is issued by one of two certification bodies that Alibaba works with. These are third parties – verification is not issued by Alibaba itself – which helps increase trust and reduce bias.
Note that the Verified Supplier program is different from the Gold Supplier program. The Gold Supplier program is a paid program for suppliers that gives them extra perks.
However, even to be part of the Gold Supplier program, suppliers must pass a verification check. Suppliers in China must pass an on-site check, while suppliers elsewhere must pass a verification and authentication process that ensures they are legally registered and that the person representing them on Alibaba is an authorized representative of the company.
However, the Gold Supplier tag isn’t as good as the Verified Supplier tag, which requires a higher level of verification to ensure quality. Still, if someone is a Gold Supplier – and you can also see how long they have been a Gold Supplier – you can trust that it’s a legal company and not a scam seller.
On the supplier profile/page, you can also see quite a bit of information about them from Alibaba. For example, you can see:
- Individual reviews, total review count, and average review rating
- On-time delivery rate
- Total order count and dollar value
- Verified industry certifications and capabilities
- Company overview (years in business, floor space, etc.)
- Product capabilities and quality control information
- Video uploads
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Suppliers can even hold livestreaming sessions about products so consumers can learn more about them.
One thing that I didn’t like about Alibaba is that there are no reviews of individual products; rather, there are only reviews of suppliers. That is in line with its business model – it’s not targeted towards the consumer interested in buying a single product.
However, there are still many products that have MOQs of just one or two, so it would be helpful to have product reviews.
Overall, though, Alibaba has more checks and balances in place to ensure you are working with a trusted supplier than Temu, in my opinion. A
Alibaba vs Temu: Supported Countries
Temu
Temu is currently only available in select markets, although it is constantly expanding into new international markets.
Currently, the dropdown menu on the Temu site shows that it is available in the US, the UK, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
However, as new countries are being added, you can check for current country availability by going to the Temu region settings and browsing the countries in the drop-down menu.
Alibaba
Alibaba, meanwhile, is available pretty much worldwide. It is not limited to certain markets.
Shipping does vary based on the specific supplier you are dealing with, but regardless of where you are in the world, you can usually find products that you can purchase on Alibaba.
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Temu vs Alibaba: Shipping
Temu
Temu offers free standard shipping on most products. However, standard shipping officially takes 8-25 business days (25 business days is around a month).
Note that it can take 1–3 days for the warehouse to process your order and ship your order.
Meanwhile, express shipping is available as well. It costs $12.90 for most orders, but it is free for orders above $129.
However, express shipping varies based on your location. You can see estimated shipping times at checkout.
For more information about shipping on Temu, see here.
Alibaba
Shipping on Alibaba varies. Suppliers who deal with bulk orders are experienced with working with air and freight carriers to fulfill global orders.
Suppliers may use DHL, UPS, DPD, and other shipping carriers for their shipments.
When viewing a product, you will see the estimated delivery date range (or guaranteed delivery date, if applicable) and the shipping carrier the supplier is using, along with the price. Click on “Change” to check if there are other shipping methods you can choose from.
One shipping method you will often see (which is shown in the above screenshot) is Alibaba.com Logistics. Alibaba.com has partnered with various air and freight companies to offer a logistics service that delivers from warehouses in China directly to consumers’ doorsteps in select countries.
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Temu vs Alibaba: Refunds
Temu
Temu has a pretty generous return policy. It allows you to return items for a full refund within 90 days of purchase.
What’s better is that returns, including return shipping, are free! However, it’s only free for your first return from each order.
In other words, let’s say you bought headphones, a dress, and a pair of shoes. If you return the pair of shoes, it will be free.
However, if you later decide that you want to return the dress as well, you can do so, as long as it’s within 90 days. You will have to pay $7.99 for the return label for the dress, though, which will be deducted from your refund.
For more information about Temu’s refund policy, see here.
Alibaba
Refunds on Alibaba are possible within 30 days for most buyers and 60 days for Platinum Buyers. A cool thing about Alibaba’s refund policy is that if you apply for a refund within two hours of payment, you can get a full refund immediately.
Also, some products have Trade Assurance protection, which further protects you and guarantees a refund within 30 days if the product was not delivered on time or did not meet quality expectations. You can check for the Trade Assurance symbol (which looks like a yellow castle with an S in it) when browsing products.
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Market Reach and Global Impact
Alibaba and Temu are vastly different when it comes to market reach and global impact. Alibaba Group, as I mentioned, is one of the top companies in the world by market cap.
It is a driving force in ecommerce, with many smaller ecommerce sellers relying on Alibaba suppliers for their own stores. Many companies even purchase generic products on Alibaba and brand them as their own.
Temu, on the other hand, is still a relatively small player. However, it is still relatively new, so that is understandable.
As it expands into new markets and attracts more users, we can expect it to become a big player in the ecommerce scene, just like Wish.
Competitive Landscape
Temu is trying to make a name for itself and compete with players like Wish, Amazon, and AliExpress.
Like Wish, it stands out by offering cheap products sourced from China. It is also aggressively marketing itself through ads on the Meta platform and affiliate marketing to gain more users as it expands into new markets.
Alibaba, however, is also aggressively marketing itself. Have you ever opened YouTube and seen those “popular on Alibaba” ads?
They appear all the time, and I also get ads on Instagram and elsewhere showing all kinds of products on Alibaba, ranging from cheap ones to large products like private jets.
Can Temu ever overtake Alibaba? That is extremely unlikely, in my opinion. It might overtake companies like Wish, but Alibaba is so large and has so many resources that Temu will be unlikely to be able to compete with it directly.
Besides, Alibaba has a different target audience than Temu (B2B vs B2C). That is reflected in minimum order quantities and the types of products available on each platform.
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Customer Perspective
Which offers a better customer experience, Alibaba or Temu?
Alibaba is well established, but the problem is that you are dealing with third-party suppliers on the platform, so experiences may vary. Fortunately, Alibaba has put in various checks and balances to ensure that you don’t get scammed.
Look for the following things when searching for an Alibaba supplier:
- Verified Supplier (or at least a Gold Supplier)
- Has been in business several years
- Has good reviews
- Offers Trade Assurance protection
- Has fulfilled many orders in the past (you can see information about past orders on the product page)
If you do all that, you should be good.
Alibaba is mostly geared towards B2B sales. Therefore, you can take your time until you find a supplier who you have a healthy working relationship with.
Finding a good supplier is never easy, whether on Alibaba or elsewhere. You need to find someone who is good with communication, offers decent shipping options, takes care of orders quickly, offers good prices, and can consistently fill orders when you need new stock.
Temu customers, on the other hand, have been reporting having bad experiences on the platform, according to Time Magazine. This led to numerous complaints to the BBB, which led to a poor rating.
There are currently over 450 complaints about Temu to the Better Business Bureau.
The complaints seem to center around delivery and refund problems. A lot of people are not getting the products they ordered within the promised delivery time – despite that already being a long time frame due to the nature of Temu’s business model (shipping from overseas).
Furthermore, some people have reported not getting their items at all. And, when they applied for refunds, they did not get those refunds.
One customer complained about only receiving one item in the package, despite having placed two orders. Temu denied their request for a refund, claiming that the items were packaged properly.
Another complaint alleged that while they bought products that were advertised as genuine silver coins, what arrived were fake coins. You can see more complaints about Temu to the BBB here.
Right now, Temu has a C+ rating with the BBB. While it is not BBB accredited, it does seem to be replying to complaints.
That’s better than Alibaba, at least, which has an F rating with the BBB due to not responding to complaints. However, as I said, by sticking to the right suppliers, you should avoid most problems.
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Temu vs Alibaba – Recap
As you can see, Alibaba is a major player in the ecommerce industry. While Temu is still an up-and-coming company, it is growing very quickly, and we can expect to see it gain more popularity in the future as it attracts more customers due to its low prices.
While Temu customers do experience issues, it seems like Temu is responding to complaints and attempting to fix them. Remember that shipping from overseas can also lead to delays, especially if items get held up in customs.
