It’s been a year since Temu, the online Chinese-owned e-commerce giant, flooded America with flashy Super Bowl ads. Offering rock-bottom prices on everything from clothing to home goods, Temu has become a household name. But behind the app’s promises of “deals” and “free gifts” lies a darker reality—one that American small businesses, including my own, have felt firsthand.
Temu’s business model is simple: sell extremely cheap products at prices that seem too good to be true. And as many shoppers have discovered, the quality of those products often matches the price—thin fabrics, flimsy materials, and items that barely last a season. But Temu doesn’t just undercut American businesses with low prices; it actively exploits them.
A Firsthand Experience: “I’ve Been Temued"
In 2024, my business discovered that Temu had stolen product images directly from our website, using them to sell their own vastly inferior versions of our goods. We immediately issued a cease-and-desist request, and to our surprise, Temu complied, removing the stolen images. But when I shared the experience on social media, I quickly realized that we were far from alone.
Hundreds of small business owners had the same story: Temu was lifting their images, copying their products, and selling knockoffs at a fraction of the price—often so cheaply that no American business could possibly compete. It had happened so frequently that a new phrase was coined: “I’ve been Temued.”
And it’s not just small businesses. Major brands and artists have all reportedly had their designs and images used without permission. Big or small, it doesn’t seem to matter—Temu takes what it wants.
A Bigger Threat Than We Realized?
Of course, I can’t say that Temu alone is responsible for the decline of American small businesses like mine. The economy has struggled, and I’ve also pursued other business ventures, including a pack-and-ship business. But my new role has given me a front-row seat to consumer behavior—and what I’ve learned is alarming.
Each day, I print shipping labels for returns, mostly for Amazon, but occasionally for Temu and its similar counterpart, SHEIN. Curious, I often ask customers about their experiences.
Their responses follow a pattern:
- “The deals are just too good to pass up.”
- “I know the quality isn’t great, but it’s so cheap.”
- “I’ve even gotten free items just for shopping with them.”
Many of these shoppers know they’re buying low-quality goods from China. Some even admit they feel addicted to the deals. But what’s more concerning are the hidden risks they don’t seem to question.
One elderly woman I spoke with mentioned that she had experienced several fraud alerts from her bank over the past couple of years—coinciding with the time she began shopping on Temu. She never connected the two. Could Temu be doing more than just stealing small businesses’ imagery? Could it also be collecting and selling consumer data, or worse, facilitating fraud?
The True Cost of Cheap Shopping
Temu thrives on a cycle of impulse shopping and bargain hunting, but at what cost?
- American small businesses are losing sales to products that don’t compare in quality.
- Brands, big and small, are having their intellectual property stolen.
- Consumers are unknowingly risking their personal information, while their spending habits become increasingly controlled by a foreign company with little accountability.
- Human rights violations may be fueling these low prices.
A 2023 U.S. House committee report raised serious concerns about Temu’s potential links to forced labor. The investigation found that Temu does not have a meaningful compliance program to prevent Uyghur forced labor in its supply chain—meaning consumers could unknowingly be supporting unethical labor practices when they shop on the platform. This raises the question: Is the “cheap” price worth the hidden human cost?
And yet, when I share my personal experience with shoppers, they are often shocked but not deterred. The addiction to cheap goods seems stronger than the desire to support local businesses or even protect their own financial security.
A Call to Action
In recent weeks, I've seen two more small businesses, OffTropic and Abbie Ren Illustrations, fall victim to the same Temu scheme. It happens so often now that I feel compelled to speak out.
Temu isn’t just another discount retailer—it’s an attack on American entrepreneurship. It’s profiting off the hard work of small businesses, eroding the quality of goods in the market, and potentially putting consumers at financial risk.
If you’re a Temu shopper, I urge you to reconsider. Every dollar spent there is a dollar taken away from a small business in your community—businesses that are the backbone of our economy.
And if you’ve been “Temued” yourself, SHARE YOUR STORY. It’s time to expose what’s really happening and push back against the exploitation of small businesses. We deserve better, and it starts with making more conscious choices about where we spend our money.