I ordered from Temu for the first time and theoretically the items should have been great but the packaging is so insufficient that half of it was broken. They don't bother to protect the items when they ship them just shove them in a bag and send them off on their merry way. I got a refund on one item at least and it was quite easy to do, I did not even have to return anything.
On the subject of design copying I admit I find it frustrating trying to figure out what's "real" anymore. For example, I love washi tape. I go on Etsy and I see cute washi tape for X amount and then I see the exact thing on Alliexpress and it's half the price and clearly the same. Similarly I found a website selling cute claw clips and then found the same designs on Temu for half the price. I just see similar items popping up on different sites and different prices and I find it so hard to even tell what's the real source or if there even is one you know? So I end up just buying the cheapest because I look at the curated shop or Etsy store and I just think - why pay the middleman if it's not theirs? But I guess it could technically be theirs it's just so hard to tell. Everything seems to be coming from the same factory in China!
On the subject of design copying I admit I find it frustrating trying to figure out what's "real" anymore. For example, I love washi tape. I go on Etsy and I see cute washi tape for X amount and then I see the exact thing on Alliexpress and it's half the price and clearly the same. Similarly I found a website selling cute claw clips and then found the same designs on Temu for half the price. I just see similar items popping up on different sites and different prices and I find it so hard to even tell what's the real source or if there even is one you know? So I end up just buying the cheapest because I look at the curated shop or Etsy store and I just think - why pay the middleman if it's not theirs? But I guess it could technically be theirs it's just so hard to tell. Everything seems to be coming from the same factory in China!