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If I'm shopping at a retail store, even Walmart, there is a certain floor I expect to the quality of goods. If I move up to Target or a Ralph Lauren store that

If I'm shopping at a retail store, even Walmart, there is a certain floor I expect to the quality of goods. If I move up to Target or a Ralph Lauren store that expectation goes up. Someone somewhere that cares about the brand has made some kind of attempt to vet the product. That's not always a guarantee of the best product but a brand that isn't in a death spiral has some incentive to protect their brand. I've significantly reduced my spending on Amazon, do not plan on renewing Prime this year, and would never use Temu because there is just too high a chance of getting bottom of the barrel crap from a nonsensically named Chinese company that will shut down and restart with a new name after it becomes obvious they sell only garbage. You get some companies like Anker that are rising above the crap but I don't have the time to learn about the few Chinese companies doing good by the consumers and don't want to have to spend hours vetting whether my tooth brush holder has lead or the brushes will tip over because it's not actually tall enough to properly hold a toothbrush. I'll just buy from Target. If I'm going to roll the dice or know of a trustworthy brand from China I'll just use AliExpress.

gs17 3y ago
>If I'm shopping at a retail store, even Walmart, there is a certain floor I expect to the quality of goods. You also get to inspect things a bit before you buy them. My girlfriend tried Temu, I explained what she was likely going to get, she insisted that the price was so good "we would be losing money by not buying it", the order arrived (late) and was the quality I expected, she realized it wasn't worth it and deleted the app. If we went to Walmart and saw the same things for the same price, she wouldn't have even wanted to touch them. There's no guarantee a shirt you get from Walmart will last, but you at least know the fabric is thicker than toilet paper before you buy.
- reaperman 3y ago
  Temu has free returns and pays for return shipping.
  - gs17 3y ago
    They do, but it was clear being in a loop of ordering garbage and sending it back was not a good use of time.
    - dave333 3y ago
      I've ordered over 50 items from Temu and have generally been happy with the quality. There have been one or two complete duds, but I just write that off as you get what you pay for. Not worth sending anything back. The only things I still order from Amazon are consumables - coffee pods, vitamin gummies and cough syrup.
  - ThePowerOfFuet 3y ago
    >has free returns >pays for return shipping They're the same picture.
  - 486sx33 3y ago
    In reality they told me keep their garbage and they’ll give me my money back. After an hour investment of my own time - of which has to be on their online chat website which you of course cannot close in the meantime. No, I want you jerks to pay UPS to fly this crap back to you, but they won’t. We all need to standup against the infiltration of Chinese poisoned goods. Demand they take them back and your expense. The post service needs reform too, why is it cheaper to ship from China than ship across your own city? It’s ridiculous.
    - gs17 3y ago
      That was our experience as well, although it only took a few minutes (because we didn't try to argue with it?). >The post service needs reform too, why is it cheaper to ship from China than ship across your own city? This Planet Money episode talks about it (although from 2018): https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/08/01/634737852/episode-857-the-postal-illuminati https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/08/01/634737852/epis...
reaperman 3y ago
You have WAY more confidence in Target/Walmart than I do. Most of it falls apart super fast. Even Christian Dior belts are made of some kind of “leather” that falls apart after a year.
- gs17 3y ago
  > some kind of “leather” that falls apart after a year It's vinyl and it's awful. That fake leather degrades really fast if you expose it to the sun. Thrift stores especially end up with a lot of second-hand products made of it already shedding. I'm not a huge fan of leather, but at least it lasts almost forever.
hsbauauvhabzb 3y ago
In Aus, target is considered middle-low tier but not bottom of the barrel, Ralph lauren appear to sell $800 sweaters. Is American target substantially different from Australian target?
- esafak 3y ago
  Middle-low sounds about right in the US too. Better than Walmart.
- Larrikin 3y ago
  Target is the same, definitely not on the level of Ralph Lauren, but definitely a step above Walmart. OP referred to Ralph Lauren like its easy to find equally quality good on Temu.
- verall 3y ago
  Ralph Lauren does sell $800 sweaters, but in America most (not all though) of the "nice" brands have significantly diluted their quality, so in addition to the $800 sweaters, Ralph Lauren also sells "$150" sweaters which are "marked down" to $80 and are really not very good quality, you could roll the dice and maybe get something comparable on temu for like $15. The brands don't really do this dilution in other countries yet, and temu is still a diceroll, but I broadly agree with the GP
  - Larrikin 3y ago
    What you're referring to has been a thing for a very long time and exist outside of the US. The Nikes you get at a department store have always been terrible compared to what you get at Foot Locker for example. Nike won't even allow certain sneakers to be sold depending on the level they judge the store to be. The Ralph Lauren flagship store in Tokyo or NYC will generally have a better selection than the department store. A Macy's in Chicago will have a far better selection of a brand than a Macy's in a mid tier suburb. In college, I went to a mall serving an extremely rural community and a major college, and nearly everything in the casual section of the department store was extremely cheap and camo. Its just market segmentation. Online, the clothing brands I buy from directly tend to be of the quality I expect. Buying a polo from Amazon will be just as much of a crap shoot as buying from Temu, but the online store will generally have the quality shirt you've been buying.
devbent 3y ago
> If I'm shopping at a retail store, even Walmart, there is a certain floor I expect to the quality of goods. I once got a badminton birdie from Walmart that, when hit with a racket, rather than bounce and fly off across the court, fell rather lazily to the ground. The floor for Walmart is pretty darn low.

gs17 3y ago

>If I'm shopping at a retail store, even Walmart, there is a certain floor I expect to the quality of goods. You also get to inspect things a bit before you buy them. My girlfriend tried Temu, I explained what she was likely going to get, she insisted that the price was so good "we would be losing money by not buying it", the order arrived (late) and was the quality I expected, she realized it wasn't worth it and deleted the app. If we went to Walmart and saw the same things for the same price, she wouldn't have even wanted to touch them. There's no guarantee a shirt you get from Walmart will last, but you at least know the fabric is thicker than toilet paper before you buy.

reaperman 3y ago
Temu has free returns and pays for return shipping.
- gs17 3y ago
  They do, but it was clear being in a loop of ordering garbage and sending it back was not a good use of time.
  - dave333 3y ago
    I've ordered over 50 items from Temu and have generally been happy with the quality. There have been one or two complete duds, but I just write that off as you get what you pay for. Not worth sending anything back. The only things I still order from Amazon are consumables - coffee pods, vitamin gummies and cough syrup.
- ThePowerOfFuet 3y ago
  >has free returns >pays for return shipping They're the same picture.
- 486sx33 3y ago
  In reality they told me keep their garbage and they’ll give me my money back. After an hour investment of my own time - of which has to be on their online chat website which you of course cannot close in the meantime. No, I want you jerks to pay UPS to fly this crap back to you, but they won’t. We all need to standup against the infiltration of Chinese poisoned goods. Demand they take them back and your expense. The post service needs reform too, why is it cheaper to ship from China than ship across your own city? It’s ridiculous.
  - gs17 3y ago
    That was our experience as well, although it only took a few minutes (because we didn't try to argue with it?). >The post service needs reform too, why is it cheaper to ship from China than ship across your own city? This Planet Money episode talks about it (although from 2018): https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/08/01/634737852/episode-857-the-postal-illuminati https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/08/01/634737852/epis...

reaperman 3y ago

You have WAY more confidence in Target/Walmart than I do. Most of it falls apart super fast. Even Christian Dior belts are made of some kind of “leather” that falls apart after a year.

gs17 3y ago
> some kind of “leather” that falls apart after a year It's vinyl and it's awful. That fake leather degrades really fast if you expose it to the sun. Thrift stores especially end up with a lot of second-hand products made of it already shedding. I'm not a huge fan of leather, but at least it lasts almost forever.

hsbauauvhabzb 3y ago

In Aus, target is considered middle-low tier but not bottom of the barrel, Ralph lauren appear to sell $800 sweaters. Is American target substantially different from Australian target?

esafak 3y ago
Middle-low sounds about right in the US too. Better than Walmart.
Larrikin 3y ago
Target is the same, definitely not on the level of Ralph Lauren, but definitely a step above Walmart. OP referred to Ralph Lauren like its easy to find equally quality good on Temu.
verall 3y ago
Ralph Lauren does sell $800 sweaters, but in America most (not all though) of the "nice" brands have significantly diluted their quality, so in addition to the $800 sweaters, Ralph Lauren also sells "$150" sweaters which are "marked down" to $80 and are really not very good quality, you could roll the dice and maybe get something comparable on temu for like $15. The brands don't really do this dilution in other countries yet, and temu is still a diceroll, but I broadly agree with the GP
- Larrikin 3y ago
  What you're referring to has been a thing for a very long time and exist outside of the US. The Nikes you get at a department store have always been terrible compared to what you get at Foot Locker for example. Nike won't even allow certain sneakers to be sold depending on the level they judge the store to be. The Ralph Lauren flagship store in Tokyo or NYC will generally have a better selection than the department store. A Macy's in Chicago will have a far better selection of a brand than a Macy's in a mid tier suburb. In college, I went to a mall serving an extremely rural community and a major college, and nearly everything in the casual section of the department store was extremely cheap and camo. Its just market segmentation. Online, the clothing brands I buy from directly tend to be of the quality I expect. Buying a polo from Amazon will be just as much of a crap shoot as buying from Temu, but the online store will generally have the quality shirt you've been buying.

devbent 3y ago

> If I'm shopping at a retail store, even Walmart, there is a certain floor I expect to the quality of goods. I once got a badminton birdie from Walmart that, when hit with a racket, rather than bounce and fly off across the court, fell rather lazily to the ground. The floor for Walmart is pretty darn low.