Let’s focus on safety when using these two sites. We will compare the two marketplaces and explore issues such as seller reviews, buyer protection, refund policies, and customer service.

Since AliExpress allows any vendor to create a store, there must be ways to ascertain whether a seller is trustworthy or not.

Fortunately, AliExpress makes it easy to ensure a seller is legit.

First of all, each product has reviews left by previous consumers. That allows you to get an idea of prior customer satisfaction, how durable the product is, and so on.

Reviews can also give you an idea of listing accuracy (how closely the product matched expectations) and shipping speeds. Some reviewers may even upload pictures, so you can see actual pictures of the product instead of edited photos from the manufacturer.

In addition to reviews on the product page, you can also view the seller’s online profile. To do that, hover your mouse over the shop name at the top left of the page, as shown in this screenshot:

Immediately, you can see how long the store has been open for. If it’s been around for a long time, it’s less likely to be a scam, because poor customer service and scammy behavior don’t usually result in staying in business long.

However, to see more information about the store, click on Business info.

There, you can see the company’s business license registration number, legal representative, and more. That helps you verify a seller is fully registered and compliant with local regulations in their jurisdiction.

On Temu, you can also view a product’s ratings and reviews on the product page.

However, if you scroll down a bit more, you will see the shop’s information straight on the page. You will see the seller’s overall rating, how many followers they have, how many items they are selling, and how many sales they have made.

That allows you to get a quick idea of how popular and trustworthy the seller is. If they have a lot of followers and excellent reviews, you can feel safer buying from them.

Finally, if you click on the seller’s profile, you can see written reviews people have left, along with how many reviews the seller has received in total.

For example, the seller in the screenshot below has a 4.9-star rating (out of five) and over 65,000 reviews, which is more than enough to ascertain whether the rating is reliable.

In case of a problem, you can open a dispute with AliExpress. Its buyer protection policy allows you to open a dispute within 15 days if the following shipping problems occur:

• You didn’t receive the order, and it’s past the delivery time.
• The package was shipped to the wrong address or held in customs.
• There is no tracking information.
• The shipping carrier returned the product to the seller.

You can also open a dispute in the following cases even after receiving an item:

• The item is of poor quality, or you are not satisfied with it.
• The item was not as described.
• The product was damaged during shipping.

When you open a dispute, AliExpress will forward it to the seller, who must respond within five days. If the seller denies your request, AliExpress may step in and require them to refund you (although depending on the case, you may have to ship the product back first).

Temu has a purchase protection program that you qualify for if:

• Your order is not as described (for example, it doesn’t match the photos).
• The product was damaged during or before shipping.
• The product wasn’t delivered.
• The product came late.

Temu gives you a much more generous return window than AliExpress. You have a full 90 days to initiate a refund, but this is calculated from the date of purchase, not from the delivery date.

Still, it will usually be a lot longer than AliExpress’s return window.

However, return shipping is only free for the first return of each order (you can return multiple items together). If you return additional items from an order in a separate return, you will have to pay its return shipping costs.

Temu refunds can be refunded to your original payment method or as Temu store credit.

You can also open a dispute with PayPal if you used it to check out on Temu.

Now that we’ve covered safety and security, let’s talk about bargains! Where can you find the best bargains, how frequent are they, and what types of products can you buy?

AliExpress’s products are already cheap, and it still runs sales frequently.

In the screenshot above, you can already see several categories of deals:

• Coupon codes of $5 or $10 off eligible orders
• A limited-time winter sale with up to 60% off on selected products
• Daily “Super Deals” with 50% off or more
• Products with free shipping

Temu places a larger focus on flash deals, as that is what its business model is really all about: super low prices on all products. It regularly pushes its sellers to outcompete Amazon, AliExpress, and other sites with lower prices.

As you can see in the screenshot above, there are several categories of bargains available as of this writing:

• A blowout sale offering 90% off
• Winter fashion items starting from $0.38 an item
• An end of season clearance sale allowing you to save up to $100

There are many items selling for less than $1, between $1 and $2, or less than $10. Many of these get sold out quickly.

Available promotions do vary, as they change frequently, but this is just an idea of the kind of bargains you can expect to get on Temu.

• Wider selection of products
• More established and trustworthy
• Better quality of products (for some products)

• Longer shipping times
• Free shipping not available on all products
• Only 15 days from date of delivery for returns
• Clunkier website

• Better deals and bargains
• Ninety days from purchase for returns
• Free shipping on all items
• Faster shipping times

• Many products available, but smaller selection than AliExpress
• Hasn’t been around as long
• Not as useful for dropshippers or ecommerce sellers

Whether you should buy on Temu or AliExpress depends on your priorities.

Both Temu and AliExpress offer excellent customer protection, although Temu offers a longer return window period. On the other hand, AliExpress is a more trustworthy platform.

In terms of deals, Temu wins, but only slightly. While its business model is focused on offering dirt-cheap prices, cheaper than its competitors, you may sacrifice on quality in return for such cheap prices.

Temu offers free shipping on all products, which can help you save money. AliExpress only offers free shipping on some products, and its free shipping can take quite long at times.

Overall, both are good platforms. In terms of safety, AliExpress wins, as it has been around longer, but in terms of deals, Temu has a slight advantage.

Remember, you can always compare prices on each platform for any particular item you want to buy.

Tom Clayton

Tom loves to write on technology, e-commerce & internet marketing.
Tom has been a full-time internet marketer for two decades now, earning millions of dollars while living life on his own terms. Along the way, he’s also coached thousands of other people to success.