This is a long awaited post by many readers as for the past weeks, I received many messages asking me to test and write about Temu. So, now that my first parcel has just been delivered (And three other parcels on their way), I can write about my first experience on this new chinese e-commerce platform.
So, here goes the article.
Have a good read!
A bit about online shopping history in Mauritius over the past years
It all started with Ebay and Amazon, followed by AliExpress and AliBaba. We all went through that painful long wait after the covid lockdown because of the slow and expensive shipping logistics. To escape those endless months, some turned towards shipping forwarders such as myUS.com or shopandship.com, but unfortunately at a more expensive cost. Then came Shein but this platform was used mostly by TikTok sellers and not popular among individuals as from what I heard, it required a huge minimum purchase amount.
And around six months ago, AliExpress deliveries started being handled by speedaf in Mauritius whereby pickup points were set, followed by the deliveries by Chronopost Mauritius. And then, finally, deliveries were outsourced to third parties individuals or companies, with items being delivered at your doorstep within 10-14 days if you choose the “AliExpress Standard Shipping”, somewhat more expensive that the other options.
Enter the next player in the game: Very recently, probably since less than 2 months now, a small number of Mauritians started to buy from Temu but it is growing very slowly and the costs associated are still unknown and fluctuating depending on user experience. But we are actually very late in embarking in this new trend as Temu exists since 2022 in the USA
How does Temu works?
Unlike other ecommerce platforms, Temu stores all of the items advertised directly in their own warehouses. All shipping is done directly from there, allowing customers to choose items from different suppliers and yet being delivered in one single parcel. Amazon also partly works with same business model but the difference is that Amazon also allows the sellers to handle the storage and shipment of items ordered.
Benefits
I mentioned two advantages already above : one single parcel, and all sellers store their items at Temu’s warehouse itself.
The third advantage is FREE shipping. Yes, everything gets free shipping. And every parcel leaving the warehouse will be delivered by speedaf or Chronopost.
Price adjustment
If the price of one or several items drops within 30 days of your purchase, you are eligible for a refund in form of credits on your Temu account. However, this is not automatic. You need to open your order, click on the “Price adjustment” or on the “…” to proceed.
For example, my first purchase amounted to approximately Rs1002.56, according to exchange rate of Temu and I received Rs157.38 in terms of credits as the prices dropped for most of my items.
Other interesting benefits of Temu are self-explanatory and very exciting lol.
Rs90 credit if delivery date is exceeded
Full refund if no tracking updates for 15 days
Full refund if parcel not delivered after 30 days.
Drawbacks / inconvenients
Minimum amount
You can check out your cart only if you reach a minimum amount.
The first time, there was a Rs250 minimum amount and after that, if I still remember, it climbed to Rs1200. However, that minimum amount is subject to several things. For example, you can contact Temu’s support and ask them to waive off that amount.
And they did it for my next shipment. But the limit appeared again very soon. I wonder if that above trick works everytime. But after that order, all of my orders were above Rs1200.
Not every brand or item is on Temu
Being a big fan of smart devices, one of my first searches on Temu was Sonoff. But nothing of that brand showed up. I was also looking for chargers for electric vehicles but I found nearly nothing, except a few models of unknown brands.
Very similar to purchasing an iPhone or a high end smart watch, which you will prefer to do it on Amazon, paying the high price and get a quality and branded product. Or you can buy on Temu.
Addictive
We all know that shopping is addictive. All e-commerce platforms become addictive but Temu is on a different level. One minute you are purchasing an outdoor lamp and the next minute, you are looking at solar alternatives. That’s not all.
Even after you finalized and paid for your order, Temu still gives you the option to add more items to your order through just “one tap”. The payment is processed immediately and you can end up having 10 other individual transactions on your card !
The additional costs you pay in Mauritius!
This gonna be a long section, so please read carefully and express your anger in the comments section!
After placing the order on 19th April,
- 29 April : 11 days to reach Mauritius
- 30 April – 9 May : with Chronopost/Customs!
- 5 May – I got a call from Chronopost to ask for personal details.
- 14 May : sms and an email with a link to pay for the charges, as listed below.
- 16 May : Item was marked as out for delivery.
- 18 May : No delivery. I contacted support and got a full refund of the item.
- 20 May : 30 days after the purchase, I was delivered the item at my doorstep by a Chronopost contrator on his motorbike at 8pm.
Coming to the costs now…
My parcel had cost me Rs1031 only, as shown below in my bank statement (2 additional lines as I added 2 more items to the same shipment) but I got the following invoice through mail and a link to proceed to the payment :
I sent a mail to customer service, no reply. Then, I got in touch with the Deputy General Manager of Chronopost Mauritius, Mr Arouff, whom I came to know through my blog’s FB page very recently. We had a lengthy and very fruitful discussion, which I will summarize as follows:
- VAT payable to customs is calculated on the CIF value (Cost of goods + Insurance +Shipping / Freight.
- The freight is 20% of the Shipping Charges mentioned on the invoice. In case there is no mention on the invoice Customs will consider USD 35 up to 10 Kg per Shipment
- As an individual you benefit from Rs 1,000 exemption for imports. ( We talked about this multiple times and thanks to the current goverment, that limit was unfortunately brought down from Rs3000 to Rs1000 in 2020).
- Any order below that Rs1,000 does not require customs assem*nt and hence additional charges.
- The Shipping (Or freight) and Insurance charges are calculated by the shipment company, hereby Chronopost and VAT is calculated on top of that total CIF value.
YES, YOU READ RIGHT!
Despite you purchased items with FREE shipping, in Mauritius, the following charges are added :
- Calculated Shipping charges
- Calculated Insurance charges
When I asked Chronopost, who paid for these 2 above charges, I got no replies. I asked twice or thrice I think. So, basically, I am paying for charges who no one actually took any money from their pocket!
These above charges are filled in a “Simplified Customs Assessment Form For Courier Or Postal Parcels” and sent to the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs):
I give one example from above : I purchased a “remote control unit” at Rs218 on Temu. No charges for neither shipping nor insurance.
When it reaches Chronopost, a chargeable freight of Rs69 and insurance of Rs 8 are calculated on the item value. This makes the CIF (Cost, insurance, and freight (CIF)) value climb to 218+69+8 = Rs295, or Rs296, as in the screenshot. And then, a 15% VAT is charged, amounting to Rs44.25 or Rs44 as in screenshot.
Based on the above calculation, despite my parcel initially costed me Rs1030 something (purple), that same value climbs to Rs1399 (green). And by being above Rs1000, I am now being charged VAT as (Rs1399-Rs1000)x 15% = Rs59 (which is the amount of VAT I paid on the invoice).
And because of the above, I am now being charged Rs250 by Chronopost for the “Brokerage-Assessment Form” and that’s not all, I paid another 15% VAT on that Rs250!
So, my additional charges when receiving an-initially Rs1030 item in Mauritius is Rs404!
Forget about the item being only Rs30 above the exempt value but focus on despite your item having free shipping, you are being charged additionally for virtual costs which no one paid for! Personally, if an item costs Rs 218, then my logic says that the freight of Rs69 and insurance of Rs8 should have been deducted from the item cost price, so that the total remains Rs218, not Rs296!
I am disgusted by the way the amounts are calculated. Who is responsible for these, I cannot say. But facts remain facts, you are paying freight (+insurance + other charges) for free shipping items! And damn, I have 3 other orders on their way… I can’t imagine all those unexpected charges, despite I already know the usual 15% vat charges on the item cost.
The only positive thing is that on 18th May, I contacted Temu support to complain about delivery within given timeframe, which was 11th May : I instantly got
- Rs90 credit for late delivery (after 11 May) on top of the price adjustment refunds of Rs150.
- My purchase was instantly refunded (Total cost – price adjustments of Rs150 – Rs90) as Temu credits, but later, I asked to be refunded to my credit card.
Probably not buying on Temu again
As long as there is
- a minimum checkout limit of above Rs1000 (Actually Rs1200 after your first purchase)
- a vat exemption of only Rs1000, because a CFI value is calculated and additional charges added on top of your total purchase, which already includes free shipping.
- The minimum addititional value if your parcel goes through the simplified custom assessment is at least Rs345
Breakdown- Simplified Customs Assessment Form : Rs 250 (for Chronopost) + VAT +
- MACCS fee : Rs 50 + VAT (unless all of your items are vat exempted, then it is free)
You are paying a MACCS fee or the CGS fee to the Mauritius Cargo Community Services Ltd – Read more on https://yashvinblogs.com/2017/01/20/ccs-fee-imports/ ) - Customs Duty depending on your items
- 15% Value Added Tax (which can actually be the least out of the other fees) on the total amount
I can guarantee that whatever you learnt here in this post is far much and more informative than all those tiktok videos you have seen about people using Temu in Mauritius 🙂
That was a long post, I told you…
Cheers!
