[somedudetbh]

I don't know much about this space, but does anyone else think there's a non-zero chance that PDD/Temu is a massive fraud of some kind?

[ars]

I personally think Temu is just a way to convince people to install their app, and the products are sold at a loss.

I refuse the app and order only via website.

[nerdponx]

This wouldn't surprise me. Almost the entirety of Facebook/Meta and Google products are loss leaders for ad tech. Why not a shopping site?

[PradeetPatel]

Potentially because it is owned by a Chinese firm. To my knowledge, China has a very diverse and relaxed law around data privacy.

[insane_dreamer]

I, for one, don’t trust it one bit.

[looppp]

You guys realize that Temu is backed by Pinduoduo, one of the largest e-commerce startups in China/theWorld right?

At least you admit you don't know much about the space, though.

[seanhunter]

Are you saying that because they are backed by a big startup they can't be a fraud? China has a big problem with financial fraud of various kinds partly because of rapid growth and partly because of how regulation is shared between Beijing and the regions meaning some things fall between the cracks. https://www.ft.com/content/77f61cf0-5b9d-4ea8-854a-4f220039d...

Some recent examples:

Evergrande - one of the biggest property companies in China. Also, a fraud https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68603195

Sino Forest - Massive. Listed on the Toronto stock exchange. A fraud https://moneyweek.com/economy/people/601220/great-frauds-in-...

Lantian Gerui - Fast-growing investment company, 100s of thousands of investors. A fraud. https://www.ft.com/content/605a7ca9-3f5f-47e6-ab5c-818b9a1bf...

Pinduoduo themselves have been accused of using improper accounting practices to hide losses and inflate revenues https://www.ft.com/content/314a56d0-e899-11e8-8a85-04b8afea6...

[resolutebat]

Evergrande sold promises of houses, FTX and Lantian sold promises of huge investment gains. But if you buy something on Temu, it's actually delivered to you in a week.

The worst case is that the unsustainable growth is propped by VC money, like the early days of Uber, but the consumer is still the one that's profiting here.

[seanhunter]

Not sure the consumer is winning here. Eg the UK consumer advocacy organization "Which?" tested 3 electric heaters ordered on Temu and found all three unsafe[1].

The US bbb has them at a "C+" rating due to complaints about goods being ordered but not arriving etc[2]

[1] https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/what-is-temu-and-is-it-...

[2] https://www.bbb.org/us/ma/boston/profile/online-shopping/tem...

[dawnerd]

Right I think you should read up on it before assuming others don’t know.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/03/google-suspends-chinese-...

[somedudetbh]

What did you think I meant by "PDD/Temu"?

[dkarras]

how does being backed by something big in China makes it less scammy?

[kylebenzle]

Yes, it was the same with FTX and in both cases it turns out it was probably the CEO being in bed with regulators.