Pay Attention to Your Temu Order Total: Free Shipping No Longer Guaranteed

Free shipping is a big Temu perk, but some US-based shoppers are now seeing shipping fees depending on how much they buy and from which sellers.

Faced with a 120% import fee, China-based Temu has blocked US-based customers from buying goods directly from China. Instead, their only option at the moment is products from “local” US-based warehouses that stocked up on inventory before the tariffs went into effect. 

This helps US customers avoid exorbitant tariff-related fees, which could more than double a Temu order’s final cost. Still, shoppers may be surprised to see a hefty shipping fee, especially if they buy multiple products.

(Credit: Temu)

Temu appears to have offloaded the logistics to local merchants, who are now charging $2.99 on shipping. That may sound doable, but that fee is a per seller. So, if you purchase six T-shirts, you’ll need to pay a $2.99 shipping fee for each one if they all come from a different seller, adding $17.94 to your order.

Temu is still advertising free shipping for orders, but that’s because you can avoid a shipping fee if you order $30 worth of good from the same seller. In one instance, Temu automatically increased our order to three units to cross the $30 threshold. So, pay close attention to seller information and the final price at checkout.

(Credit: Temu)

On the plus side, customers can expect their orders to arrive within two to seven business days, rather than three weeks through Temu’s free shipping direct from China (or two weeks if your order was more than $129).

About Michael Kan

Senior Reporter

I’ve been working as a journalist for over 15 years—I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017.

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