I’ve been in cross-border e-commerce for about a year now, and the most common thing I hear about Temu is complaints: frontend data is unclear, backend data is messy, payout data is inconsistent, and the price-matching system makes life miserable for smaller sellers.
But then I see that the platform is growing fast and revenue keeps climbing. So I’m genuinely curious:
Is Temu actually unworkable for sellers?
Can you make money there?
If you can, what’s the long-term strategy?
Would love to hear from experienced sellers — what’s your take?
Answers (4)
The pressure is real. Temu wants inventory there now, not phased in like Amazon. But the profit is good — no ads, no commissions, and margins about 150% of what we get on Amazon. This model works for companies that can move that kind of volume and carry that kind of inventory. For smaller sellers, a sudden “winner” can actually be a cash flow nightmare.
Factories with low costs? Fully managed works.
Have overseas warehouse and fulfillment setup? Semi-managed is your play.
Have a brand? Stick to Amazon.
Beginner with no resources? You can try fully managed to learn, but don’t bet the farm on it.
The real winners are the ones who are faster, cheaper, or more precise than everyone else.
Number of listings you need to create
Price approval rate (often 0–10% for generic)
How many get stocked
How many actually sell (maybe 50% of stocked)
How many become regular sellers (maybe 30% of those)
How many become true winners (maybe 30% of those)
Do the math: to get one winner, you might need to list over 200 products. That’s a lot of work, a lot of inventory risk, and a lot of dead stock. Unless you have a strong supply chain, proceed with caution.
On the entry barrier: When Temu launched fully managed, it was the easiest way to get into cross-border e-commerce. You only needed capital for product and shipping. No ads, no complicated operations — just list, price, and ship. That’s why you saw so many “students/housewives make thousands on Temu” stories.
Then July 2024 happened. Temu quietly changed their penalty system. If your product quality score dropped below 60, a single return triggered a 5x penalty — basically the entire sale amount. Suddenly, sellers were losing money on every order. There were protests at their headquarters. That’s when the “easy money” narrative died.
On platform guidance: Compare Temu to Shein. Shein highlights urgent issues — orders about to be late, buyer disputes — and they record every training session. Temu’s training exists, but it’s scattered. You learn by making mistakes.
On the real limitation: In fully managed, the category manager controls everything. A link can die overnight. You get a winner, you’re excited, then the manager asks you to lower the price. You do, margins shrink. Then cheaper copycats appear. The manager asks you to lower again. Eventually, your product dies. You can’t consolidate reviews. If you run out of stock, your traffic is gone.
So can you make money? Yes, but it’s not easy money. Think of it as a progression:
Fully managed: Tutorial level — learn the backend, basic product selection
Semi-managed: New zone — start dealing with ads and last-mile fulfillment
Self-operated: Boss fight — full control, but requires real skill
The entry is still there. It’s just no longer a shortcut.