Amazon To Compete With Low Priced Shopping Apps Temu & Shein

[Alpha8472]

Amazon is trying to compete with cheap shopping apps Temu & Shein by offering under $20 items shipped by Chinese companies.

https://chainstoreage.com/amazon-takes- ... storefront

[storewanderer]

..under $20? Going to need to go under $5.

[mbz321]

..under $20? Going to need to go under $5.

Yeah, I just got three items shipped to me for free that were 33 cents a piece on AliExpress the other week (and surprisingly all work!)

[storewanderer]

..under $20? Going to need to go under $5.

Yeah, I just got three items shipped to me for free that were 33 cents a piece on AliExpress the other week (and surprisingly all work!)

Next those items will go up in price some still as low as .49 or .79 and some over $1, then they'll do promotions like $2 off 6. Still free shipping. Still a pretty good deal.

[J-Man]

I've used Temu before so I thought I'd give Amazon Haul a try. So far it's kind of a mess. You can only use it through the app on mobile devices. Personally, I hate shopping on my phone (screen is too small and it's a hassle); I thought I'd try on a tablet. All kinds of issues getting it to show up on a tablet. Sometimes it does, sometimes it won't.

One night the whole system was a mess -- kept sending me back to original recipe Amazon when I searched for something in Haul. They were having 50% off of everything so I ordered a few things I was surprised that they allowed free shipping (min. $25 is required, irrespective of Prime membership) even though my order was less than $25 after taking the 50% off. (Kohl's and Target don't do this!)

A lot of the stuff was exactly the same as what's on Temu, although Temu has a lot of higher-priced items as well. It takes some intense browsing and searching to find things that you'd actually want to order, and if they're going to restrict it to the app, I probably won't bother using it again.

[storewanderer]

I've used Temu before so I thought I'd give Amazon Haul a try. So far it's kind of a mess. You can only use it through the app on mobile devices. Personally, I hate shopping on my phone (screen is too small and it's a hassle); I thought I'd try on a tablet. All kinds of issues getting it to show up on a tablet. Sometimes it does, sometimes it won't.

One night the whole system was a mess -- kept sending me back to original recipe Amazon when I searched for something in Haul. They were having 50% off of everything so I ordered a few things I was surprised that they allowed free shipping (min. $25 is required, irrespective of Prime membership) even though my order was less than $25 after taking the 50% off. (Kohl's and Target don't do this!)

A lot of the stuff was exactly the same as what's on Temu, although Temu has a lot of higher-priced items as well. It takes some intense browsing and searching to find things that you'd actually want to order, and if they're going to restrict it to the app, I probably won't bother using it again.

Amazon bases the purchase amount for free shipping on your total before any coupons/discounts as long as it is "shipped by Amazon." This is one of the nice things about Amazon.

Makes no sense to restrict to the app unless they are deliberately not wanting a lot of users... maybe concerns about people "trading down?"

[J-Man]

I don't know if any of the Haul stuff is "shipped by Amazon," since it seems to be coming from China, like Temu stuff does. The things I ordered haven't been shipped yet; maybe when they arrive stateside they will get transferred to Amazon for last mile delivery. Temu stuff usually ends up with some fourth-tier delivery service. And I've gotten Walmart things that way too.

I noticed that today they're saying that they're working on getting Haul into the desktop/browser site. What's interesting is that I can't even access Haul from an Amazon Fire Tablet because they don't use the regular Amazon app on those tablets. I can access it on one non-Amazon Android tablet and my Android phone, but not on another non-Amazon Android tablet. It really is a mess. But on the devices that won't let me into Haul, I can sort of get in through a back door. It's all very confusing and was definitely not ready for prime time before they released it.

[storewanderer]

I don't know if any of the Haul stuff is "shipped by Amazon," since it seems to be coming from China, like Temu stuff does. The things I ordered haven't been shipped yet; maybe when they arrive stateside they will get transferred to Amazon for last mile delivery. Temu stuff usually ends up with some fourth-tier delivery service. And I've gotten Walmart things that way too.

I noticed that today they're saying that they're working on getting Haul into the desktop/browser site. What's interesting is that I can't even access Haul from an Amazon Fire Tablet because they don't use the regular Amazon app on those tablets. I can access it on one non-Amazon Android tablet and my Android phone, but not on another non-Amazon Android tablet. It really is a mess. But on the devices that won't let me into Haul, I can sort of get in through a back door. It's all very confusing and was definitely not ready for prime time before they released it.

Amazon has warehouses in China so they could be handling this.

But given the route of Amazon lately I wouldn't be surprised if it is all handled by a third party.

I am curious about how this is and will get the app downloaded soon and take a look.

It sounds like it is in a test phase.

[Alpha8472]

Amazon Haul is now advertising for 65% off everything and delivery in 2 to 3 weeks. This stuff won't get to the customers by Christmas.

All of these items look like colorful plastic dollar store items. They look nice, but when they get delivered be prepared for cheap dollar store quality items.

I don't see any reviews available on these items which leads me to believe that most of the reviews would talk about the cheap plastic quality of everything.

The app is designed to make adding items to your shopping cart easy. This is an addictive impulse driven design. The prices are cheap, but you buy so much that it makes quite a profit for Amazon.

[storewanderer]

Amazon Haul is now advertising for 65% off everything and delivery in 2 to 3 weeks. This stuff won't get to the customers by Christmas.

All of these items look like colorful plastic dollar store items. They look nice, but when they get delivered be prepared for cheap dollar store quality items.

I don't see any reviews available on these items which leads me to believe that most of the reviews would talk about the cheap plastic quality of everything.

The app is designed to make adding items to your shopping cart easy. This is an addictive impulse driven design. The prices are cheap, but you buy so much that it makes quite a profit for Amazon.

Lately I get Ali Express deliveries in less than a week. Items are called "Choice." I think they are in a US warehouse. These are transactions well under $10 and no shipping fee.