AliExpress vs Temu: Which is Better for Sourcing Profitable Products?

When it comes to achieving success as an ecommerce entrepreneur, specifically as a dropshipper, choosing the right platform to source products is one of the most critical factors as this can easily make or break your business.

AliExpress has been a long-standing solution as a top supplier for dropshippers both new and experienced, but in recent years, Temu came out as an attractive alternative to buy cheap products directly from China that can be used for dropshipping. 

In this guide, we’ll put Temu and AliExpress head-to-head, delving into their specifics to see how they stack up against each other in key areas like product selection, pricing and shipping times so you can figure out which one is a good fit for your sourcing needs.

What is Temu?

Temu is a global online marketplace that connects consumers directly with manufacturers and wholesalers that can act as suppliers for your ecommerce business. The vast majority of these suppliers are based in China, but they’re used to dealing with Western, English-speaking clients.

The platform hosts tens of thousands of suppliers stocking millions of different products in just about any category you can think of, so if you’re looking for household items or the latest in tech gadgets or fashion, Temu has you covered.

Having come out in 2022, it’s one of the newest platforms for low-cost Chinese ecommerce, and in the few years it’s been around, it’s reached an impressive level of adoption and name recognition, becoming a worthy rival to the standard go-to solution AliExpress.

Why Do People Use Temu?

Temu stood out from the moment it came out with its promise of incredible prices for various consumer goods–its slogan, “Shop Like a Billionaire”, is particularly enticing. Unlike other recent alternatives such as Wish, Temu has emphasized having a higher quality bar while maintaining low cost.

Temu mainly caters towards consumers, but with such a diverse product selection with low price points, opportunistic dropshippers quickly realized that this marketplace can also be used as a place to source products to stock their storefronts.

One of the things that set Temu apart from competition early on was its aggressive marketing to Western market. Although it’s a subsidiary of Chinese ecommerce conglomerate PDD Holdings, its headquarters are actually in Boston, and its website is easy to navigate and clearly made with a non-Chinese audience in mind.

The platform is also on the pulse of the hottest products, displaying the latest seasonal and trending items on their home page which is also stacked with promotions and clearance deals on their already low prices.

How Does Temu Work for Finding Dropshipping Products?

It’s no secret that most of Temu’s Western customers are using the website to source profitable products to resell, sometimes by directly dropshipping them from the platform to the customer.

Here’s how Temu stacks up when it comes to sourcing products for dropshipping:

Trending and seasonal products at a good price

When you go on Temu’s homepage, you’ll be met with a curated selection of products, many of which are trending dropshipping products, or those that are in-season with good potential. This also makes the platform an excellent place to discover new products to source as it can easily generate ideas for both products and niches.

Superior shipping and logistics

Temu invested heavily in its logistics network for the North American and European markets compared to other Chinese ecommerce platforms, so this means standard shipping times will be faster than alternatives.

Various payment options

Temu has an easy-to-use checkout, allowing you to pay through various standard options in addition to installment options such as Klarna and Affirm which can split up your payments into interest-free parts. This makes it more convenient than AliExpress which has sellers that sometimes only accept bank transfers.

Customer-friendly policies

Temu has policies that treat each customer like a VIP, offering a generous 90-day return policy and a 30-day price adjustment feature. Dropshippers can easily handle returns inside of this window, even accounting for shipping delays. The price adjust feature means that suppliers are incentivized to provide the best price right from the beginning, meaning you’re likely to get a better margin straight away with products on Temu.

Temu Dropshipping Limitations

However, one thing to be aware of is that Temu explicitly states that they do not support dropshipping. This doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to dropship with Temu–it’s still possible and easy to just by inputting your customer’s information when placing an order–it just means they don’t have direct tools or support for customers of theirs that want to dropship, and you cannot personalize any packaging.

Due to these limitations, order processing for dropshipping must be done manually unless a custom solution is implemented, which can prove to be cumbersome if order volume picks up.

AliExpress: The Standard Solution

AliExpress has been a corner of the dropshipping world since its launch in 2010. Part of the larger Alibaba group, it quickly became the go-to source for dropshippers looking to get cheap products from China as it offered a large range of hot products that could be ordered one at a time thanks to no minimum order quantity.

Its longevity in the market means that it now has a vast database of suppliers in addition to thorough support and integration with many third-party automation software companies so you can easily streamline your dropshipping process.

How Does AliExpress Work for Dropshipped Product Sourcing?

Although AliExpress and Temu may look quite similar initially on the surface, a deeper dive will reveal that the platform has key differences in terms of dropshipping:

Extensive Product Selection

AliExpress’s product catalog is perhaps the largest of any online marketplace, proving more overwhelming than Amazon. Unlike Temu, its home page displays a huge variety of products, many of which aren’t that relevant to dropshippers who are looking for a trending winning product.

Dropshipping Support

One of the biggest perks of using AliExpress as your platform for dropshipping is that, unlike Temu, it has no policies against it, so many suppliers on AliExpress are familiar with dropshipping, making it much more convenient to use. 

AliExpress even has its own dedicated dropshipping center which allows you to discover and analyze an array of potential winning products while getting the opportunity to connect with their suppliers. Additionally, third-party automations such as DSers or AutoDS can easily be configured to connect with AliExpress on your chosen ecommerce platform to automate order processing and inventory management.

Buyer Support

AliExpress facilitates direct communication with suppliers inside of their messaging center, allowing dropshippers to negotiate prices, request customizations, or resolve issues more easily. As a result, you can run a more professional, streamlined dropshipping service with AliExpress.

The platform also provides buyer protection, allowing buyers to open disputes if an item does not match its description or if it’s never received. Many sellers on AliExpress also have a guaranteed delivery timeframe, meaning that if you don’t receive the item within this timeframe, you’ll get a full refund.  

Varied Shipping Times

Many suppliers on AliExpress are based in China, so standard shipping can be quite long, up to 25 days or even more. Although you can negotiate better shipping rates, results will vary by supplier. An alternative would be to look for domestic suppliers on AliExpress–they exist, but good luck finding one that also stocks your preferred product.

AliExpress vs Temu for Dropshipping

The Verdict: Is Temu or AliExpress Better for Sourcing Profitable Dropshipping Products?

Picking a clear winner between the two platforms is challenging, as both have their strengths and shortcomings. After all, one of the most important contributing factors to success in product sourcing is the individual supplier and specific product, and both Temu and AliExpress have both good and bad suppliers.

For sellers who prefer variety and the ability to automate and integrate with their ecommerce platform, AliExpress is the winner. Its long-standing reputation as the go-to source for dropshippers has set up a large network of support both on the platform and outside of it, including educational advice and case studies specifically surrounding it.

But dropshippers who want a platform with cheap products, excellent buyer support, and faster shipping times, may prefer Temu. Its curated approach to trending product selection, more approachable interface and user-friendly, diverse payment options make it stand out as a worthy alternative to AliExpress.

Regardless of which platform you choose, success in dropshipping relies on the same principles: product and supplier research and vetting, quality control, a winning marketing strategy, diversification and continuous learning, to name a few.

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Want to Learn More About Succeeding as a Dropshipper? Check out Whop

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So, whether you’re just starting out or want to take your business to the next level, be sure to check out everything Whop has to offer today so you can reach the level of success that you know you deserve.