Pro Tip: Check Temu

[myrdale]

Myrdale how much did you pay for your wetsuit?......

Sorry for my delay in replying, I honestly forgot about the thread.

The wetsuit is the last piece of gear I have not purchased yet, other than tanks.

I completed my confined water training last week. I am planning to do the open water training down in Florida in early may.

I'll have to go back and confirm the exact pricing, but roughly speaking:

$85 Mask
$65 Snorkel
$80 Dive Boots
$195 Hollis F-1 Fins
$535 Oceanic Travel BCD
$990 ScubaPro MK 25 EVO DIN First Stage & G260 Second Stage Regulator
$235 ScubaPro R105 Second Stage Regulator
$1500 Shearwater Perdix 2 Dive Computer w/ Transmitter
$50 Weights (2) three pound, (2) two pound
$90 Tote Bag
$50 Log Book
--------------
$3,875

$665 Open Water Training
$400 Three nights in hotel (estimate)
$200 Travel expenses (estimate)

Still not purchased
$400 (2) 80L Tanks
$350 Wetsuit

Of the equipment listed, mask, snorkel, fins, dive boots, weights, tote bag would have been acceptable items for Temu purchases.

The regulators, BCD, and dive computer I wouldn't start to consider buying from anywhere but a dive shop.

I don't plan on purchasing a SPG pressure gauge right now as the dive computer does all of that.

[ua_guy]

China, the 2nd largest holder of US debt, just has to start dumping massive quantities of US bonds to destabilize our economy. But, it's kind of the last card they can play, I think. Meanwhile, tax the bejeezus out of you and me for everything we trade between our two countries because it's good revenue for a US budget that's set to explode the national debt.

Tariffs are taxes, and now we pay an 84 or 104% tax on goods from China, depending on what day it is, or whatever the last tweet said. Can anyone keep track anymore?

[disneysteve]

China will hurt more than USA

Maybe, maybe not, but is the goal really to see who can inflict the most pain? Nobody benefits in that scenario.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I haven't seen Temu's prices skyrocket yet but it should soon. But China will hurt more than USA with the tariffs where we get 5x China's imports than they get ours.

[ua_guy]

https://www.axios.com/2025/04/09/trump-tariffs-temu-shein-de-minimis

Zoom in: Applicable duties will be attached to shipments under $800 that are sent from China to the U.S. outside of the international postal system, according to the White House.

• Shipments under $800 that are sent through the international postal network were originally to be "subject to a duty rate of either 30% of their value or $25 per item (increasing to $50 per item after June 1, 2025)."
• But the White House tripled those levies on Tuesday — 90% of their value, or $75 (rising to $150 after June 1), citing the retaliatory tariffs imposed by China's government.

[disneysteve]

I doubt it that Target or Walmart has a similar which like this one from Temu especially being this one is water resistant for $12. I just searched Amazon and nothing comes up even close to this $12 Temu watch. I did a price low to high and Amazon has one $12 which is ugly. Prices go up from there and nothing as stylish as this $12 Temu. Good try.

Good deal, then. Enjoy it.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I doubt it that Target or Walmart has a similar which like this one from Temu especially being this one is water resistant for $12. I just searched Amazon and nothing comes up even close to this $12 Temu watch. I did a price low to high and Amazon has one $12 which is ugly. Prices go up from there and nothing as stylish as this $12 Temu. Good try.

[disneysteve]

Rec'd my $12 Temu watch and it came with a bracelet link removal tool. Had to remove 4 links and fit perfectly. When the battery dies this stainless steel back cover doesn't have the notches to unscrew the back cover so this style requires a thin hardened steel pry tool to pop off the back cover. An ice pick might work or a very slim screwdriver. I'm happy with this $12 watch.

That's fair, but you could also walk into any store anywhere and find a similar watch for the same price. Target, Walmart, Boscovs, etc. They all have an array of watches in the $10-20 range and you'd be able to easily return it if you had any issues. Not saying there's anything wrong with the Temu one but in this case, Temu isn't really offering anything you couldn't easily find somewhere else. I'm sure Amazon has plenty, too.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Rec'd my $12 Temu watch and it came with a bracelet link removal tool. Had to remove 4 links and fit perfectly. When the battery dies this stainless steel back cover doesn't have the notches to unscrew the back cover so this style requires a thin hardened steel pry tool to pop off the back cover. An ice pick might work or a very slim screwdriver. I'm happy with this $12 watch.

[disneysteve]

I love eBay and support it whenever I can but I often find it isn’t the economical choice. The other day I needed to order Fragile stickers. The best price I could find on eBay was $7.90/1,000. I got the same ones for $5.90 on Amazon. I realize that’s a small dollar example but eBay was 33% higher. The same has been true for many other purchases. I stick to Amazon for most new items and eBay for used stuff and collectibles.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Ebay $30.99 & free shipping vs Temu $17.99 + $2.99 shipping. I'm looking for a socket holder to put in my tool bucket so this won't work for me where the sockets will fall off but for comparison's sake.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I thought this was funny.

[disneysteve]

In general at Temu half of the items are junk the other half are really good deals.

That's not a great track record. I don't think I'd shop somewhere where half of the stuff might end up being junk.

The socket holder would be the same whether I bought it at eBay, Amazon, Harbor Freight, or Home Depot, etc.

As for returns at Temu the items are so cheap that if it is junk I just trash it and move on with life

With those places, it wouldn't be hard to return it and get your money back. I get that it might not be worth your time for a dollar or two, but you said the socket holder was $18. That's a lot to throw away IMO.

[QuarterMillionMan]

In general at Temu half of the items are junk the other half are really good deals. The socket holder would be the same whether I bought it at eBay, Amazon, Harbor Freight, or Home Depot, etc. Some of the good Temu items were shoes, shirts, jackets, diver's watches, flashlights, bike seats/posts, wetsuits, diving gloves, bike caliper brakes, bike mirrors, tires/tubes, etc. As for returns at Temu the items are so cheap that if it is junk I just trash it and move on with life, no biggie and no stress. Delivery on average is 7 days (Temu doesn't have expedited shipping), but I'm not in a rush. If I need something tomorrow I'll buy it from Amazon or Walmart and pay extra for 1 day shipping.

[disneysteve]

Oh and to follow on your point Disneysteve, the value of Temu is it sells the SAME item as amazon, just for a lower price.

While I doubt that is universally true, it may be true for particular items. In that case, I'd much rather buy from Amazon. They have an awesome return policy. I just need to drop the item off at UPS or Kohl's or Whole Foods. I don't even need to package it. And a lot of the time, especially for cheap items, I don't have to return it at all. They just issue a refund. Does Temu make returns that simple, too? I have no idea since I've never dealt with them. Also, does Temu deliver within a day or two?