Clueless foreigners are engaging in a mutual elbowing match with Pinduoduo.
Since Pinduoduo made waves overseas as the cross-border e-commerce platform "TEMU," it has successfully turned itself into a meme with various familiar tactics. Nowadays, one of the hottest memes abroad is "TEMU Fail."
Simply put, the phrase "TEMU Fail" often appears after scenes that make people laugh out of frustration—or buyer photos—roughly referring to the helpless resignation after buying counterfeit goods, and also serving as a complaint against TEMU's myriad of shenanigans.
For instance, someone looks at the product image, expecting to buy a good-quality, affordable vase with flowers already arranged from TEMU, thinking at worst it might be fake flowers. But upon arrival, it turns out to be a solid acrylic board. The timing of those letters appearing truly captures the feeling of being stunned and then laughing out of frustration.
For example, someone bought a brand-new electric fan from TEMU, only for it to fall apart after spinning a few times, prompting the buyer to exclaim, "I will never buy from TEMU again." Then you'll definitely see the letters "TEMU Fail" appear in the center of the screen.
It's similar to those funny videos from "Stupid Cat TV," where various silly moments of cats make viewers laugh and cry, followed by the text "Stupid cat" on a black screen, making even the tough-hearted chuckle. The biggest punchline of "TEMU Fail" is the same: the quality of those counterfeit goods makes onlookers want to laugh—provided you don't fall for it yourself.
Therefore, these videos are usually not made by the foreigners who fell victim themselves, but by trolls who compile various warning videos. On TikTok, similar videos have even developed their own style, nearly evolving into "TEMU core."
As for why such videos are so widespread? It's because there are too many warning videos. So, TEMU is too authoritative; with one move, it showed foreigners what a true intelligence test looks like.
For foreigners, the toughest challenge often comes from sizing. Perhaps in their minds, whatever size is depicted in the picture is what they should receive, but on TEMU, you can never trust your eyes.
You think you bought a rug large enough to place at your doorstep? Wrong. You bought an indescribable decoration smaller than your palm.
Naive foreigners think "what you see is what you get," not quite understanding the tricks behind product images. But we veterans, who have long experienced the battle between buyer photos and seller photos, know that without a reference, Everythinggj in the picture could be fake. Just like the miniature water bottles loved by anglers, foreigners looking for bargains often end up buying these small items that look real but are useless unless you have specific needs.
At this point, the sizing challenge is just one aspect. If you are careful enough to read the options in the product description and understand the difference between "sample" and "product," you might pass. The contradictions hidden between the lines probably require years of Pinduoduo shopping experience to fully decipher.
For example, if the product description says printed curtains, the product image shows windows and curtains, and the size is sufficiently large, foreigners should rest easy, right? Wrong. You still need to check carefully what kind of curtain it is. Take this lucky user, for instance, who bought a printed curtain on TEMU. Upon arrival, it turned out to be a cloth curtain printed with an image of a printed curtain. Although different from expectations, you have to admit it has prints, involves windows, and is indeed a curtain.
Another classic example is "Nanmian paired with NIFE." At first glance, there seems to be no problem, but a closer look reveals all sorts of weird items, allowing foreigners to experience the prestige of "mixed store" boutique streetwear brands, further deepening the stereotype of knockoff products.
Of course, the above situations are at least amusing. The most hellish case might be this foreign lady—she customized funeral materials for her grandmother on TEMU. When the package arrived, although the text information was correct, the portrait was of some unknown man, making it hard not to post a warning video.
Similar errors are everywhere; the list of items to avoid could fill a supermarket—but sometimes, such "TEMU Fail" instances are purely for trolling.
Nowadays, as this meme spreads, many people have deeply understood the spirit of trolling, slapping the "TEMU Fail" label on products that look barely human-like, aiming for ultimate entertainment value.
This scene is comparable to editing a tacky video into black and white and adding a "Supreme" or "Cyberpunk 2077" logo. If posted domestically, it would feel somewhat like a cultural renaissance.
Thus, almost any bad product buyer photo can be attributed to TEMU—the reason is simple: on one hand, this meme has strong viral power; on the other, TEMU already has a notorious reputation abroad.
Issues related to product quality need no further explanation; you can glimpse them from the memes above. What also breaks foreigners' spirits is the classic referral limit pursuit, where 0.999 still doesn't equal 1, and tens of thousands of people still can't slash the price down. TEMU's reputation trend abroad resembles how Chinese people used to mock "Pin Xixi" (Pinduoduo). Suffice it to say, TEMU dazzles foreigners with its bewildering products, and foreigners troll back in response.
Of course, not all foreigners fall for TEMU's tricks. In fact, in the comment sections of those "TEMU Fail" videos, many people occupy the high ground of intelligence, sharply criticizing those in the videos for not reading descriptions carefully. Furthermore, they see through the classic trick of "15-character positive review for cashback (don't photograph this card)," proving themselves to be gods of online shopping.
Furthermore, you need to slowly learn that you get what you pay for. If you focus on buying the cheapest items on the platform, the outcome is predictable.
Platforms that fully exploit people's desire for bargains, together with some unscrupulous merchants, have fooled foreigners around, inadvertently making "TEMU Fail" videos prevalent. Ultimately, it leaves a stereotype that "cheap goods may or may not be good," leaving it unclear whether this is good or bad. After all, some people always need these cheap platforms, and others will always try to play smart on them. It brings convenience but can also lead to deception.
Abroad, the situation is also developing towards this coexistence—although similar videos are everywhere, having frustrated and amused so many people into shouting never to buy from TEMU again, those battered by TEMU remain honest in their actions.
On Reddit, some people treat TEMU as a source of joy—boldly buy things on TEMU; if what arrives is junk, treat it as entertainment, with the thrill comparable to opening blind boxes; if it actually works, it's a huge win, enough to make you happy all day.
Even under "TEMU Fail" videos, some people still post codes asking others to help slash prices, embodying the attitude of "criticize but still buy." Who can argue with low prices?
Looking at it this way, rather than saying Pinduoduo reshaped foreigners' worldviews, it proved one thing—as long as it works, it's fine.
Consumption downgrading knows no borders; saving money is the universal language.