Lorianna Calhoun, a Shein shopper, tells WIRED that of the roughly 170 items that were once on her Shein wish list, 40 now appear to be unavailable. She noticed they disappeared on Thursday afternoon. It’s not clear how Shein and Temu may be selecting what items to remove, but Calhoun says that, at least in her case, the majority of the goods she observed go missing were eye lashes and hair products. “Usually, when things sell out, you can still click the item and see all the reviews and stuff,” she explains. “But for the lashes, it now says, ‘Sorry this item has been removed. This product does not exist.’”
A Reddit user, who asked to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, shared screenshots with WIRED that show half the products in their Shein shopping cart also became unavailable on Thursday, primarily items from Shein’s Sheglam cosmetics line. They say they are planning to wait it out and see if the products return to Shein’s website soon. “Shein and Temu will still get my business. If they up their prices, hopefully it will only be a bit,” the Reddit user says.
Temu and Shein did not respond to requests for comment from WIRED.
Got a Tip?
Do you work at Shein, Temu, or another ecommerce company and have insight into what’s going on? Or are you a customer who had a noteworthy experience? We’d like to hear from you. Using a nonwork phone or computer, contact the reporter via email at zeyi_yang@wired.com or on Signal at @zeyiyang.06.
In 2023, one-third of de minimis shipments that arrived in the US came from China, according to Chinese export and US import data. Many came via air cargo in as little as a few days, rather than via ocean freight, which can take weeks or even over a month.
“These companies have perfected this modern miracle, which is shipping from China to the US in a very consistent and reliable fashion,” says Juozas Kaziukėnas, founder of the ecommerce intelligence firm Marketplace Pulse. The tariffs Trump announced last week not only significantly raised costs for companies like Shein and Temu, but could also delay the shipping process as logistics companies and customs brokers adjust to government requirements.
But not all of Temu and Shein’s products and services are impacted, since both companies have begun increasingly storing goods in American warehouses over the past several years to get orders to customers even faster. The Biden administration also repeatedly signaled that it was interested in reforming the de minimis import duty exemption, motivating companies to reduce their reliance on it.
As of Friday, Temu’s US homepage was almost entirely filled with products the company specified were being shipped from local warehouses—meaning they have already cleared US customs and potentially crossed the border before the tariffs even went into effect.
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