PREGNANCY is a whirlwind of planning, nesting, and excitement.
Every detail matters, from the perfect nursery theme to the decorations for a baby shower.
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But for one mum-to-be, the hunt for the perfect door bow turned into an unexpected and hilarious reality check.
Diana Huynh, a 37-year-old from Toronto, was scrolling through Temu, the popular online marketplace known for its ultra-low prices.
She found what she thought was the ideal baby shower decoration: a charming, three-dimensional door bow.
Priced at just under £6, it seemed like a steal.
She clicked “add to basket,” envisioning the perfect, elegant welcome for her guests.
But when the package arrived, the excitement quickly turned to confusion.
Instead of the plush, fabric bow she imagined, Diana found a flat, folded piece of polyester.
As she unfolded it, the image on the fabric became clear: a full-sized, printed picture of a door with a bow on it.
The tiny holes in the corners confirmed her suspicion – this wasn’t a bow at all, but a hanging banner with a picture of a bow on it.
Diana immediately saw the humour in the situation.
“It honestly looked very convincing,” she told What’s The Jam.
While she’d noticed the hanging holes, she’d genuinely believed they were for hanging a physical bow on her door.
It was a classic “lost in translation” moment, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
Her friends and family were just as amused.
The story quickly made its way to TikTok, where it went viral, racking up over 77,000 likes.
The comments section was filled with a mix of shared experiences and playful teasing.
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Some pointed out the fine print, while others had their own “Temu tales” of unexpected deliveries.
“Girl, it’s Temu… what did u expect…?” one user wrote, a common sentiment among online shoppers familiar with the site’s unpredictable offerings.
Despite the mix-up – and the fact that the banner was ultimately chucked after the baby shower – Diana hasn’t been deterred from using the site again.
A spokesman for Temu said: “We had already removed the item from our platform prior to your message, as part of our ongoing monitoring efforts.
“We require all sellers to ensure their products accurately match the descriptions in their listings.
“Customers are covered by our 90-day money-back guarantee for items that are not as described.
“Our customer service team is available 24/7 to help with any post-sale concerns.”
Why is Temu so cheap?
TEMU exploded onto the scene in late 2022, with people all over social media raving about the low prices.
The company is a Chinese-owned digital marketplace – essentially an online shopping app where people are connected to the retailer directly while the app takes care of the shipping element.
The frenzy over the app is not completely unfounded either as it offers a wide variety of products, including fashion, make-up, electronics and furniture.
According to a report from the US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Temu takes advantage of a trade loophole that allows the company to ship duty-free goods directly to the US.
The loophole is called the de minimis exception and it means they can ship goods valued up to $800 (£643) to the US without it being inspected or taxed by US customs.
Temu connects customers directly to manufacturers and only manages how the items are sent to customers.
It means Chinese vendors can essentially sell their products directly to customers and ship it without building a network of warehouses across the globe.
By doing this, they cut down on huge costs and ensure the product itself isn’t marked up extra.
While many of the products seen on the Temu app are from brands with extensive, original collections, many more are dupes of designer brands.
