The Absurd Economics of Wish, AliExpress, and Temu

Save time and money when you ship with Rollo. Use code MODERNMBA1 to get $10 off your first shipment. Temu is everywhere, promising that you can shop like a billionaire buying $10 wireless speakers, $12 sneakers, $20 drones and other cheap gadgets, clothes, backed with the promise of free shipping, 90-day returns, 30-day price adjustments, and deliveries within 2 weeks. But Temu isn’t the first to sell generic, unbranded, mass-produced Chinese products online at radically low prices. Before Temu, there was AliExpress and Wish - who both went to market decades ago with the exact same value prop, unbelievably low prices, and wacky advertising. Wish was the earliest entrant into this space and the SF-based startup was once one of Silicon Valley’s darling unicorns. It all begs the question - how exactly do these companies stay alive selling $5-10 items online? In this episode, we’ll cover the business of selling cheap Chinese-made junk online through the rise and fall of Wish, the persistence of AliExpress, and the sudden emergence of Temu - and how all of this ties back to greed, growth and Silicon Valley. 💬 Join the Modern MBA community - ☕️ Support Modern MBA on Patreon and unlock additional content, exclusive essays, and Q&A: 0:00 The Dollar Store Platform 8:20 The Rise & Fall of Wish 16:32 Irresponsible Burn 30:50 Fool Me Three Times