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Taking Wish.com for a test drive to see if it’s too good to be true.

Wish Logo

I recently found out about Wish and I’ve actually found myself window shopping quite often. The deals seem too good to be true, but yet my research says they are a legit site. So I decided to give it a try and see how well Wish fulfills on the major discounts.

Background on Wish

For those of you who haven’t heard of Wish before, let me give you a quick introduction. Wish is an e-commerce site that sells goods super cheap. It’s an American company (located in San Francisco) but the majority of what it sells is direct from China. Being direct from China, there is little markup. Most are not name brand.

How Cheap?

The question I wondered a lot when I first opened the Wish app, was how cheap was this stuff? Shoes for $13, Bluetooth headphones for $5, and Groot flower pots for $2. Some goods are even free and you just pay shipping. Overall, you can get a lot of stuff for little money.

So what’s the catch?

First, none of what I’ve seen I’d consider high quality. Don’t go in thinking you’re getting the same quality as you would at Target or Amazon; usually. This is more like dollar store quality. Yes, it’s cheap, but, some things are perfectly fine to get at dollar stores.

The other catch is shipping. Shipping can be 2-3x the price of the item, but when things are only a few dollars, it’s easy to get drawn in. Before buying, always take the total and use that to compare items on Amazon or at the store. Don’t get caught up in the item price alone. Also, it can take a month or more to get your stuff. Unless you pay a lot for fast shipping, don’t expect it anytime soon. Plan ahead.

Too Good To Be True?

Like most, I wondered if this was too good to be true. So I decided to test it. I figured I’d pick a few lost cost items and see how it goes. So I did.

The first thing I got was a replacement bracelet for my MiBand 2. It only costs $2 and $2 shipping so it was a small risk. A few weeks later it showed up and it’s exactly as I’d expect. Same bands go for about $9 on Amazon and are the same quality. This was a win.

Lego TapeThe second thing I got was Lego tape. I’ve seen these at the store and thought it’d be neat to have. It costs $1 with $3 shipping. The quality was fine even though it’s super generic and it does work with real Lego people so I’m considering that a win too.

Now, about electronics. This area I’m very skeptical about. Some plastic items are one thing, but electronics? I’m worried as electrics are more complex, could cause fires if done wrong, typically more expensive, plus I don’t need anything coming pre-installed with malware.

Bluetooth RecieverTo give electronics a try, I went for a Bluetooth receiver as it was free with $4 shipping. I’ve been looking at these as I thought they were a neat idea, but they typically run $15 on Amazon. With a Bluetooth receiver, I connect my headphones to the receiver and connect the receiver to my phone via Bluetooth. Boom, Bluetooth Headphones.

Again, I had low expectations, but it’s working just as described. I plugged my Apple headphones into it and used it for hours at work. I find it hard to believe it actually works well. Not sure how long it’ll last, but my initial results are very positive.

Other Notes

At the end of the day, Wish does guarantee your items are what they say they are and that they will arrive. If something’s wrong, they say they’ll refund your money. Luckily I haven’t had to deal with that yet.

Additionally, shop around for similar products on Wish itself. One store will sell items for $0 with $5 shipping while other stores may sell the same item for $2 with $2 shipping. Chances are there are many stores with the same stuff.

Outcome

I’ve been happy with what I ordered and I’ve spent $6 on all the items; plus shipping.

After my initial tests, I’ve ordered a few more things. Mainly stickers, some magic color changing wood for bonfires, and some no tie shoelaces.  Overall, things that were extremely cheap and yet stuff I thought would be fun to have. I didn’t take any big risks. I’m still waiting on those items to arrive.

I haven’t bought any big ticket items on Wish and I don’t plan to anytime soon. I still have some concerns with Wish, but it’s worth a try. There’s a lot to choose from and some items are pretty darn cheap. It can be fun to look around and take a chance. As long as you realize the stuff may not last forever, it can be fun to go shopping.

Want to Give it a Try?

Download the Wish app or visit Wish.com and use promo code ttystdv on your first order to get up to 50% off!


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