Temu rows and KakoBuy: different shops, different checks
Temu is a direct online retailer operated under PDD Holdings. You pay Temu, Temu arranges the parcel, and the item never passes through an agent warehouse. KakoBuy works the other way round: you hand it a Taobao, Tmall, 1688 or JD.com listing, and it buys, inspects and ships. So a Temu link cannot sit among your KakoBuy spreadsheet rows as if it were one of them.
- Order on Temu: for an item Temu itself lists, where you want one checkout and one parcel.
- Use a KakoBuy row: for a Chinese-marketplace listing you want inspected, stored or combined.
Temu is bought from Temu; KakoBuy rows are bought through KakoBuy.
Duty and tax on small parcels, by market
Low-value shipments lost much of their old customs relief. These are general rules for small parcels from China, whichever shop sends them, not a statement of what Temu charges at checkout.
| Market | Rule for a low-value parcel | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US | $800 duty-free threshold ended: 2 May 2025 for China/Hong Kong goods, 29 Aug 2025 for all | CBP notice, 28 Aug 2025 |
| EU | Flat €3 per tariff category, parcels up to €150, from 1 Jul 2026 to 1 Jul 2028; import VAT from the first euro | Council of the EU, 11 Feb 2026 |
| UK | VAT on goods up to £135 collected at sale; duty relief expected to end by October 2028 | HMRC policy paper, 13 Jul 2026 |
| Canada | Duty and tax free only up to CAD 20 for non-CUSMA goods | CBSA |
The EU rule is per category, not per item. Take three Temu items in two tariff categories: 2 × €3 = €6. KakoBuy said on 23 June 2026 that it charges €3 per parcel whatever the number of categories and absorbs the rest, added to shipping at checkout. See the duty-free lines page.
The rules are the same for every small parcel; only the party that collects them differs.
What a Temu spreadsheet usually is
Results mix three things: creators' finds lists with Temu links, personal haul logs, and renamed copies of Chinese-marketplace lists. A finds list ages quickly because stock and prices change, so treat any link as a lead, not a record.
The log is the part worth keeping. Columns: item, source, order date, price paid, shipping, border charge, delivery date, keep or return. Our haul tracker CSV already has most of these.
Keep the log, distrust the link list.
Pricing a Temu find against an agent route
If a Temu item resembles something on Taobao or Weidian, price both to your door. KakoBuy's total is item cost plus domestic freight to its warehouse, plus international shipping, plus customs charges; its help centre says it charges no handling fee.
Example (hypothetical item, labelled estimate):
Item on a marketplace: ¥60 (about $8.40 at ¥1 ≈ $0.14)
Declaration, generally: ¥8 (about $1.12)
Shipping, 500 g to the UK via KakoBuy's cheapest quoted line on 12 October 2026: $9.84
Total = 8.40 + 1.12 + 9.84 = $19.36, before domestic freight
If a retailer listed a similar item at $12 delivered, the agent route would lose on one piece. It competes only when more rows share the parcel; the UK page shows how weight changes the quote.
One light item rarely beats a retailer; a full parcel of rows can.
Where a KakoBuy row still makes sense
An agent matters for things a retailer does not carry: a Weidian seller's specific variant, a 1688 bulk listing with a Chinese-only checkout, or an item you want photographed before it ships. KakoBuy inspects every purchase on arrival and sends extra photos at ¥2 each. Record price, variant and seller notes in the row check CSV; the SHEIN page covers sizing. If you would rather not open an agent account, scan our WhatsApp QR on the contact page and pay per order.
Choose the agent for what the retailer cannot do, not for a lower sticker price.
Questions buyers ask
Can KakoBuy buy something I found on Temu?
Not in the normal way. KakoBuy's help centre lists Taobao, Tmall, 1688 and JD.com as supported, and says other links can be filled in manually. Temu already ships to you, so a manual order adds an agent warehouse and a second international leg to an item you could order in one step.
Is a Temu finds sheet the same as a KakoBuy spreadsheet?
They look alike but point at different shops. A KakoBuy spreadsheet row ends at a Taobao, Weidian or 1688 listing that an agent buys and stores for 100 days. A Temu sheet row ends at Temu's own product page, so you buy there and Temu posts it. The checks you run on each row differ accordingly.
How much EU duty applies to a Temu parcel?
The general rule from 1 July 2026 is a temporary flat €3 duty per tariff category in a parcel valued up to €150, plus import VAT from the first euro. A parcel with three items in two categories carries €6 under that rule. Check Temu's checkout to see whether it was charged for you.
Did the US rule change affect Temu orders?
Yes, in general. The US ended its $800 duty-free de minimis threshold for goods from China and Hong Kong on 2 May 2025 and for all countries on 29 August 2025, per CBP's notice. Goods now pay the applicable duty, so very cheap items can cost more than their listed price suggests at the border.
Why does a Temu price look lower than the same item through an agent?
Because the totals are built differently. An agent price adds domestic freight, international shipping by weight and a customs declaration, generally ¥8 at KakoBuy, while a retailer may fold shipping into the item price. Compare landed totals, not item prices, and write both into one sheet with a source column.
Should I put Temu orders in my KakoBuy tracker?
Yes, as separate rows with a source column. Temu and KakoBuy deliver in separate parcels, so each needs its own tracking number and delivery date. Mixing them hides which one is late and which route cost less per item, and the difference in landed cost is the main reason to keep the sheet at all.