OneDayOnly deals that are cheaper on Temu and Shein

Daily deal website OneDayOnly is regularly featuring products that are also being sold on Temu and Shein.

An observant MyBroadband reader pointed out that performing a reverse image search on some OneDayOnly deals returns listings at the Chinese marketplaces and direct importers.

OneDayOnly doesn’t make these reverse searches easy. It blocks right-clicking on product images, making performing these searches labour-intensive.

Regardless, this does not necessarily mean that OneDayOnly’s suppliers are sourcing their products from Temu and listing them locally.

In fact, the prices are often close enough together to suggest that local suppliers may simply be buying from the same place Temu’s sellers are.

Three specific examples of such deals recently featured on OneDayOnly are vintage-looking radio tissue box holders, a collapsible picnic basket, and faux-tweed lunch bags.

OneDayOnly offered vintage radio tissue box holders at R199 for two during the past week, excluding shipping.

A quick search on Temu revealed dozens of similar listings at R69 or R70 each, or R140 for two, excluding import duties, taxes, and shipping.

Another interesting example was a collapsible picnic basket sold on OneDayOnly for R449.

This same product appeared to be listed on Temu for the same price — excluding taxes.

The third example of the faux-tweed lunch bags was R249 for two on OneDayOnly, with a reverse image search revealing exactly the same product on Shein for R76 each, or R152 for two, excluding taxes.

MyBroadband contacted OneDayOnly for comment about the listings, and the company said it is not aware of any suppliers reselling Temu and Shein.

“At OneDayOnly, we are committed to ethical sourcing practices and ensuring that all products offered through our platform meet standards of quality and authenticity,” said OneDayOnly sales head Marli Schnetler.

“We are not aware of any suppliers using Temu or similar services to circumvent these requirements.”

Schnetler explained that their deal selection process involves rigorous supplier and product vetting to ensure suppliers meet quality standards and offer genuine value to customers.

“We prioritise deals that are exclusive, competitive in pricing, and align with current market trends,” she said.

“We conduct thorough product testing, especially for new suppliers, and ensure that all products meet our quality standards before offering them for sale.”

When asked, Schnetler said they do not consider platforms like Temu a threat.

“At OneDayOnly we welcome healthy competition and we see Temu as another company introducing the South African consumer to the exciting world of e-commerce and online shopping.”

Founded in 2010 by Maurits Vermeulen and Christian Oberhofer, OneDayOnly was one of South Africa’s original group buying platforms.

There was a flurry of group buying sites setting up shop that year in South Africa, with many hoping to be acquired by overseas giants like Groupon.

Other prominent players at the time included Twangoo and Wicount.

Groupon ultimately acquired Twangoo to launch its South African operation, establishing a new website called MyCityDeal.

However, by 2016, Groupon closed up shop in South Africa.

Of the dozens of services that launched between 2009 and 2011, OneDayOnly and Daddy’s Deals are among the few still standing.

While Temu and Shein introduce a new angle of competition, OneDayOnly is not the only platform featuring products sold by direct-from-China importers.

Several Takealot sellers have made millions on the platform by buying inexpensive stock from Chinatown Malls and selling it at a decent profit on the marketplace.

As a merchant, the challenge is finding a product that will sell well, is of such quality that it will not results in a huge number of returns, and that you price it to cover all the fees platforms charge.