Wish: Shop and Save

Wish sells inexpensive goods shipped directly from manufacturers, mostly in China, to buyers anywhere. At its peak around 2019 it was one of the most-downloaded shopping apps in the world. It is a much smaller business now, and the reasons are worth understanding before you order.

What went wrong with the model

The prices were real, and so was the trade-off. Direct-from-factory shipping meant waits measured in weeks rather than days. Listing photographs were frequently the manufacturer’s stock images rather than of the item that arrived, and the gap between the two became the defining complaint.

Regulators noticed. Wish was removed from Google Shopping listings in some markets and faced action in several European countries over product safety and misleading presentation. The company was eventually sold in 2024 after a long decline in users.

If you order anyway

• Read the delivery estimate, not the price. The two are linked; the cheapest listings ship slowest.
• Treat the photograph as an illustration. Check the item dimensions in the description, which are usually accurate even when the picture is not.
• Refunds work but take time. The policy is reasonable; the elapsed time is the cost.
• Avoid anything where safety matters — chargers, batteries, children’s items. The product safety findings that drew regulatory attention concentrated in exactly those categories.

Where the category went

The direct-from-manufacturer model did not die; it moved. Temu runs essentially the same arrangement with better logistics and a much larger marketing budget. If the low price is what you want, that is where the volume is now.