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So many people question how I get things so inexpensively, or even free, on Temu. The prices they see on the site aren't necessarily the prices I quote, and it all comes down to knowing how to work the different promos.
Even my own PTO board members tell me they don't understand Temu at all!
This is my last year at our school, because my youngest is in 5th grade. So half of my motivation for writing this post is to leave them documented instructions for how I actually make our purchases. If you are reading this in the future, I love you guys and know you will do great!
If you found this post through How We Run Our Own School Holiday Shop for 1,300+ Kids (Plus a FREE Inventory Spreadsheet!), this is the "how" behind all those Temu prices.
And it's not just for our holiday shop. I order supplies and decorations for all kinds of PTO events on Temu. For our Disneyland-themed Teacher Appreciation Week, I ordered our "it's a small world" photo backdrop from Temu (you can see it in my DIY Disney Teacup Photo Prop post). And the acrylic prize boxes in our Paineland Prize Promenade ended up completely free to our PTO, thanks to the credits and coupons I'd earned on other purchases.
Now let's get into it!
My Temu Mindset: I'll Likely Pay Half or Less
When I look at the price of an item on Temu, my general thought is that I'll likely pay half or less. That's because I know how to take advantage of the promos worth doing, and I know which promos to avoid.
More importantly, I know how to figure out what will honestly be required to get what's promised, and decide whether it's the best deal for me.
Important: The exact promos available, their requirements, and their perks vary from user to user and from day to day. Your screen probably won't look exactly like mine. That's okay! The goal of this post is to teach you what to look for and how to do your own calculations.
New to Temu? Start Here
If you don't have a Temu account yet, signing up through my link should add some good starting coupons to your new account.
Already have an account? Keep reading. Everything below is for existing users who want to stop paying full price.
The Ground Rules (Read These Before Any Promo)
1. Ignore the Pop-Ups and Search for Promos Yourself
I typically ignore all the pop-ups, spinning wheels, and offers Temu throws at me. Instead, I search for the good ones myself.
You don't have to wait for the right wheel to pop up on your screen. Just type the promo name into the same search box where you search for products. It will either open the promo or tell you it's not available for you right now.
2. Build Your Cart First
This is a big one. Before you go into any of the actual promos, search Temu for the things you want or need to buy. Add anything that catches your eye to your cart.
Ignore the price for the most part. You're just curating a list of the things you're interested in.
Why? Once you're inside a promo, there is no search function. It's just a massive, ever-growing list of things Temu thinks you might want to buy, and you want that list to reflect what you're actually looking for.
Forgot something, or not seeing what you want inside the promo? You can log in from another device and add items to your cart there, and the list inside the promo will update live. Or you can exit and re-enter the promo, but then you'll have to go through all the spinning wheels and pop-ups again. That's why I recommend building your cart before you start!
If you're here because you're ordering for your own school holiday shop, check out Our Holiday Shop Best Sellers for a list of items with links to get you started.
3. Inside a Promo, You Can Only Buy 1 of Each Item
Inside a promo, you can't add additional quantities of the same item like you can on a regular order. That's why I lean on bulk packs (more on that below) and save my coupons for items I need lots of.
4. Know the Shipping Rules
Temu has two kinds of shipping, and they work differently:
- Shipped by Temu: Shipping is always free, but you need a $20 order of items shipped by Temu. That's usually easy to hit without even thinking about it.
- Local warehouses: I love how fast these arrive! But if you order less than $30 from an individual local warehouse, you pay $2.99 shipping for each local warehouse.
On a regular order, I avoid the local warehouse fee by ordering multiple quantities or shopping that warehouse's other items to get my total above $30.
Inside a promo, though, you can't search a warehouse's store or add more than 1 of an item. So when I'm working inside a promo, I tend to only add items shipped by Temu, or single local warehouse items that cost more than $30 on their own.
By "single items," I mean the price for quantity 1 is over $30. Since nothing in our holiday shop sells for more than $15, that "1" is really a bulk pack. For example, I order quantity 1 of a back scratcher listing and get 100 back scratchers!
Tip: When you're browsing outside a promo, you can see only one kind of shipping. Tap Filter, scroll to the bottom, and choose Local warehouse or Shipped by Temu.
How Credit Works (This Is the Secret Sauce)
Before we get into the individual promos, you need to understand credit, because this is how my purchases end up so cheap or even free.
You may already have some credit on your account from any of the methods I mention throughout this post.
Credit is a payment method, not a discount.
If a promo requires you to spend $100 and you have $100 in credit, paying with that credit still counts as spending $100. If you pay $50 in credit and $50 with your card, you still spent the required $100.
That means you can roll these promos: the credit you earn on one covers the spending on the next, so future orders take less (or no) real money.
Coupons stack with credit too. If you have a "$200 off $500" coupon and $300 or more in credit, you can check out a $500 cart without paying anything. The coupon takes off $200, and your credit covers the remaining $300.
A couple more things to know about credit:
- Credits don't expire.
- You can't save it up. If you have credit on your account, it gets used on your next order. You can't pay fully with a card and let your credit build. So if you place a small order while you're waiting on a bigger credit to post, your earlier credit will be used up first. No big deal, just something to know.
Promo #1: Claimcredit
To find it, type claimcredit into the search bar. It will either open the promo or tell you it's not available for you at this time.
I get it often, and the amounts vary. But even I have periods where it's not available. When that happens, I just try a different promo or come back later.
Getting Through the Pop-Ups
Yes, you'll have to click through a few ridiculous pop-ups. Don't stress: you'll always land on the best value on the spinning wheel.
Eventually, it will ask whether you want cash or credit, and it will give you more if you choose credit. I always choose credit, for two reasons:
- It's a higher amount.
- You don't have to worry about any tax implications from receiving money to PayPal. (My degree is in Accounting, but this isn't tax advice, just a suggestion!)
Reading the Claimcredit Screen
At the top, in a light green box, you'll see the amount of credit you can earn, marked as pending. My example says $90 pending, pick items to withdraw.
Below that is a chart that looks like this:
- $1 to $10: 10%
- $10 to $140: 50%
- $140+: 220%
Here's what that means. For any order you place:
- The first $10 earns 10% back in credit.
- The part of your order from $10 to $140 earns 50% back.
- Anything over $140 earns 220% back, until your total credit reaches the advertised amount.
Claimcredit does give you partial credit as you go, and your cart will show how much credit you'll get back. But I always try to hit the full amount it's offering.
How to Calculate Your Spend
Here's how to calculate exactly what you need to spend to earn the full amount. Use the numbers from your own screen.
| Part of your order | Rate | Credit earned | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| First $10 | 10% | $1.00 | $1.00 |
| Next $130 ($10 to $140) | 50% | $65.00 | $66.00 |
| Above $140 | 220% | $24.00 | $90.00 |
- Add up the credit from every tier except the top one. $1 + $65 = $66
- Subtract that from the advertised amount. $90 − $66 = $24 still needed
- Divide what's left by the top tier's rate, written as a decimal. $24 ÷ 2.2 = $10.91
- Add that to the top tier's starting point. $140 + $10.91 = about $151
So in my example, I'd spend about $151 to earn $90 in credit. That's roughly 60% back!
Turning a percentage into a decimal: move the decimal point two places to the left. 220% = 2.2, 50% = 0.5, 0.2% = 0.002.
The Catch: You Must Claim Every Single Day
You really do get the full credit promised if you meet the spending requirement. BUT here's the catch: Temu is hoping you won't claim your credit at the right time, in which case you lose it.
You have to claim your credit every single day for the length of the promo, usually 7 days. The daily amounts start small and get bigger each day, with the bulk of the credit on the final day.
Here's my most recent breakdown, for a $180 Claimcredit:
| Day | Credit to claim |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | $3.60 |
| Day 2 | $9.00 |
| Day 3 | $9.00 |
| Day 4 | $9.00 |
| Day 5 | $9.00 |
| Day 6 | $14.40 |
| Day 7 | $126.00 |
| Total | $180.00 |
Day 7 alone is 70% of the total!
And here's the really sneaky part: if you miss a day, it's not that day's small amount that gets taken away. They always take from the end first. So if you miss Day 2, you lose the big Day 7 payout.
What Temu means, and what it doesn't:
Temu often says you only have 10 minutes remaining. They will almost always add more time, so don't rush. Coupon expiration dates aren't a big deal either, since you can renew coupons (I'll show you how below).
But they mean it when they say you'll lose your credit if you don't claim it every day. Do whatever you need to so you don't forget: set an alarm, or get in the habit of checking Temu first thing every single morning.
You'll also see a dark green bar on the Claimcredit screen if you're in the middle of claiming an earlier Claimcredit. Mine said $126 to be claimed. Tap it to see the day-by-day schedule.
You can start a new Claimcredit while you're still in the 7-day claim period of another one. Each has its own amounts, sometimes higher and sometimes lower. You just have to calculate and claim each one every day.
Promo #2: Wincredit
Search wincredit in the search bar to see if it's available for you.
In my example, Wincredit told me I'd earn $350 in credit. Then it did a bunch of behind-the-scenes calculations, claiming it was getting me close to the reward based on my previous orders, being a loyal user, and so on.
All of that is just "gamey." It's designed to make you think you're almost there and just need to place a small order to get a big bonus. I'm sure lots of people do, and then get tricked into placing more and more orders until they eventually give up or hit the threshold.
I always calculate exactly what's going to be required in advance, so I can make an informed decision about whether the current promo is worth it.
How to Calculate Your Spend
My screen said I'd get $350 in credit once I reached $350, that I was starting at $346.50, and that I needed $3.50 in credit back to withdraw all $350.
So what does that actually mean? How do I get $3.50?
Just below that, a yellow box told me I'd earn 0.2% credit back per order, with a $2.10 bonus on my first order.
Your percentage and first-order bonus may be different, so here's how to do the math with your own numbers:
- Find the "credit back to withdraw" amount. Mine was $3.50.
- Subtract the first-order bonus. $3.50 − $2.10 = $1.40
- Divide what's left by the percentage back, written as a decimal. $1.40 ÷ 0.002 = $700
That's my required spend: one $700 order to earn $350 in credit. That's 50% back!
(Check: 0.2% of $700 is $1.40, plus the $2.10 bonus, equals the $3.50 I needed.)
I believe these amounts used to be a lot smaller for me, but now Temu knows I place huge orders. I actually prefer the big amounts, since I need to place large orders for our holiday shop anyway, but your mileage may vary!
And remember: you can pay for part or all of that $700 with credit already on your account, and you'll still earn the full $350.
When Wincredit Pays Out
Unlike Claimcredit, you don't have to claim Wincredit over separate days. The full credit is added to your account in one lump sum, automatically.
BUT it doesn't post until every product in the order ships. So if I'm in a hurry for the credit to post, I avoid adding pre-order items with delayed shipping to the promo.
How I Decide What to Buy in a Promo
When I do a promo for the first time without any credit on my account, I focus on buying items I'm already happy with the price of for our holiday shop.
But on later promos, once I have credit, I can go up to double what I'd normally want to spend on an item. That's because the credit I'm earning is effectively a 50% discount.
Promo #3: Farmland
Find it by searching farmland.
This is the most "gamey" of them all. It's a game where you water your plants until they grow, and then you get 4 free items. It makes it look like you're close, but the targets keep moving, because the amount your plants grow gets smaller and smaller with each watering.
I don't recommend spending time and effort on the actual Farmland game. Yes, I've gotten my free items a couple of times, but only with a lot of spending and a lot of time that isn't worth it.
You do need to select your free items to get access to the other perks inside Farmland, though. So select them, visit Farmland, and just don't get hung up on winning your free gifts.
The Best Farmland Perk: 20% Cashback
One of the best perks is 20% cashback, up to $18, on your orders. This can be stacked and earned on top of Claimcredit or Wincredit!
To max it out: $18 ÷ 0.20 = $90 in spending.
To find your cashback, tap Get water in the bottom left corner of Farmland. That screen shows whether you have a new cashback offer for your orders, and just above My order rewards is where you claim cashback from orders you've already placed.
The cashback is paid out over 7 days, getting larger each day, just like Claimcredit. But unlike Claimcredit, you don't lose anything if you miss a day. They just space out how many times you have to come to Farmland to collect it all. If you miss a day, the amount will still be there, but you can still only claim one day's worth at a time.
The $10 Credit Offer
Inside Farmland, an offer often pops up that says to water a few times to activate a $10 credit. Once you activate it, it tells you to place any order to earn the $10, paid out over 3 days.
I usually pick a cheap local warehouse item, say $2.50, and pay the $2.99 shipping. So I've spent $5.49 (in free credit) and then earn $10 credit back. I get a free item, and I come out about $4.51 ahead in credit.
This is the only time I ever pay shipping on local warehouse orders!
Mini-Games
Inside Farmland, there are other mini-games that can frequently earn you a few dollars in credit just for playing. For example, Roll and Earn often has a $10 credit bonus for completing the board.
If time permits, check out the mini-games and look for ones that earn credit. Earning water isn't really worth your time.
Promo #4: Get100
Search get100 in the search bar to see if it's available for you. It usually just requires a small purchase of 1 to 3 items, any items, any amount.
Then you claim coupons over 14 consecutive days. Miss a day, and you lose the rest of the coupons. To claim each day, just search "get100" again to open the promo back up and claim that day's coupon.
All of these coupons have no minimum spend, so $5 off really is $5 off a $5 item. (Of course, Temu's $20 minimum for free shipping and the local warehouse shipping fee still apply. I'll share a workaround below!)
| Day | Coupon |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | $5 off |
| Day 2 | $20 off |
| Days 3 to 5 | $5 off each |
| Day 6 | $20 off |
| Days 7 to 13 | $5 off each |
| Day 14 | $60 off $60 |
| Total | $155 in coupons |
The $20 off coupons are great for getting a just-barely-over-$20 order for next to nothing. And that Day 14 coupon is really great!
Each coupon will say it expires in a few days, but don't worry. I'll show you how to renew them next.
Making the Most of Coupons
How to Renew Expired Coupons
Coupons say they expire quickly, but you can renew them for at least 60 days after they expire. This is also how you reactivate a coupon when you need it again.
- In the app, tap You at the bottom center.
- At the top left, you'll see how many coupons you have. Tap them to view.
- Along the top, you'll see Unused, Used, and Expired. Any coupon in Expired that expired 60 days ago or less can be renewed.
- Go back to the You menu and tap the icon in the top right corner that looks like headphones with a microphone.
- Scroll to the very bottom of that page and tap Contact us in the bottom right.
- In the chat box, type expired coupon.
- The AI bot will give you a list of all your expired coupons and ask which you want to renew. Just tap one, and it will be renewed automatically, every single time.
How to Use a $5 Coupon Without Spending $20
Here's my favorite trick for using those small no-minimum coupons without having to hit Temu's $20 shipping minimum:
- Before placing a large order (as part of a promo or with a coupon), make sure you have a few items already in your cart that are just over $5 and shipped by Temu.
- Uncheck those items so they aren't included in your large order.
- Place your large order.
- Immediately afterward, check one of the just-over-$5 items, reactivate your $5 coupon if needed (same steps as renewing), and check out. The coupon comes off, and the item ships along with the larger order you just placed.
- Repeat back to back for as many coupons as you have.
The catch: the $5 items have to already be in your cart before the big order. For some reason, it won't let you add a new item to your cart afterward and combine shipping.
If you have any credit on your account, it will cover whatever small amount is left on the order, and you'll pay nothing.
The Coupon Bundle Pop-Up
Often, after placing an order, I get a pop-up offering $800 or more in coupons if I place another small order. If I have free credit and my account doesn't have many coupons left, I usually do this, spending a small amount of free credit to get fresh coupons.
There's no guarantee what they'll be, but there are usually a few good ones, like $200 off $500 or $40 off $100.
Since coupons can be stacked and combined with credit, I use these for regular orders of items I need lots of. Remember, you can't order quantity 20 of something inside a promo! Bluetooth speakers and earbuds are good examples for our holiday shop, since they're never sold as a bundle I could include in a promo.
Free Credit That Comes to You
Price Adjustments
If you buy an item and the exact same item's price drops within 30 days of your purchase, you can request a price adjustment and get free credit for the difference. This is based on the full original price, before any coupons or promos.
You do have to open each order one by one to check. I do this at least once a day while I'm claiming other credits.
- Open the order.
- Just under the item pictures, you'll see Price match adjustment, Buy this again, and Return/Refund. Tap Price match adjustment.
- Look at the Request a price adjustment button at the bottom of the pop-up. If it's white, nothing has dropped in price, so go back and check the next order. If it's orange, it will tell you how many items have dropped in price.
- Tap the orange button. It will show the estimated refund for each item. Tap Submit at the bottom of the page.
The credit is automatically added to your credit balance after you submit. You can do this as many times as you want during the 30-day period, and the same order can be adjusted multiple times.
I've personally gotten as little as $0.01 and as much as $60+ on a large order, and it could be even higher!
Late Delivery Credit
Temu issues a $5 credit for any order that arrives after the date they promised. There's nothing you need to do, but those credits add up when you're placing tons of orders for a holiday shop.
Easy Returns
If there's any problem with your order at all, returns are simple. Just tap Return/Refund on the order page to start the process.
On lower-priced items, I've been told to keep the item after submitting pictures of the problem. With more expensive orders, I've taken them to the UPS Store with a QR code.
For returns, you can choose a refund to your card or as credit. I usually choose credit anyway. For refunds where you keep the item, it's a credit offer.
My Daily Temu Routine
Once you have a few promos going, it only takes a few minutes each morning:
- Claim today's credit for any active Claimcredit (don't miss a day!)
- Claim today's Get100 coupon (don't miss a day!)
- Visit Farmland to collect your cashback
- Check your orders for price adjustments
Putting It All Together
This is how our holiday shop gets so much merchandise for so little. Temu was our single biggest inventory source last year, about a third of all the items in our shop for less than a quarter of what we spent.
If you're planning your own school holiday shop, check out How We Run Our Own School Holiday Shop for 1,300+ Kids (Plus a FREE Inventory Spreadsheet!). It includes our best sellers list and a free copy of our inventory spreadsheet.
Planning Teacher Appreciation Week? See how we turned our school into Paineland, a Disneyland-themed Teacher Appreciation Week, including our Paineland Ear Welcome Wall and our DIY Disney Teacup Photo Prop.
New to Temu? Sign up through my link to get some starter coupons on your new account.
Have a Temu trick I didn't cover? Leave it in the comments!
This post may contain affiliate links. If you sign up or purchase through one of my links, I may earn a small reward at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!
