Is It Okay To Order Makeup From Wish

Wish.com is a serious player in the world of online marketplaces, and is well known for offering an eclectic and often agreeable mix of inexpensive, quirky items for sale online.

Just don't be fooled – our research has shown that some of the products information technology sells tin can vary from misleading to downright dangerous.

Find out more than about the fake, illegal and dangerous products nosotros found for sale on Wish.com.

What is Wish.com?

Wish.com connects millions of shoppers with sellers all over the world, offering everything from everyday basics to the weird and wacky. It claims to be 1 of the world'due south fastest-growing shopping apps, with customers in more than 130 countries. Its algorithms claim to assistance tailor products that customers meet to their interests and budget, and Wish takes a commission from every product sold. Its business model prioritises value over brand, packaging or speedy commitment.

Wish.com was founded in 2022, by Peter Szulczewski and Danny Zhang, who met at university in Ontario, Canada. Szulczewski remains the CEO. The San Francisco-based company at present has offices all over the world including Amsterdam, Toronto, and Shanghai and employs more than 800 people.

In June 2022, Wish.com had 122.5 one thousand thousand visits according to web analytics service Similarweb, with 69.9 unique visitors from around the world. And information technology had almost eight million unique visits from the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland for the same month. That places it as the 118th most-visited website in the Uk and the eighth almost-visited online marketplace in the UK.

What does Wish.com sell?

From jewellery to shoes, tablets to smartphones, fancy dress to baby nappies and everything in between; Wish.com sells almost anything you can remember of.

It's acquired hilarity on social media for offer up items as bizarre as fake plastic homo tongues and tutus for dogs.

And while it claims to tailor products customers see in their feed, many shoppers are left baffled by the items marketed to them – pigeon carriers, trousers printed with Hollywood actor Nicholas Cage'southward face, helmets for chickens and loo whorl earrings, to name but a few.

Are products on Wish.com genuine?

While there's plenty of fun to be had with some of the quirky, cheap items on sale at Wish, those looking to make more serious purchases should be warned – our enquiry has uncovered illegal and fake products for sale.

As role of an investigation into Wish.com we ordered a range of products to estimate their authenticity – and of the four that arrived in time for our investigation, we found problems with each.

These included apocryphal headphones and a counterfeit smartphone, simply more than importantly nosotros also found a dangerous kid machine seat that was illegal to use in the UK.

We as well accept concerns near its returns policies and pricing practices.

Video: dangerous products found on Wish.com

Detect out why the child car seat we found on Wish.com is illegal to sell in the Great britain.

Are the prices on Wish.com real?

Wish boasts of selling at stone-bottom prices and claims huge discounts on some items, but we remember yous should take the prices on Wish.com with a veritable handful of salt.

A smartphone called 'P30 Pro' that looked from the image to be Huawei's flagship smartphone claimed to be reduced from £2,081 to £64.22 – the Huawei P30 Pro was launched at £899 and typically sells at £492 at present so this is a huge claimed reduction in price.

Similarly, a £20 pair of supposedly refurbished Bose QuietComfort 35 II headphones that, when new, should price effectually £259, claimed to be reduced from £470.

Guidance from the Chartered Trading Standards Constitute says pricing practices must be fair and non misleading. It says when considering whether a price reduction is 18-carat you should consider how long the product was on sale at the college price compared with the lower toll, how recently the higher cost was offered at and whether significant sales were made at the higher price.

The Wish website did not brand information technology clear when or how long the products were on sale at the claimed 'was' prices or whether many were sold at that higher price.

We asked Wish to explain what it based its 'was' prices on simply it didn't answer our questions.

What are Wish.com'south return policies?

Wish.com'due south returns policy is outlined on its website simply we believe information technology is confusing and, in places, misleading.

The policy says if an item doesn't arrive, customers can request a refund inside thirty days of the latest estimated delivery date. This is something customers are legally entitled to and we don't think the website makes this clear enough.

The website goes on to say that if an item is delayed, only yet in transit, information technology may offer a partial refund to commencement shipping costs or fees. Notwithstanding, it doesn't make clear what constitutes a delay and omits to explain that yous would exist entitled to break the contract and get a total refund.

Discover out more: Your rights returning something bought online

How to contact Wish.com customer back up

The policy directs customers to make return and refund requests online.

Indeed, we could only observe customer support online and at that place are no United kingdom customer phone numbers or postal addresses we could discover on the Wish website. When nosotros requested refunds for the items we ordered that were delayed or did not arrive at all, we had to do to it online and at that place was no clear way to question the standard options presented to u.s..

Are Wish.com products faux or dangerous?

Nosotros have previously found dangerous fume alarms, Christmas tree lights and USB chargers and travel adaptors for sale on Wish.com.

Wish states it has a 'zero-tolerance policy against counterfeit, dangerous or inappropriate product listings' and provides an email address for customers to study any listings that appear suspicious.

We reported concerns about the 3 fake and one illegal and dangerous product we were able to purchase using the electronic mail address provided but it was unclear whether whatever activity was taken as a result of this. All 4 listings take now been removed.

Find out more than: How to spot simulated or apocryphal products.

Are Wish.com customer reviews simulated?

Wish says its reviews are authentic. Its website states: 'Customer feedback helps us identify quality products. Nosotros encourage customers to submit honest reviews, both positive and negative, to provide their swain shoppers with all the product and delivery data they need.'

Wish.com appears to attract reviews from customers all over the globe, and in truth it's difficult to tell if these are real or simulated. What we tin can say is that we've seen many reviews on products, such as the fake Apple Airpods, raising concerns that they were not genuine. This doesn't seem to take been picked upwards by Wish, but does underline the importance of doing your inquiry carefully before you buy.

Observe out more about our campaign to Stop Imitation Reviews.

Should I buy from Wish.com?

If you prioritise stone-bottom prices above all else, Wish.com could be an choice for some basic essentials or fun purchases. But if yous want helpful client support, fast delivery, a skilful right to recourse if things become wrong and some guarantees over product quality it's probably better to look elsewhere.

Based on our experience, we'd also advise thinking carefully about buying anything that appears genuine if the price seems too adept to be truthful, or anything that has safety considerations, such equally the child'southward motorcar seat we bought.

Ultimately, while Wish.com operates legitimately, we accept found it selling apocryphal, illegal or dangerous products. Nosotros as well have concerns over its returns policies, client support and pricing.

What does Wish.com say?

We put the findings of our investigation into fake and dangerous products to Wish.com. A spokesperson said: 'Wish is an online marketplace that connects millions of users to a broad range of merchants all over the world. All of the merchants on our platform are required to adhere to local laws wherever their appurtenances are sold. Our merchant terms of service clearly gear up out our expectations with regards to production condom, pricing and infringement of intellectual property rights (for which we take a zero-tolerance policy).

'Where customers are not satisfied with their purchase, Wish has a comprehensive refund and returns policy that is designed to be fair to the consumers and merchants using our platform. The policy, which is publicly bachelor on our website and fully compliant with local laws, covers a number of eventualities, including wrong and missing orders and queries surrounding our payment methods. It is supplementary to any rights a consumer has with a merchant directly.

'We'd like to thank Which? for bringing these products to our attention. Nosotros are in the procedure of removing these items and the merchants in question have been reminded of the importance of complying with local laws.'