Wish is an e-commerce/online shopping site that is quite popular these days and seeing as it is a lot like Amazon, one can figure that loads of people want to make use of it. The question is, can they be trusted, and are the products worth spending money on? This is what this Wish Review is for today. So, I went ahead and purchased a few things to see for myself if the platform is worth the buzz. Also, let’s face it, you cannot be seen as a true review artist if you did not at least test out Wish-shopping right?
In addition, Wish is a really good starting point if one wants to buy and resell products as a means of income, would that be a viable option? Let’s find out…
Website
What is Wish All About?
Wish is an e-commerce site, that we know, but how does it work? Sellers list their products on the Wish site. There, people can scroll through the thousands (if not millions) of products to look for something they want. Once they are done, they checkout/pay, and the seller will then ship the products out, it is that simple. Wish is basically the middleman that makes sure everyone is happy and that no one gets scammed out of their money/products.
What Does it Cost?
Wish is an online store and it costs nothing to join, however since it is a store, you will have to pay for the items you purchase. You will also have to pay for the shipping of the products you bought.
Some products are free and you will only have to pay for the shipping, the rest can have prices of $1 and up.
Founders and Short History
Wish was founded on July 4th, 2010 by Peter Szulczewski and Danny Zhang as an e-commerce platform where sellers could directly sell to consumers through an online store. It started quite small at first, but it took the internet by storm becoming more popular each day. They have since, updated the platform to make everything more convenient for everyone using Wish.
Is There a Money-Back Guarantee?
Yes, items can be returned and one can get a refund within 30 days. I personally just do not see the use of returning items because it would simply take too long and it is more of a hassle to do so than to rather just let it be. Depends greatly on the country you live in, Here in South Africa a year would most likely pass if items have to be shipped back and forth.
Scam or Not?
Wish is most definitely not a scam, the items are real and even though it might take a while, they will eventually show up at your residence. Furthermore, it might seem suspicious with all the free products, or the extremely cheap ones, but I can assure you it is all real. The only reason for the cheap products, is they are bought directly from the seller, so there are no profits or anything added.
Keep in mind that even though Wish is legit, the products might not be. Some of the products are just plain knock-offs and not the best quality. Sometimes, electronics are badly assembled, clothing might not fit, and so forth. If you want some ideas of what the products are like, watch some unboxing videos on YouTube first, before buying.
Shipping
This will depend greatly on the country you order from. Here in South Africa, it takes long, very long! I did find that products were neatly and securely packed and all my parcels arrived intact. Wish does deliver to almost every country in the world.
What About Support?
Wish has a live chat support system to help with any problems one might encounter while shopping with them. Replies are instant and they always do everything they can to help solve problems and so forth.
Payment
Obviously, all items must be paid for before they will be shipped. Wish accepts the following as payment methods:
- Visa
- MasterCard
- American Express
- Discover
- Cirrus
- Maestro
- Apple Pay
- EBANX (Credit Card, Boleto, OXXO)
- Google Wallet (Android Pay)
- Klarna
- PayPal
- iDEAL
Although the price shown on the items will be in the currency of the place you reside, all payments are done in US dollars.
Other costs like VAT and taxes will not be charged, however, you should check with your country of residence’s customs department to see if the product you purchased is allowed in.
Real Ways to Make Money Online – Popular Options
Wish Review – Pros
- A huge range of products, from electronics, and clothing to beauty products and household items. You name it, they have it.
- Checkout is quite simple and easy to do.
- Items can be refunded within 30 days of receiving the product.
- People from all around the world in basically all countries can use Wish to do a bit of shopping.
- There are a lot of free or extremely cheap products on Wish.
- Wish has a mobile app that can be installed so you can do your online shopping on the go.
- Product prices are displayed in the currency you deal with so no need to bring out the calculator and/or converter.
Cons
- Some products are not what they seem or are just very cheap knock-offs.
- Clothing may not fit or certain products may not work as intended.
- Shipping can take months to certain countries.
Wish Buyer Tips
Always read the review of the product before purchasing, the product might be a waste of time.
Be careful when purchasing clothes. The size metric might differ from the country you are living in. They do provide a chart, but I have found that it is not always correct.
Look for products with the “verified by Wish shoppers” label. They are the best choice.
Some suppliers will sell the same thing others do but at a reduced price. The same keyboard, for instance, can sell at 5 different prices. Be sure to browse before you buy.
The images of products on the site can sometimes differ from the actual product. Always expect to be surprised.
My Personal Experience with Wish
I have purchased clothing and was not once happy with it. Way too small and after one wash, it came apart. Pictures were a bit on the misleading side and the clothing items did not look the same. Total waste of money because I did not feel like spending more, to ship it back for a refund. If you do decide to buy clothing, DO NOT EXPECT MUCH!
The same goes for exercise clothing, the size was way too small and not good for self-confidence as you need to stick thin to fit into these. In addition, poor quality, and only designed for one-time use as it came apart after the first wash.
The free stuff can be quite nice, I got a few of those and was especially impressed with some of the computer mice I got. Durable and good quality. I got an optical one back in 2020 and still use it on my laptop in 2023!
Some electronics are quite good. Purchased a gaming mouse and keyboard, which was worth the price tag. Both are what one can expect and work quite well. Obviously, it is not the ultimate gamers’ hardware, but I’ve seen worse at a more expensive price, buying locally. The gaming mouse was quite a surprise and my son tested it for hardcore gaming. Held up well and the same mouse cost triple the price locally.
In addition, we got smartwatches, more keyboards, and some headphone sets. Again, not too bad for the price and usually lasts long. Not one item was faulty and also of relatively good quality.
Conclusion…
With Wish, it is sometimes like buying a “lucky packet”, you hope to receive something nice. I did feel like a kid again unboxing the stuff and was quite surprised to find that most of it were actually worth the price tag.
Some categories, like electronics, have some great stuff with good quality for cheap. Fishing/camping gear is one of the other categories that I liked and makes great gifts for those who love spending time outdoors. Jewelry is not my favorite as I am allergic to fake gold and silver anyhow. Jewelry pieces just look cheap and they do not last long at all.
Their clothing is an absolute NO for me unless one is super skinny and only plans to wear it once. The actual product does not look anything like in the picture. Obviously, there will be suppliers that actually sell nice, good, quality clothing, but I do not see it as functional to browse and buy from hundreds of suppliers, just to find the good ones.
To sum it up, you will get some items that work out to be really cheap for good quality and then there are those that are just a waste of good money and time. Shipping takes a long time; I waited up to 4 months for items to arrive in my country. I am not exactly the patient type and want my stuff in a reasonable time frame. The main reason why I do not buy from them often. If there were faster shipping times, I would definitely embrace my inner child and buy more lucky packets from Wish.
Are the products worth reselling as a means of extra income?
Here in South Africa, I have come across a few shops that sell the exact same products (same manufacturer and brand) for triple the price. Most of the sellers on Wish are obviously suppliers/manufacturers, meaning you cut the middleman out. I do think that one can use wish as a means to create one’s own online store or even a physical store and make a good profit. Be sure to test products yourself before selling them and do a bit of research obviously. As I mentioned above, they do have some good products for cheap that can lead to a profitable business if one has the right audience to sell to. Just a matter of finding them.
Did you buy from Wish before?
Please be so kind as to tell us about your experience to help others avoid bad products and find good bargains.
Thank You!
