The wish store It is not a new phenomenon. It began operating in 2010. And although in the United States its app has become the most downloaded, above that of Amazon, in Spain it is not as well known.
Wish draws attention to their extremely low prices. You can buy a iPhone for 30 euros, a gamepad for 15 euros, sports shoes for 5 euros, or a dress for 3 euros, between the millions of different products.
Why are the prices so cheap? Is it safe to buy on Wish? How do you shop on Wish? We are going to answer all these questions.
as we will see, Wish has its pros and cons. It is important to know how it works, so that you can decide if you are interested in buying certain products.
For others, it is a very interesting option.
What is Wish? Is it safe to buy on Wish?
What is Wish?
Wish is an eCommerce based in San Francisco. It was founded in 2010 by Peter Szulczewski (CEO) and Danny Zhang (CTO), former Google and Yahoo programmers.
He began to gain clients quickly by their very low prices.
In 2017 it already had 100 million users, but in recent years it has grown exponentially, reaching the 500 million users, according to the company itself.
It is a fully consolidated company that has been operating for a decade, and has important advertising agreements in the United States. For example, has been a title sponsor of the Los Angeles Laker for several years:
Its commercial success led Amazon and Alibaba to try to buy it in 2015.
According to rumours, They offered 10,000 million dollars, but its owners refused to sell because they estimate that it may be worth 100,000 million dollars.
Is it safe to buy on Wish?
Seeing such cheap prices it is natural to ask the question: Is it safe to buy on Wish?
as trade, Wish is as safe and legal as any other. It is a company that has been operating for 11 years, is based in the United States, and a secure payment system.
It is completely safe to buy on Wish, but you have to know its peculiarities, because aspects such as returns or refunds do not work the same as on Amazon, for example.
What you can be sure of is that it is not a scam, and the products you buy will arrive, or you will get your money back. They may take 1 or 2 months, but they arrive.
And if they don’t, Wish has a guarantee that They will refund your money if the shipment exceeds the maximum delivery date.
You also have 30 days to return a product you don’t like, entitled to a refund.
You have to be more patient than other stores, because the deadline is usually at least 60 days, and they take time to process refunds, but nobody is going to keep your money if the product does not arrive, is damaged or you do not like.
In that sense, shopping on Wish is completely safe and secure.
Why are the prices so cheap?
If Wish is completely legal… Why do you sell products at much cheaper prices than the competition?
How is it possible that wireless headphones cost 50 cents, or a laptop with an Intel Core i5, 16 GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD and fingerprint reader, only worth 93 euros?:
There are several reasons that make these prices possible.
The first is that Wish does not directly sell the products.. Like AliExpress, eBay, or Amazon third-party stores, it is just a showcase for you to about 1 million small shops and manufacturerssell their products.
The vast majority of sellers are in China, where manufacturing costs and labor is much cheaper than in other countries.
Another important factor is that most sellers are manufacturers. That is, the factories directly sell the products. This eliminates the costs of intermediaries, and makes prices cheaper.
Finally, it must be taken into account the qualities. It may be that a certain mobile is a clone of the iPhone for 70 euros, but both its casing and its components will be of inferior quality. Your screen may crack with a simple blow, or it may stop working after 6 months.
The same applies to clothing, or any other product. If you buy something very cheap, you have to assume certain inferior qualities.
On the other hand, it must be said that they also sell brand name products at standard prices, and they are the same ones you buy here. For example, you can buy a Gigabyte RTX 3060 Ti card… for €1,178, when its official price is 419 euros…
So it all depends on the product you buy, not all prices are a bargain.
The products are worth what they cost: if it is very cheap, it is possibly of low quality. If it is higher, it will be better. If you adjust to that, you will not be surprised.
delivery times
One of the differences of Wish with respect to Amazon and the like, are delivery and return times.
Wish has a number of warehouses and agreements with local stores or post and courier services that accept Express delivery, with delivery between 5 and 8 days. But it is only available with certain products.
As we have mentioned, the vast majority of sellers are in China, and shipments are from China, with all that this entails.
A few months ago the Spanish government eliminated the minimum price of products to go through customs, so now all products that come from ChinaAlthough they only cost a few euros, they go through customs, and they can charge you a fee.
Another drawback is that shipping from China is usually done by standard transport, and it can take a long time: between 15 days and 2 months.
So if you buy on Wish, you have to be patient: most products will take time to arrive.
Returns and refunds
Returning a product or asking for a refund because it didn’t take you, also takes time.
To request a refund, you must wait 30 days from the maximum delivery date. A term that, adding everything, can last more than 2 months.
Once you receive it, you have 30 days to return it if you don’t like it, it’s damaged, it doesn’t match the description, etc.
If the product is wrong, the costs are your responsibility, but if you return it because you do not like it, in that case the shipping costs are paid by you.
The advantages of shopping on Wish
Despite the above, shop on Wish can be interesting with certain types of products, or under certain conditions.
These are the most important advantages:
Very low prices
We have already commented that the low prices they usually refer to low quality products, but with certain products it can compensate you.
From toys to clothes, USB cables, crafts, etc.
unique products
Another advantage of Wish is that has a catalog of millions of products, and many of them are unique.
Like this headband with wig…:
There are countless items that are not for sale in Europe and are even only available here, nor are they on AliExpress.
You can find gifts, curios, crafts, clothing, toys, and other products at a good price that are very appetizing.
Coupons and gamification
Like almost all Asian stores, Wish plays a lot with discount coupons, which you get in promotions or when you spend certain amounts of money.
You can also get additional discounts by roulette and other games of chance. Although in reality they give you the discount they want…
It is a way to save more and, at the same time, build customer loyalty.
The disadvantages of buying on Wish
Due to the characteristics that we have explained, buying on Wish has a series of problems, which you should assess.
low quality products
We have seen that there are brand products that cost the same as here, and others from manufacturers that are well valued by the community, that have good prices with quality items.
but many others They are so cheap, it affects the durability of the product. It may work fine for a few months and then stop working, or it may break sooner than expected.
Or on the contrary, that despite being cheap, it will last you a lifetime… It’s a bit of a lottery, so buy with your head.
Token Inconsistency
Certain products, especially cheap ones, sometimes they do not match what you see in the photos.
OR the sizes of clothes, shoes, etc., are not the ones we use in Europe, or the equivalences are not correct.
It is convenient to consult the comments of the buyers, to see if the data of the chips is correct.
Very long delivery times
Except for products with Express shipping, which take between 5 and 8 days, the rest have much longer terms.
Normally it takes between 15 and 20 days, but some can last more than a month.
Slow returns and refunds
As you have to wait for maximum delivery deadlines to be met, cancellations and refunds can take a long time.
Improved customer service
According to buyers, customer service is slow. And in many cases you have to contact the Chinese store that sold you the product directly, since Wish is just a storefront.
How do you shop on Wish?
The shopping experience on Wish is very complete.
Is mandatory to create an account to be able to see the products of the store. It only requires a name and an email.
Accept multiple forms of payment: Credit card, PayPal, Google Wallet, Apple Pay, etc.
You can search for products by category, or use a search engine.
From your client file you can see your details, wish list, order history, rewards earned, etc.
There is also a notification area.
From the orders you can contact the seller, or request returns or refunds.
purchase advice
For shop safely on Wish, We recommend you take a series of precautions:
- Do not buy products that may require a complicated return, such as an expensive laptop or mobile
- Look at the customer reviews and buy only the well-valued products
- Assume that there are things that can go through customs
- If you buy something very cheap, assume that its quality may also be low.
- If you see an iPhone for 150 euros… it will surely be a clone
- Before paying, check where the product comes from, and how long it will take to arrive
If you follow these tips, you will have a positive experience. Good luck with the purchases!