CLEVELAND — A viral TikTok trend is offering what seems like the ultimate fashion hack: designer goods and popular name brands sent straight from Chinese factories to American doorsteps — often for a fraction of the retail price. But experts say consumers should think twice before clicking “buy.”
From furniture to Birkenstock sandals, alleged factory workers on social media claim to work at the same factories as major brands and say they can ship products directly to buyers — cutting out the middleman.
“It seems to be a response to the heavy tariffs and the great cloud that Chinese manufacturers are under, given all of the uncertainty and the very high tariffs that have been imposed on China,” said Sky Canaves, principal analyst for retail and e-commerce at eMarketer. “And we have more tariffs coming with the cancellation of the import tax loophole that allowed inexpensive small packages to come into the US without paying duties.”
That soon-to-close loophole currently lets packages valued under $800 bypass tariffs. But starting May 2, that exemption disappears, and Canaves says it will have a big impact on what shoppers pay — especially on sites like DHgate, which has surged in popularity.
“The tariffs are still going to apply on any goods right now that are not sent through the US Postal Service. It's 145% for most Chinese goods,” Canaves said. “In a couple of weeks, May 2, the loophole that allows packages valued at under $800 to enter the US duty-free is going to disappear, and there's going to be a 120% tariff on those goods or a flat rate of a $100 tariff imposed on them.”
While sellers online often claim that eliminating the middleman will help shoppers save, Canaves said the middleman plays a critical role in retail.
“The middleman or intermediary in retail is a trusted player that ensures that both sides of a transaction… meet their responsibilities and obligations and provides protections for both sides,” she said. “So if I buy a product on Amazon, for example, and I'm not happy with it, there's very good customer service. If I don't get the product, I'll get a refund. If the product quality is not what I expected, I can return it and get my money back.”
But with direct factory orders, she warns, that safety net is gone. “If something goes wrong, there is really not much to guarantee that I will be getting my money back or be made whole in any way.”
Pierce Morgan, owner of Chicologie in Rocky River, a shop specializing in restored secondhand designer items, is also wary of what he's seeing online.
Morgan has also seen the TikToks and said the counterfeit marketing tactics are surprisingly polished: “There's a really impressive amount of marketing that goes into selling counterfeits firsthand that if I didn't have such an issue with it, I'd be more willing to admit that it's really impressive.”
Still, the risk of receiving a knockoff or poor-quality dupe remains high.
“They may be counterfeit. They may be knockoffs. They may just be very high-quality dupes, but the first, the first issue would really be around product quality and consumers can't really know what they're getting until they actually would make a purchase and get it at home,” Canaves said.
As tariffs increase and protections for buyers remain thin, the risks grow, especially for shoppers looking to resell what they bought.
“And in the long run of thinking you can't resell these items. If that's a potential goal… I've heard that a little bit. You're going to be really really disappointed,” Morgan said.
“Consumers should be expecting that the costs will go up for goods on, on platforms like Temu and Shein in particular,” Canaves said.
Her advice: "buying resale or through off-price channels where those won't be as affected by the tariffs.”
And above all, “If these deals sound too good to be true, they probably are.”
