We shop at ‘Temu in real life’. Are the products safe?

It’s boom time for bargain shoppers. Online stores and direct-from-factory warehouses advertise every household product the mind can conceive, at prices most people can afford.

Discount Chinese marketplace Temu has become one of Australia’s most popular online retailers, selling everything from cut-price laptops to prams. Then there’s Panda Mart, nicknamed “Temu in real life”, which sells tens of thousands of discounted products, from chunky mattresses to tiny screws, at warehouses in Cranbourne and Preston.

While popular with customers, these retailers have attracted negative attention from regulators. Days after it opened in March 2025, Consumer Affairs Victoria seized thousands of products from the shelves at Panda Mart Cranbourne over safety concerns, including toys with unsecured button batteries.

In December, Panda Mart Cranbourne was forced to shut for 72 hours after Consumer Affairs Victoria found thousands of products failed to meet mandatory product safety and information standards.

Panda Mart Preston – owned by a separate company – was also forced to close in December while inspectors seized thousands more products.

As of this week, Panda Mart Cranbourne faces 147 criminal charges laid by the consumer watchdog for selling unsafe products. The Consumer Affairs Victoria investigation into Panda Mart Preston is continuing.

Panda Mart Cranbourne also faces 130 charges over allegedly unsafe lamps and other electrical products after scrutiny from Energy Safe Victoria. The Cranbourne retailer is due to appear in court next month on those charges and to answer the Consumer Affairs Victoria allegations.

After the temporary closure in December, the Panda Mart retailers reopened with “a 20 per cent storewide discount to thank customers” and offered reassurance on product safety. “We also want to assure our customers that safety remains our highest priority and we will continue to co-operate fully with Consumer Affairs Victoria,” it said.

The Age decided to do its own testing, with the help of product safety expert Professor Blair Kuys. Kuys is an industrial designer, father of two and executive dean of Swinburne University’s School of Design and Architecture.

We bought 11 items from Panda Mart in Melbourne’s outer south-east, including a kitchen thermometer, nail polish and a dog toy, for just under $30. (Yes, we bought more than we planned for. No, we don’t know what to do with the items).

From Temu, we paid $43.61 for a further five products, mostly from its flashing “bestsellers” panel. The items were a portable breathalyser for $21.12, a car-scratch removal cream, ear plugs, stainless-steel kitchen scissors, and a two-pack of “women’s” personal alarms.

But sadly, we cannot report on the Temu products as the company failed to deliver to Nine’s Docklands headquarters, blaming a “navigation error or wrong address”. The address was correct, but building staff report deliveries often get lost on the way to Docklands (to be fair, I would avoid Docklands if I could, too). We were offered a full refund, which could take up to 30 days, and advised to choose click and collect for any future orders. There won’t be future orders.

Kuys stresses that cheap products are not necessarily bad products. He’s not immune to Temu’s charms. Kuys has used the site to buy a costume for $50, instead of hiring one for about double the price, and a good-quality $70 air hose while renovating.

But he worries about the influx of unsafe low-cost imports driven by online shopping. “Some of this stuff coming onshore, it’s not regulated, no one knows what it’s made of, and it can have fatal consequences,” he says. “There’s a multitude of products coming in that are not currently regulated, and government is playing catch-up.”

What does our professor think of the Panda Mart products?

Kuys worries about our $1 “pet toy”. “There’s no explanation of what it is or what it’s made of,” he says. “Is it a bit of plastic or is there some kind of rubber? It’s very concerning. I can take a chunk out [with my fingernail], which makes me think a dog is going to annihilate that and chew it and ingest whatever that material is.”

He’s also concerned by the superglue, which is not labelled on the front but warns in fine print on the back that it can cause “drowsiness and dizziness”.

He says he wouldn’t use the wet wipes, the nail polish, which calls itself “natural”, or eyeshadow on his children. The eyeshadow contains the following label: “Please stop using in case of any discomfort during yes [sic] and seek medical attention immediately.”

Kuys says: “Anything that has contact with the skin or is ingested or potentially ingested, there’s no chance [I would use].”

The kitchen thermometer also raises alarm bells because it has no instructions and features a red substance enclosed in plantation pine that looks like it could easily split in half.

But the other products – a bike lock and measuring tape – don’t raise particular safety concerns. The toy cars get the thumbs-up for being labelled for children aged three and above, and containing safety warnings.

Panda Mart did not respond to requests for comment on the safety and labelling of its products, and Kuys’ assessments.

I ask for Kuys’ opinion on my aborted Temu order of a “women’s” personal alarm, stainless-steel kitchen scissors, earplugs, car scratch removal cream and a breathalyser for $21.22.

“The earplugs would seriously concern me because they’re on my person,” he says.

Kuys has worked on breathalyser design with a company that designs and manufactures them for the police force.

“The technology to get an accurate read is incredibly expensive,” he says. “So my instant thing for that is, how would they know it’s accurate? And if people are relying on blowing into this in order to drive home, that’s a massive red flag. For $20, there’s no way it’s going to be accurate.”

So what does Kuys look for when assessing products?

He wants to know what the product is made of, how to use it, and any risks it poses. He also tries to buy products that are grown, such as timber and cotton, over oil-based manufacturing products. “You could look at cheaper [natural] alternatives, such as bamboo and hemp fibre,” Kuys says.

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