If you are a modern teen, you likely use TikTok—or have at least heard of it. But what about the TikTok Shop? This is a relatively new feature on the app, afterall.
I, a reader and book shopaholic, recently saw a lady reviewing a set of Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses books that she had purchased on the TikTok Shop. So, naturally, I was intrigued.
When I clicked on the link to the books, I saw that the set was on sale: priced at about $50, as opposed to about $60 in stores. Then I also saw that the TikTok Shop itself was providing me—a first-time customer—with an additional discount that brought the books’ cost down to $45 (after taxes). “Skeptical” is not a strong enough word to describe me at the time. The deal simply seemed too good to be true. However, I was also extremely curious as to the possible authenticity of these books at such a great deal.
So, I plugged the vendor’s name into the Google search bar, eager to see whether it was a reputable seller. Sure enough, the search yielded results on Amazon and multiple other websites, proving that the seller was, in fact, real and trustworthy.
At this point, my spirits were heightened, and I thought to myself, “Well, I’m either going to purchase this set and save $15, or I’m going to lose $45 and learn a lesson.” So, I went through with it and took the vendor up on the sweet deal.
During the course of the following several days, I incessantly checked the tracking for the package—almost entirely convinced that I was going to be out $45. However, the tracking information said “a label has been created,” then, “the seller has dropped the package off at the shipping facility,” and eventually, “the package has been delivered.”
When I stepped outside of my house and saw a medium-sized box with my name on it, I was even further surprised—the books were real! But even then, box in hand, I was half-expecting a botched version of A Court of Thorns and Roses to be inside: maybe a miniature copy, or an odd pirated one. Needless to say, I almost threw a party when I realized, after careful inspection, that the books were real and original. How could this be? Such a wonderful deal—a deal that certainly seems too good to be true, even now, as the books sit on a shelf in my living room. The only possible explanation for such a generous discount is that TikTok Shop might be willing to lose some money by giving out coupons to customers if it means drawing them in to purchase more and more. This is a well-known marketing strategy. Temu—another Chinese shopping app—has been doing the same thing all along…and it works.
This is all to say that, no, TikTok Shop is not a scam—you really can receive promised items after you have purchased them. However, I certainly advise you to first read the product descriptions closely (you never know if it could be a ridiculous miniature version of the pictured item) and research the vendor (How many total sales have they made? Are they active on other sales platforms?). Happy Shopping!
