Mexican shoppers say Shein and Temu’s delivery partner is stealing their stuff

Noelia Prado noticed something odd with her Shein delivery last month. The package appeared to have been unsealed and taped back together. When she opened it, she noticed that three items were missing from her order of nine garments worth around $52.

What followed was a weeks-long chase to track down the missing items.

“The Shein app said my order was delivered and that I should contact the local logistics company, but when I did that, no one answered,” Prado, a resident of Tepotzotlán, south of Mexico City, told Rest of World .

The package was delivered to her by J&T Express, a global last-mile delivery company that provides logistics for Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu. Prado said she sent J&T Express multiple WhatsApp messages and made several phone calls to their customer-support number, but there was no response. Frustrated, she gave up the chase and is now waiting to have her refund request approved by Shein.

In 2023, Shein and Temu were the most downloaded apps in Mexico, according to digital analytics company Sensor Tower. But even as Mexicans lap up the two apps, the companies have yet to set up a formal grievance redressal system for shoppers, leaving them in the lurch if something goes wrong. Neither Shein, Temu nor their delivery partners take responsibility for lost, damaged, or delayed packages, 10 Mexican shoppers who have had such experiences in the last year told Rest of World.

Frustrated customers have stormed J&T Express’ warehouses, filed reports to Mexican consumer protection agencies, and created a Facebook group to collectively try and find solutions to the problem. Often, their only option is to confront the gig worker who arrives at their doorstep to make the delivery.

“There are great disincentives for consumers to claim their rights,” Fiorentina García Miramón, co-founder of the online consumer rights watchdog Tec Check, told Rest of World. Miramón said that, according to the federal consumer rights law, Shein is responsible for making sure its packages reach its shoppers smoothly.

A Shein spokesperson told Rest of World the company ensures that all of its suppliers comply with industry standards. “We’re constantly evaluating our logistics partners to guarantee they keep a high performance level,” the spokesperson said, adding that the company “receives users’ reports and acts in case there’s any irregularity in their orders.”

J&T Express Mexico has a network of 5,000 collaborators, and is “actively working with our partners to improve the communication protocols and accountability, making sure customers receive the support they need,” Daniel Menéndez, head of marketing and corporate communications at the company, told Rest of World .

Rest of World found 31 complaints against J&T Express on consumer protection agency Profeco ’s website. The complaints range from J&T Express refusing to pay for damaged packages to failing to deliver them within an estimated time frame. Eleven of those are still being processed; the rest were either dismissed or solved through arbitration.

The real issue might be more serious — not all customers file complaints with Profeco since Shein is not currently listed on the agency’s complaint website. To file one, they must visit one of the agency’s 38 offices across the country.

A Mexican Facebook group with over 30,000 members, called “​​All united against J&T Express and the theft of packages,” has been active since 2023. It records hundreds of cases of lost, delayed, or stolen packages from Chinese e-commerce platforms delivered by J&T Express each day. Disgruntled consumers have shared the addresses of the different J&T Express warehouses in the country.

Globally, liability of missing parcels often falls on the logistics company, which is responsible for losses in case of negligence or mishandling of the items. The complaint, however, has to come from the seller — Shein, in this case — since it is the shipping company’s client.

Shein and Temu don’t share their sales data from Mexico, but former J&T Express workers said deliveries from the Chinese platforms expanded very quickly within a short period and their logistics partner struggled to catch up.

Michelle, a former worker at J&T Express who requested her last name be withheld because she feared for her future employment opportunities, told Rest of World she joined one of the company’s offices in Baja California in 2021 to carry out administrative work. Soon after, orders from Shein and Temu started flooding in. Additional truck drivers and gig workers were hired to do the deliveries, often working 15-hour shifts. “I myself had to start delivering the packages because there weren’t enough hands” to handle the volume, she said.

Orders in the state of Jalisco, in western Mexico, grew from 2,000 a month to 50,000 per day between late 2021 and mid-2024, according to Carlos Vela, former operations manager at J&T Express’ local office. “Their operation has overflowed,” he told Rest of World .

“If they [Temu and Shein] are seeing that this logistics company is not working, why are they still hiring them?” Alejandra Novelo, a Shein customer from Mérida, a city in southern Mexico, told Rest of World .

Shein customers don’t have much of a choice when it comes to having their orders delivered. Novelo said she chose J&T Express to deliver her order from Shein because it was the cheapest delivery option. She said other delivery companies charge 300 pesos (about $15) but J&T Express charges 19 (around $1).

Isabel Bracamonte, another Shein customer, told Rest of World her order of 16 items, worth around $1,900 pesos ($95), has been stuck in a warehouse for the past month. “When I asked [Shein] about the status of my package, they answered saying the order has surpassed the maximum period for delivery and that I would be reimbursed,” she said. Before she applies for a reimbursement, she said she’s considering visiting the J&T Express warehouse on the outskirts of her city to retrieve the package herself.

Last May, a group of 20 delivery workers and several Shein and Temu customers gathered outside a J&T Express warehouse in the seaside city of Cancún to demand better pay for the workers and ask the company to search for their lost orders. “J&T Express lost my order inside [the warehouse]. As a long-time Shein shopper, I know these honest workers are not to blame,” Paola, an affected customer, told Cancún Al Minuto, a local news channel , at the time.

Some delivery workers say shoppers unwittingly exacerbate delivery issues. “People don’t always know how to fill out a delivery address,” Demetrio, a third-party delivery worker at J&T Express in Jalisco, told Rest of World. He said incorrect addresses slow down deliveries and that he’s often mistreated by impatient shoppers.

Delivery workers’ names and phone numbers are generally visible to customers, who occasionally reach out. Sometimes, a customer calls Demetrio 10–12 times a day because they need whatever trinket they ordered immediately, he said. “I don’t know what’s their rush.” ▰

Daniela Dib is a reporter for Rest of World covering the tech and startup scene in Latin America. She is based in Mexico City.