Amazon Haul, first introduced in November 2024, had a strong first year despite the tariffs that have challenged it and competitors in the ultra-low-price segment such as Temu and Shein. Despite these headwinds, Amazon Haul has increased its product assortment by 400% and expanded from a mobile-only, U.S.-only site to serving customers in 25 countries.
“Since Haul’s launch, we’ve enhanced our shopping experience with significantly improved personalization and new features like integrated Amazon Live content, and continued to bring in even more low-priced products,” said Dharmesh Mehta, VP, Worldwide Selling Partner Services at Amazon in a blog post. “Amazon Haul offers incredible value across a ton of popular product categories. We currently have over 1 million items available for sale in Haul that are priced under $10, with many under $5.”
Amazon will mark Haul’s first anniversary with a two-day shopping event featuring thousands of items priced at just $1 on the first day, and “hidden treasures” priced for $0.11 on the second day. Conveniently, this massive sale occurs on the same days as one of the world’s biggest shopping binges, Singles Day, which rivals Amazon’s Prime Days in volume.
Tariff Changes Endanger China Import Business Model
Amazon Haul’s momentum is all the more remarkable considering the challenges faced by other manufacturer-direct platforms like Shein and Temu. In April 2025 both retailers were forced to raise prices as U.S. tariff policy increased their costs dramatically. In addition, the elimination of the de minimis loophole, which had allowed many of the sites’ products to be imported with no tariffs, was another blow to the business model. The apps also began cracking down on issuing refunds even if a product was not returned and dramatically slashed their ad spending.
Advertisement
Shein and Temu have faced additional challenges that predate the tariff changes. In September 2024 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission called for an investigation into the operations of foreign-owned ecommerce site, naming Shein and Temu specifically. There had been reports of both retailers selling potentially dangerous items such as crib bumpers, illegal in the U.S. since 2022, and drawstring hoodies in toddler and kids’ sizes, which present a choking hazard.
Similar concerns about the types of products sold on these platforms made international headlines earlier this month, when France threatened to ban Shein from the country amid reports that the platform was selling sex dolls with a disturbingly “childlike” appearance. And while France ultimately has withdrawn its plans for a ban now that the products have been removed, Shein remains under fire in the country, with protesters staking out the company’s first physical shop, which opened last week in the historic BHV department store.
And in September 2025 Temu was fined $2 million to resolve allegations that the platform violated the INFORM Consumers Act of 2023 for not providing ways for consumers to report suspicious activity or even to directly identify and contact high-volume third-party sellers.
