We're certain you've seen a wealth of ads from Wish.com on Facebook. In fact, you'll probably have seen the site advertised across the internet, including memes mocking the “expectation vs. reality” of Wish purchases. There's the saying, “you get what you pay for”—does this mean you can’t trust Wish’s dirt-cheap prices?

On the one hand, it’s easier than ever for you to get inexpensive items from around the world. On the other, this emerging market of overseas digital stores makes it easy to fall for scams. Is Wish another risk?

What Is Wish.com?

From fashion and jewelry to hygiene products and furniture, you can find pretty much anything on Wish. Founded back in 2010, some of us still remember when Wish wasn't an online giant.

In its infancy, Wish.com was comparable to Pinterest. Using Facebook logins, users could sign into Wish and upload any products they found cool or exciting. When products received a pre-determined number of favorites, the users who uploaded them received rewards. These came in the form of PayPal rebates or Amazon gift cards for purchasing the products.

As the site quickly grew in popularity, the site started selling products directly. Rewards abruptly switched to limited-time coupons on Wish itself until the reward system faded out entirely.

Wish has since discontinued its plug-in and disabled the ability to post products from third-party sites, moving away from its humble beginnings.

Instead, it now has its own inventory. Wish even started carrying some of the top-liked items so users could purchase them from the site itself. In the last decade, Wish boomed into an e-commerce empire. They are now known for their oddly specific targeted ads and suspiciously low prices.

But does that mean you can't actually trust what you buy from Wish?

Is Wish a Scam?

When you see elegant wedding dresses or cutting-edge technology advertised for a tenth of the price, you should be suspicious.

Wish can be hit or miss. It often falsely advertises items that are unrecognizable on arrival. Items can come much later than expected, and are much lower quality than suggested.

That being said, there are nonetheless plenty of people willing to sacrifice quality for a decent price. Millions of people use Wish and purchase their products every day. The site is an online giant for a reason.

Asking if Wish is a scam is rather complicated. It depends on how you define scams. If you make a purchase on Wish, the site will send you something that's generally close enough to the product you added to your basket. Some items and departments are more reliable than others.

However, there are many cases where Wish delivers something that looks nothing like what you want. Wish is not a site that regularly delivers quality. It carries many knock-off products, and you should never purchase brand-name items there, thinking you will get legit licensed products.

Many people find that the prices are low enough to make it worth the risk. While you should probably steer clear of Wish's $100 washer machines or $50 “Apple accessories”, it’s not a huge loss if that $5 top or $3 speaker doesn’t work out.

It’s also not a complete risk as the store does have returns and satisfaction-guaranteed policies. Of course, many criticize the complicated return process and warn others not to rely on that working out for them.

You do have further guarantees provided by the financial service you use to pay for your purchase, though. Credit cards offer you money back should an item not be satisfactory. PayPal, too, lets you file complaints within a certain period of time after you place an order.

Why Is Wish So Cheap?

Wish cuts out the middle man and sends customers products directly from sellers. Instead of having a physical location (or even a processing warehouse), Wish directs all orders directly to manufacturers. This business model is known as “dropshipping.”

Essentially, Wish will post a product available on another, cheaper site or factory at a slightly higher cost than they pay for the item. When you place an order using the platform, the site automatically places the order on its supplier’s site using Wish's payment information and your address.

The supplier sends the product to you as if you bought it directly on their site.

This is why Wish items don’t usually come in special packaging. It also explains why Wish orders can take a very long time to reach you. Some orders can take months to arrive. Be sure to note the shipping time of your order before buying an anniversary or birthday gift.

This model is not exclusive to Wish. Many other online retailers use this business model. In fact, it’s really easy to set up a dropshipping business yourself.

You may notice that the social media ads you see often promote seemingly the same product with different names and prices. It happens because different stores typically use the same suppliers, like the notoriously inexpensive AliExpress.

Sometimes, the similarity is there because the products are a blatant rip-off. China, the source of many of these products, does not face the same restrictions as designers do in the West, so they can “recreate” designer items.

If you recognize that the bag from Gucci and a Wish ad look almost identical, remember that they are not the same.

It is also worth noting that these factories aren't necessarily ethical. The conditions for workers in these factories are under-regulated and are illegal in countries like the United States or Canada. They can produce products so cheaply because they pay their workers very little and force them to make as much as possible.

Of course, they are not the only stores that fail to implement ethical practices in their business model. You’d be surprised at how many companies exploit workers overseas. There are ethical alternatives to your online shopping, but they often have smaller selections and are more expensive.

Should I Shop at Wish?

Whether or not you want to shop at Wish is a personal choice. While you can rest easy knowing that the site is not a total scam, you should not put too much trust into it.

Wish is a great place to buy cheap gag gifts or find trendy accessories, but you should be prepared to sacrifice quality for those low prices. Remember: you get what you pay for.