Introduction
Budget online retail sites like Temu have taken over popular culture and online buying habits in the past few years, potentially giving the big boys like Amazon, eBay and more traditional online retailers a run for their money.
With cost of living being a real issue for many people, it can be tempting to look to Temu for products, hoping they’re of a good enough quality to fulfil a need.
The thing is, Temu jokes haven’t surfaced for no reason. The low prices, long shipping times, and disparity between what’s pictured (which may well be created entirely, or doctored, by AI) and what arrives, make it all too easy.
Is it worth the risk? Even at low prices and longer waiting times, will you feel cheated if you buy a terrible music keyboard?
Our child’s electronic keyboard guide was written way before Temu, AliExpress and the like exploded onto the scene. We did cover toy keyboards but with the gear on offer on these low-cost sites, it’s a different matter.
What’s On Offer?
A quick look at Temu’s listings for “music keyboard” produces a lot of what you’d expect — images of predominantly five octave home keyboards, some on stands, some with women or children playing them, and shots of the instrument apparently being used in various locations including plush houses and campsites.
Searching for “digital piano” brings up much the same, as does “synth”, although the latter includes some pad type instruments.
Prices are generally low, although not all are as low as some of the main keyboard manufacturers price their entry-level keyboards. Some have astonishing apparent reductions – but again this isn’t unusual and is seen across most online stores.
Quirks
Some of the most obvious quirks are in the images.
Take this “Portable Pocket Keyboard Piano for Early Learning And Education”. Forget the fact they’ve stuffed as many holiday keywords in as possible — just take a look at it.
Yes, it’s got seven black keys in a row. That’s not how piano keys are laid out. If “1” is a C, then black note 4 is masquerading as an E# (E# is actually an F in Western equal temperament tuning), while black note 1 is a B# or Cb…
How about this “multifunction electronic piano”?
There’s no way a standard cable is fitting in that weird USB port.
Or how about these three images which are on the same product listing, so should be the same product.
In the first image, we’re led to believe this is a digital piano on a sturdy stand. In the second image it’s sitting on a table and has gained a load of control buttons on the left hand side. In the third picture, it’s apparently helping “elderly people to pass the time” — the trouble is, it seems to gain black notes in every image. Oh, it’s foldable, apparently.
Does Brand and Price Matter?
To some extent, brand matters. When considering entry-level and toy keyboards, the significant of the brand is perhaps reduced, but is still relevant.
There are a huge number of budget brands, mainly emanating from China, which offer basic functionality in a low-cost instrument. And yes, the more established, perceived quality brands such as Yamaha, Casio and Roland also use labour from China.
However, their standards and requirements are usually more exacting. Issues surrounding very cheap, “no-name” brands include:
- Low build quality: cheap materials are used and not always well constructed.
- Low sound quality: speakers are usually small, sound producing chips are low grade, notes may be out of tune or not correctly pitched for each key.
- Poor keyboard: can be inconsistently weighted, keys can easily stick or break.
- Battery hungry: those which run from battery power are often not power efficient so use up batteries extremely quickly.
- Dangerous: lower quality and standards mean there can be an increased risk of electric shock, overheating, and other malfunction. This is especially concerning when the product is used by a child.
- No warranty or right of return: Despite everything Temu and similar marketplaces say, it can be difficult or impossible to get a refund if the product is not as advertised or is defective.
Conversely, bigger and more trusted brands (even those which might be considered ‘budget’) offer higher quality, a proven track record, better and more consistent build quality, and warranties or guarantees which are honoured.
It’s not a coincidence that you can’t buy instruments from the likes of Yamaha, Casio or Roland on Temu.
The irony is that many of the more well-known brands already offer very good deals on entry level keyboards, digital pianos and toy keyboards, and retailers like Amazon or Reverb already offer significant discounts throughout the year.
Conclusion
It would be wrong of us (and we could get into trouble) for saying that everything on Temu is tat. I’m sure it’s not. The selling platform wouldn’t be as popular if it was consistently bad. However, the quest for a bargain can lead people to be easily wowed by AI photos, pumped up specs, and brands which look and feel like they might be a bit like that well-known keyboard brand you’ve heard of…
Our advice:
- Stick with well-known brands
- Read reviews from trusted publications, not just customer reviews on product pages
- Look for deals on new keyboards on manufacturers’ web sites and stores like Amazon.
- Look for deals on second-hand/vintage keyboards on trusted marketplaces like Reverb.
Most brands popping up on Temu won’t make it into our keyboard database — or if they do, they’ll be flagged as potential liabilities.
Further Reading
Here are some other resources we’ve put together which may help in your buying decisions:
- Choosing your child’s keyboard instrument
- Best digital pianos for different skill levels (2025 Edition)
- 10 best digital pianos and music keyboards for kids (2025 Edition)
- What’s a PSO? Warning over cheap digital pianos
- A keyboard is not just for Christmas: A buyers guide
- Ten toy pianos you and your child will love
- Small keyboards for young children: the best of 2021
