
Phone Importation – How to import New Phones from China
If you have been looking for a way to import new phones from China to Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa or any African country then this article is for you.
There are types of phones you can import from China.
- The Global brands
- The Chinese OEM brands.
The Global Phone brands.
The smartphone global brands include;
- iPhone
- Samsung
- Huawei – Redmi, Nova
- Vivo
- Xiaomi
- OnePlus
- Oppo
- ZTE
- Realme
- Meizu etc.
Infinix, Tecno are yet to be in our list of global brands. The reason is because there’s no easier way to import these brands directly without the need to reach out to the distributor in your country.
- Tmall.com
- Taobao.com
- 1688.com
- Gearbest.com
- Jd.com
- AliExpress
Why is Alibaba is not in this list?
How do I circumvent buying a copy phone from China?
- Greed. If you can be able to beat greed then you’re 90% safe.What’s greed?
Greed is quite an unconscious act. Let’s say you saw a new iPhone XR for N90,000 ($122) and you jumped into it to almost getting yourself injured.
There’s a cliche that we use to deceive ourselves, buying from china is very cheap.
Once that rings into our mind, pheww we’re gone. Not every good deal is actually a good deal.
A new iPhone XR was never sold below $300. So, why would it be sold for $122 in China even when there’s no longer new iPhone 11? - IgnoranceThis is another factor to deal with while buying new phones from China. There are some phone listings on Alibaba and 1688 that have wrong specifications.
Let’s say you want to buy new Samsung A70 on Alibaba. You may specifications like battery capacity- 10,000mah; Ram – 10GB, internal storage- 512GB, 5G network, Android 12.The first thing to do is to go to YouTube to confirm the specifications of this smartphone. You can also go to gsmarena.com to verify these specifications together with their prices.When you see that these specifications do not match the original specifications of A70, it is very wise to back down.There are some listings that say refurbished or renewed. You have to consider what it actually means before committing to them.
How do I buy new phones from China?
- Tmall.com
- Taobao.com
- 1688.com
- Gearbest.com
- Jd.com
- AliExpress.com
How to import new phones from Tmall, Jd, 1688 or Taobao
- Open the app. You can get the app from play store or app store.
- Search iPhone. You will get options of iPhones.
- Browse each seller, check their ratings and reviews.
- You can now consider buying from the seller you have concluded buying from. Make sure that they offer free returns be it 7 days or 14 days.
- If you have an account with them to place order yourself and a shipping company to handle the shipment, you can go ahead to place order. Else, continue reading.
How to buy new phones from AliExpress or Gearbest in China.
- First, you don’t need to have a shipping address in China because AliExpress or Gearbest can deliver to your country.
- Launch the app – AliExpress app or Gearbest app. They can be downloaded from Appstore or Play store.
- Search the phone you want to buy. Make sure the specifications match the original specifications. Watch out for reviews before buying.
- Choose your shipping method. Make sure that the shipping method you choose is trackable else you may risk losing your item. Run away from free shipping where tracking is not available.
- Then enter your address. It could be your Nigerian office address or home address.
- When the phone arrives. You will get a notification from the post office closest to you. Then take the tracking number along to claim your package. You will need to pay a small fee for local handling at the post office.
What’s a refurbished iPhone or Samsung?
The Chinese OEM brands.
- Remove it in your mind to get a new great phone at that price. It’s greed. Being from China doesn’t make it “made in heaven for the poor”.
- Ask the seller the actual specifications of the phone. They are actually well written on the product page on 1688 and sometimes on Alibaba. For Alibaba, ask the seller for the actual specifications.
How can I ship phones from China to Nigeria?

CEO & Founder at Freightya. He loves sharing useful information for small business on importation. He is unbiased in his thoughts. For importation, mentorship, feel free to reach out to Chuks.
Arthur moses
I need iPhone 12 pro Max