HOW TO IMPORT PHONES FROM CHINA/ START A PROFITABLE BUSINESS

0:00 In this particular video, I'm going to be sharing with you how you can import mobile phones from China. Now, before we get right into things, if you don't want to have any issues with me, you don't want us to go back and forth with things, just drop this very one misconception. That is most people think so far as it is from China, then it is fake. So far as it's from China, then it is not the original. Like you can never get an original version of a particular phone from China. I just want you to drop it right now if you don't want issues before we get right into things. If today is your first time of coming across this channel, I am Doki and over here I help you with tips and tricks on how to make your mini importation a very successful

0:45 one. Now, let's get right into the video. First thing you need to consider if you want to start importing mobile phones to start a business is to decide on the type of phones you actually want to import. Now, there are different type of phones you can get to import from China. But the most popular one is iPhones. So we have iPhones, we have um Samsung, Google Pixel, Nivo or Novo. Is it Nivo or Novo? That brand too is also very good. We have Redmi. Okay, and other brands that are not really popular, but they are also very very good phones. >> [snorts] >> Now, one question that most people always ask me about is Tecno and Infinix. Those popular phone brands in Africa over here. Now, when it comes to

1:32 importation, there is something we call like your brand, like you starting your brand or you branding a particular item. So like those Tecno and Infinix are sort of those kinds of branded phones. So it means that it is somebody's brand, like Doki over here, right? If I own Infinix, you can't go and get it in China or any other place to import unless you pass through me because I am like the sole owner of that particular brand. I hope you understand. So, that is why you cannot like get some of these phones to import from direct suppliers. Now, in deciding the type of phone to import, I would advise you to go in with iPhone, and you can actually supplement it with the other brands, right? Depending on the

2:20 type of phones that your target market or your target customers might actually be interested in. But, iPhone is like the most sought after. Now, when it comes to iPhone, we have different types of iPhone. We have the factory sealed. So, the factory sealed is like fresh in box. Everything is still fresh right from the factory. This particular one, it is not mostly very easy to get if the series is an older version. So, you can get series like the newest version. I'm saying the newest because more series are going to come, right? So, let's say like the latest one is like the 17 series, right? I don't know if 18 series is out. But, the latest one that I know

3:05 is the 17 series. So, the 17 series, you can get a fresh in box. If any person is telling you that you can get fresh in box for like um 12 series or 11 series, 13 series, even 14 series, 15, I am not sure about that. And I don't think the person is not being honest with you because the factory sealed ones are mostly the latest version. The next one is the open box iPhones. So, these open box, they are not used, but they have been opened. Like the seal have been opened. Probably somebody opened it, owned it, and decided, "Okay, I'm not really interested in this anymore." Like you don't know how some of these things come about but something like that might have happened,

3:52 and they are actually reselling it. Then we have the refurbished ones. So this particular one happens if there is an issue with the factory sealed ones. So somebody buys an iPhone, opens it and realize that there is a small issue with the iPhone. So the person can actually decide to send it back to the factory and the factory has professional repairers who actually repair these for it to look like new. But as you know, it has already been opened and worked on. Then we have the used iPhones. Now these used iPhones are like the most sought after. It is not everybody who can actually afford to get the latest

4:37 versions of iPhones. So most people or like the hot selling ones are the used iPhones. So these used iPhones are like iPhones that somebody has used for a while and the person is actually reselling it, right? So now all of these different types of phones that I have mentioned, how do you know if it's um used, open box and all of that. This is where getting a very honest supplier comes in. Once the supplier is honest, the person always tell you exactly what the situation is. If the phone has been worked on, that is if something has been replaced in the phone. A very honest supplier will just tell you that oh this phone has been worked on, right? If the

5:24 phone is fresh in box, the person will also um add it to the description that it is fresh in box. But as I said, you also have to be very very vigilant. Lower series, you will not get it fresh in box. It is mostly like the latest series that you can get fresh in box. So the supplier actually decides this sort of. If it is the other brands like Samsung, Google Pixel, and all of that, I wouldn't advise you to go into the used side of it because the most sought after used mobile phones is the iPhones. Most people rarely buy Samsung used or Google Pixel used. Though they buy, right? But I just mean it is on the

6:11 minimal. Somebody will prefer to buy a fresh inbox Samsung, right? So when it comes to this one, most of the time they are brand new. Most of the time they are brand new, but always ask the supplier to know if that um Samsung that you are about to buy, is it fresh inbox or it is used? But most of the other phones is mostly brand new. The most ones that are always used is the iPhones. Okay. Now, once you are done deciding on the type of phones, which I suggested that you go in for iPhones, and also you can supplement it with the other brands, the next thing is for you to define a model.

6:56 Define the business model. Define whatever thing that you are doing. Now, one business model that I would advise, if you don't have a lot of capital for this particular business, is to do the pre-order model. It works very, very well with mobile phones. Mobile phones and pre-order actually works very well because you don't want a situation whereby you have a lot of stock with you and you don't even know what to do with those stocks. Or people might not be interested in those types. Order is also going to help you define your target customers. Once you start pre-ordering, you would now know that okay, most of my people are interested in this or most of the people that I mostly sell to, they are interested in this type, in this

7:42 series. So, if probably in future you decide to actually stock up to sell, you know the exact ones to actually go in for. Now, how does this whole pre-order works? First, you just get a reliable supplier, which I will show you how to. Once you get the reliable supplier, the next thing is for you to get the price of the item. Once you get the price of the item, the next thing for you is to get the shipping cost, the estimated shipping cost of that item. Now, over here you can actually do it with or without shipping, but you have to clearly define it with your target customer, the product you are selling to. If you'll be adding the shipping cost, which is very risky because you might not know exactly how much it will cost when it finally lands,

8:30 right? But, after your first, second, third shipment, you would have had a fair idea of how it is. But, as you start, you might not know exactly how much to add on shipping. So, I will I will advise you that you just give out the price of the item. So, once you get the price, you're going to add your profit to it. Now, this profit you can compare it with the market price because pre-order should be a bit lower than the market price, right? The next thing you're going to do is finding reliable suppliers. You can either use the sourcing apps or you can use a direct supplier. When it comes to the sourcing apps, we have 1688. Now, one big mistake that most beginners do or people who don't really understand

9:15 this importation very well do is they search for iPhones on 1688. Now, you can get original iPhones from 1688, but it is very, very minimal. The percentage of getting an original iPhone on 1688 is very, very low, especially if you're a beginner. You don't know how to source very very well. You don't know how to find very legit suppliers. You are really going to struggle or you might find yourself wanting or you might find yourself in the hands of the wrong supplier. Most of the iPhones or even the other versions like Samsung that you see on 1688, they are mostly clone phones. Now, what are clone phones? They are phones that

10:02 behave like iPhone or Samsung but it is not originally iPhone or Samsung. Which some of you always end up getting. Then you will now have the mindset that you can never get an original phone from China. That is just it. So, 1688, I wouldn't advise you to get your iPhones on the 1688 app. Though it is another place you can source but if you are not very good at sourcing, just try your possible best to avoid. The next sourcing app you can get phones from is Pinduoduo. Pinduoduo is also another very great app that you can get iPhones, you can get Lenovo, you can get Redmi and other branded phones. On the Pinduoduo app,

10:47 you can even get flagship stores on the Pinduoduo app for mobile phones. Now, what are these flagship stores? These flagship stores are stores that are certified by the company. Let's say if you get an iPhone flagship store on Pinduoduo, it means that iPhone themselves have certified that particular store for it to be there. So, it means that anything at all you're buying, you're buying directly from the company or you're buying the original version of that particular item. Pinduoduo is that place that you can get flagship stores for different versions of phones, Lenovo, Redmi and all of that. Once you know how to do your sourcing very well,

11:33 you can the possibility of getting these flagship stores is very, very high. Now, something is currently happening on the Pinduoduo app. They've actually cleared all the older versions. So, I think from iPhone 13 downwards, 13, 12, 11, XR, all those downwards, you cannot get them on the Pinduoduo app. I don't know what the exact issue is, but we just realized that you cannot get those versions on the Pinduoduo app. But, the higher versions you can actually get. And also, other mobile phones. As I said in the beginning, it is not only I like they have very, very good phones, too. But, it's just that most of the time we

12:18 just feel like these phones are not good phones, they're not original. But, once you actually get your hand on one of them, and you actually use it, you're actually going to testify to it. Now, one misconception I spoke about from the beginning is most of you actually feel that iPhones from China is not original. See, I have done many unboxing of iPhones over here. Even this phone that I'm using to film right now, it is an iPhone that I imported from China. It is an original iPhone. This The one that I'm currently using is the UK used. So, we have UK, we have US, we have the China version, we have um Hong Kong. There are different, different versions. So, the fact that you get an iPhone that uses two SIMs, doesn't mean that that iPhone is fake. The first iPhone I

13:05 bought, that was the 12 Pro Max, that particular one is the China version, and it was using two SIMs. This particular one is um US version. Right? So, it just means that there are different dynamics to it which you just have to sit down and really learn. Once you learn and you understand these dimensions, then you can actually be able to succeed in this particular um app. phone business. The next one is on the Idle Fish. Now, this particular platform over here, you can actually source for gadgets. You can source for mobile phones, laptops, anything gadgets at all, and they even sell other mobile phones. You can actually source for um original quality phones from this

13:51 particular place. Now, one thing I've realized on this Idle Fish app is that you can actually um import the lower versions or the older versions. You remember I said the Pinduoduo, now the older versions are no more on it. So, the option can actually be this Idle Fish. Once you go on to the Idle Fish app, you can actually be able to get the older versions of it. Now, this particular Idle Fish also, you can get flagship stores. That is, you can get stores that are from the direct companies or that are certified by the original companies. I've personally seen Huawei flagship store on the Idle Fish app. I've seen their shop over there. Once you do your sourcing very well, you can

14:38 actually be able to get some of these mobile phones. So, the Huawei, they have their phones, their laptops, anything Huawei at all, you can actually get it on this Idle Fish app. Now, these apps are originally made for the Chinese people. So, most of the time, everything is Chinese, right? But you can actually be translating it so that you actually understand whatever thing that is happening. But there are still dynamics to these particular apps. If you don't understand these apps, please do not try it. Because the reason why I'm saying this is because most beginners just watch videos like this,

15:23 Then the fact that you have mentioned Pinduoduo, you have mentioned Idle Fish, they will just go and start buying things from these places without really understanding the platform. Now, I'm not saying don't go. That is even why I'm doing this video. You can actually do but make sure that you understand exactly what you are doing. Right? I have a course that you can join. Show you how you can actually be able to do this step-by-step so that you don't fall into the wrong hands, the wrong suppliers. You really understand what you are doing before you do it. You can actually join my course to do it. But anyways, do not try this without understanding the platform. That is my issue here. Don't try it without understanding the platform if you want to avoid a lot of

16:09 mistakes. You don't want to lose money in this particular business. Now, the last point is you buying from direct suppliers. Now, there are so many suppliers in China that has these mobile phones, these different different versions. So, some of these suppliers are actually on these platforms like um the 1688, Pinduoduo, the Idle Fish, and all of that. But you can also directly contact them. You have a direct supplier to these particular um mobile phones. All you have to do is to ask for their catalog or ask directly the the particular one that you want. If you want a 14 series, you ask for the 14 series catalog or prices of it. Or if you want the

16:54 whole catalog of the phones or whatever thing that the person is selling, you can ask. The person will send it to you. Then you choose whatever thing that you want. You can ask questions. One thing that will help you in this business when you are buying is asking questions. Is it used? Is it this? Is it that? What is um the memory? What is the so-so and so, right? Make sure you ask the relevant questions before you even go ahead to make any purchases from any supplier. Now, when you come to this my YouTube channel, okay? I have videos that I've given free suppliers on. I will not do it again cuz I've done quite a number of it. So, just go check. I will try to put those videos in the description. You can watch those videos

17:41 and get those suppliers that you can actually contact them to um to make your purchases or to start. I also have compiled a list of suppliers. These are like my premium suppliers. So, in this particular supplier list, you get suppliers for iPhones. iPhone suppliers too is part, but there are other suppliers too that are part of it. Okay, so it is not only iPhone suppliers. You get iPhone suppliers. We have suppliers for bags, shoes, clothing, whatever thing most of the things that we import to actually sell, you will get it on that particular supplier list. So, you can also check the description to get that supplier list so you can get um my

18:27 premium iPhone suppliers on that particular list to actually start this particular business. All of them are legit. Most of you will always come to my DM be like, "Dokie, I saw this supplier on your on your channel. Is it legit?" Please, it is legit, okay? But some people just want, you know, the premium side of it. So, I also make those suppliers available that you can actually um get, right? One important thing you need to do is to always verify your phones even before they leave China. Yes, especially the used ones. Now, sometimes you don't know what actually happens. Maybe the supplier didn't check it well, or if you get a supplier that is just

19:12 stubborn. Some of the suppliers they are just stubborn. Or if you get um a supplier that is not really honest, they can tell you that oh, the phone doesn't have any issues. The phone is is so so and so, but when you really get the phone in hand, you'll realize that the phone has one or two issues. Some of those things actually emerges. And one way to actually avoid this is for you to get a testing officer in China. Okay, this testing officer, I've also shared it before, but I will just add the testing officer. It's for you to get the testing officer. So, let's say that you have bought a phone from a supplier officer, the person will test it to see if everything is working perfectly just as the supplier said before they actually ship

19:59 it down to you. That's actually the use of the testing officer. Sometimes you can be working with a supplier for even years. But one day, they can decide to do some of these these honest things. It's just sometimes part of the importation business that we are in. So, always doing this can actually help you. And of course, it is at a fee. So, it is at an extra fee. But if you don't want to pay that extra fee, you can actually risk it. Yes, you can risk it for it to come. You yourself can check it out to see if there are any issues. If there are no issues, then you can sell it out. If there are issues, how do you send it back? Right? Though you can send it back, but it is not wise to send it back because how much you are going to be spending to send it back, you could have just used

20:46 it to actually repair it and continue using your phone. Right? So, these are some of the issues. As lucrative as it is, these are some of the issues that might emerge when you are actually into this particular mobile phone business, especially the used iPhones. Now, after you are done verifying, the next thing is for you to choose the right shipping method. Now, we have air and we have sea. So, the air, it is going to come by flight and the sea, it is going to come by sea, like in a container. Phones are considered fragile and battery goods. And most of the time, we don't advise you use the sea because during sea, there is a lot of mishandling.

21:32 And during the sea, too, they might not really pay much attention to your item because they might not even know what it is. Even if they know, they might not pay much attention to it. So, there might be misplacement sometimes. So, if you don't want to risk it that way, the one that I'll personally recommend for you to always use is to use air. So, it means that you need to get a shipping company that actually uses air. Please at all that you are, always try to use the air version. Though the air is expensive, but it is also worth it, right? But it doesn't mean that you cannot use the sea. I just told you some of the issues the sea has or some of the issues that might arise with the sea. So, if you still

22:18 want to use the sea, you can actually use sea, right? But it doesn't mean that you cannot use sea. You can use sea, but I'll always recommend you use air for items like mobile phones. Once your item arrives, calculate your landing cost very well. One thing that most people don't do very well is landing cost. How much you bought the item, if you sent it to um somebody to check it or the testing officer to test it, you have to add that. The air shipment, you have to add. Deliver to your house, you have to add before you will now add your own profit. So, that you know that yes, the business that you're actually running, it is a bit profitable for you, right? Somebody will be like, "Hey, Donkey, so after I've added all of these, don't you think

23:04 don't you think that the price will be too high?" iPhones are very, very affordable, okay? Depending on the series, but they are quite affordable than like the prices that you'll be getting them over here. So, if it's on pre-order basis, it's actually okay. Even if somebody wants it and you are buying it in stock to give to the person, you are also going to be getting a very, very good deal. But as I said, you can always compare the prices that the supplier is giving you and how much is being sold in Ghana to see if you have a good deal. But one thing you need to even consider is that yes, you can have two iPhone 11 that are used, but it is not the same. One person's used iPhone 11 might be

23:52 lower graded than somebody's iPhone 11, the other person's iPhone 11. Okay? So, you also have to consider the grades because they are in different grades according to how the phone has been handled or how long the phone has even been used. Right? So, that is also another thing that you have to actually consider. These are mistakes that you have to avoid in this particular business. Not understanding these platforms before you start buying on those platforms. Not knowing about phones like iPhones like this. You need to really understand the series. You need to really understand battery health. The next mistake you need to avoid is not checking. I've already spoken about but I want to really stress on it. Not checking the phone in China

24:38 before bringing it down. Always make sure it goes to the testing office to test it. But sometimes we just risk it, right? If you If you also want to risk on it, you can actually risk on it. But then the last one is overpricing. Yes, I know that um iPhones are quite profitable, But make sure that you are putting in a reasonable amount of profit so that at least your price will not be overpriced. So this is actually how you can be able to import phones from China. If today is your first time or if you haven't still subscribed to this channel, make sure you hit on the subscribe button and I'll be seeing you in my next video. It is bye-bye.