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Q: Sell/Ship phones from China
Hi!
I have been living in China for almost 4 years...during this time people often ask me to help them buy some Chinese phones ( XiaoMi, Oppo. Huawei...) and send the phones to them. I sent phones to friends or family, but only one each time.
Sometimes I have to say no because I'm afraid of customs. I don't know the regulations/laws in China. Is there a legal way to frequently ship phones abroad?
Thank you!
Regards,
I left my iphone in China, my GF can't mail it back to me because it has a lithium battery in it. You can mail lithium batteries into China but not out. I have bought lithium batteries from China tho.
I cannot comment on the customs regulations but I can comment on the lithium battery points as shipping hazardous material was my field in my previous career.
Lithium itself is extremely hazardous to the point of being an explosive when it gets wet, (I saw a VERY impressive display of what happens when lithium is dropped in water). Therefore to ship it, you would have to go through an agent authorised to package and ship hazardous material, that would not be cheap, in the UK typical costs are £1,000 per package with extra per Kg.
It would probably be easier to ship them without the battery and purchase batteries in your home nation, but beware when the battery in my phone in the UK got 'tide marked' I found it very difficult to find a replacement battery and when I did I was quoted £100 for a replacement!
cooter:
Yes, elemental Lithium is quite reactive when exposed to water. As is elemental Sodium, elemental Potassium, and any other elemental located in the first column of the periodic table. But, in batteries, they use a Lithium-ion. Just like Sodium Chloride (table salt) is an ion....but you know it doesn't explode when coming in contact with water. Just like the Lithium ion in a battery won't explode either. The shipping concerns about Lithium ion batteries are more worried with rapid discharge/overheating issues. Ok, taking my ChE hat back off now 
Hugh.G.Rection:
Cooter the demonstration I saw was from the back of a C130; some military grade Lithium batteries that had been smuggled onto the aircraft as spare batteries for their radio systems were jettisoned out the back of the aircraft, the resulting explosive water spout I estimate at about 50ft above the sea within seconds of the batteries hitting the water. Now I don't know what kind of lithium was in those batteries but I do know I don't want them anywhere near me and / or water.
