Buying a phone or laptop with crypto

A phone is the largest single purchase most people will make with crypto, and it is the one with the most ways to go quietly wrong. None of them are exotic. They are locks, regional variants, duty, and stock that does not exist.

Carrier locks

A locked handset works on one network and refuses every other SIM. It is worth noticeably less, and unlocking after the fact ranges from a form to impossible depending on the carrier. Any listing worth buying says "unlocked" explicitly, and the ones that do not say it are usually not.

The related check is the blocklist. A handset reported lost or stolen is barred by IMEI and will not register on networks in that country, regardless of who sells it to you. Ask for the IMEI before paying on any large purchase and check it — a seller who will not provide one has told you something.

Regional variants are not cosmetic

The same model number can be a different phone in different markets. Android flagships in particular ship different chipsets by region, and cellular band support varies — a handset built for one market can lose 5G bands on your local network. Apple's variants differ on SIM hardware: some regions ship dual physical SIM, others are eSIM-only.

If you plan to use a travel data plan, that last point matters. The eSIM guide covers what an eSIM needs from the handset. When you order from phones and tech, say which region you want and the variant can be matched before anything is bought.

Import duty is yours

A phone crossing a border is an import, and most countries charge duty and VAT on one. That is the buyer's liability, not the shop's, and it is charged by your own customs authority before the parcel is released. A seller who promises to "declare it low" is proposing you commit an offence to save a few percent, and it is the buyer whose name is on the parcel.

Work out what your country charges before you order. A great price plus 20% VAT plus a handling fee is often no longer a great price.

Sourced to order, not held in stock

Very few crypto shops warehouse phones, and the ones showing a live stock counter on a $1,200 handset are usually inventing it. Sourcing to order is slower — days rather than hours — and it is the honest version, because you cannot be sold something that was never available. What you should expect in exchange is a full refund, in the coin you paid, if the exact model cannot be found.

What to confirm before you send anything

Condition, in writing: new and sealed, or refurbished, or used. Lock status. Which regional variant. Whether the warranty is the manufacturer's or the shop's. And what happens if it cannot be sourced. For accessories the equivalent check is a serial number — Apple's coverage checker validates an AirPods or device serial in seconds, which is the fastest way to catch a counterfeit that photographs perfectly.

Warranty is geographic too

A manufacturer warranty is usually honoured in the region the device was sold for, and not necessarily where you live. In practice a repair on an imported handset can mean shipping it back to the market it came from, at your cost, which turns a free warranty claim into an expensive one.

That is not a reason to avoid importing. It is a reason to weigh a regional variant carrying local warranty support against a cheaper one that does not, before deciding which is actually the better price.

Once you are ready to pay, the networks guide covers which coin to send for a large order, and the main guide covers the rest of the process.