I Imported iPhone Chargers from China: Costs, Profit and Mistakes

Why I chose iPhone chargers

About two years ago, I decided to try something that a lot of people talk about: importing products from China to sell in Portugal. At the time, I chose a product that seemed obvious to me, something that would sell quickly and be easy to handle logistically: iPhone chargers.

The logic was simple. It is a cheap product, everyone needs one, and it seemed to have a good margin. I ordered 50 units of those 20W fast chargers for iPhone.

The price per unit was only 1.70 dollars. At first glance, it really seemed like a great deal. 50 chargers at 1.70 dollars is 85 dollars.

But that wasn't what I actually paid. On top of the product price, there were bank fees and Alibaba fees, which added about 19 dollars more. So the chargers really cost me around 104 dollars before a single one had left China:

• Product: 50 × 1.70 dollars = 85 dollars
• Bank fees and Alibaba fees: about 19 dollars
• Total paid for the chargers: around 104 dollars

That was the first small surprise. The price on the listing is not the price you pay. Up to this point, though, everything still seemed fine.

Shipping and VAT: where the real cost appeared

Then came the shipping part. And this is where I really started to learn.

At the time, I did not have a trusted Chinese agent to handle the logistics, so I had to rely on the supplier to arrange the shipping. After some back and forth, I realized that air shipping with taxes and duties already included was the simplest option for me, especially because I did not fully understand how to calculate import costs.

The shipping cost was 65 dollars, and on top of that there was VAT of around 15 dollars. In the end, the total shipping cost came to approximately 80 dollars.

When I did the math, it looked like this: around 104 dollars for the chargers plus 80 dollars to get them to Portugal is 184 dollars. Divided by 50, each charger no longer cost 1.70 dollars, but about 3.68 dollars per unit, more than double.

That was my first reality check. I realized that the product price is almost never the real cost.

Pricing and selling them

Even so, it still looked like there was margin. I did some research and saw that these chargers were being sold in stores for between 19 and 25 dollars. At that point, I felt like I had found a good opportunity and decided to sell them for around 13 dollars, negotiable.

At that moment, it really felt like I had found an easy business.

In practice, I listed them on Vinted and Wallapop and sold them from there, at a steady pace.

What it taught me

But this experience was not just about selling.

It helped me understand how importing from China really works, how costs add up, and how small decisions can directly impact your profit.

Looking back, the biggest mistake is thinking that a cheap product means easy profit. In reality, hidden costs can turn a good deal into a problem.

What I would do differently

If I had to do it again, I would do a few things differently. I would probably try to find a shipping agent earlier, so I could reduce shipping costs and make the product more competitive.

Still, it was an experience worth having.

It was exactly this process that helped me understand how the game works and avoid bigger mistakes in the future.

And for that alone, it was worth it.