Buying hardware from China is very tempting, as the prices are usually much lower. Unfortunately there are some drawbacks, such as long waiting time (even up to 2 months). And there is always a risk that we will have to pay VAT and customs on delivery. Those things are pretty straightforward and you either are willing to wait and take the risk or not.
There is one more factor however that is often overlooked - warranty. Most people think that Chinese warranty does not apply to them. And even if it did, it would cost like 50€ or more to send it. Fortunately this is not the case.
If your phone has warranty in China - you can still take advantage of it. You just need to send it to their service center in China, they will repair it and send it back.
And it will cost much less then you think. You just need to use the national post rather than courier services. For example sending from Germany would cost 7€, from the UK £5.90 (~6.60€), and from Poland 21.80 PLN (~5€). See screenshots at the end of this article for details.
It will take some time for sure. But sometimes even if you think you have local warranty service, what really happens is they still send your phone to China, repair it, and send it back. Or they wait few weeks for parts from China to arrive. And sure, it doesn't happen in case of major brands like Samsung, but if you're on a tight budget and are considering spending much more just for "EU warranty" it's probably not worth it.
