Hi Nairalanders,

This is strictly for anyone who desires to build a custom PC for just about anything, including Gaming (this is quite popular), video editing, graphic design, CAD/Animation/Rendering, or just for office usage in Nigeria.

I want you to know that IT IS VERY POSSIBLE TO BUILD YOUR OWN PC, with the best components available from Amazon. Why do I say this? Here are my reasons:

1. Most of the products sourced directly from China are sub-standard. This is because most of the components you find at Computer Village, Lagos are sourced directly from China, and of course, you know how Nigerian businessmen cut corners with goods sourced directly from China. They compromise on the quality of these hardware components, and of course, as far as I know, the Nigerian SON actually doesn't enforce standards when it comes to the importation of products.

2. Amazon now ships most items directly to Nigeria, unlike in the past. You can opt for this option if you don't want to use a third-party logistics company.

3. Products sourced from Amazon has passed the stringent American customs checks, so at most, you are getting good value for your money.

4. I don't know about now, but back then, it was hard to get a shop that stocked any kind of high quality hardware for building PCs. So it's actually better to source your components directly from Amazon. You get exactly what you want, not what some guy at Computer Village convinces you to buy... those guys sha

Having said these, let me tell my story.

In 2013, I built my first Custom PC with components sourced from Amazon, (instead of from Ogbunabali in PH). I used Circuit Atlantic (which later became Shippyme) to purchase the components and ship them down to Nigeria. Then, the Naira to dollar exchange rate was more favorable - N260 to a dollar. I bought a PC based on the 4th Gen Intel processor, with everything costing around N140,000.

That PC build helped me in video editing, graphic design, and I often gamed on it (though I'm not a hardcore gamer). The processor was an Intel Core i5 3570K, an Intel motherboard (I realized later that the board doesn't support overclocking, though the processor did... too bad), the graphics card was an Nvidia GTX 660 2GB, RAM 24GB Komputerbay, HDD 3TB Seagate Barracuda, backlit gaming keyboard and mouse, Power Supply Cooler Master, and the CPU Cooler was Arctic Freezer.

I'm telling you this to let you know that it is possible, if I was able to do it then, you can do it today. I didn't make it up; it's my experience I'm just sharing.

So when the components finally arrived, I couldn't sleep for joy. I simply put the whole thing together, and my PC came alive. Well, to cut a long story short, that PC is still kicking it today. I use it to edit even 1080p videos.

Fast forward to 2018. I built a website https://www.buildmypc.com.ng for dropshipping PC components from Amazon to Nigeria. But the business strategy was faulty. In that first year, I didn't make any sale. I wasn't discouraged. What I did was to change the site model from an e-commerce to a content site. Thankfully, it's doing better now. I did this to help people who want to build their own PCs, but don't know where to start.

Now to business. If you want to build a custom PC in Nigeria, it's quite possible. Let me list out the steps here.

1. You need a guide on which type of PC to build, or which components to buy. You can get a free guide with hardware recommendations on https://www.buildmypc.com.ng.
2. When you have completed your orders on Amazon, you need a third-party logistics company to send your stuff to Nigeria. There are a couple of them that are reputable.
3. For the actual build, it's not that hard. Building PCs these days is like putting pieces of lego together. If you don't get it, it won't explode lol, it just won't work. So don't be afraid. We have plenty of guides on https://www.buildmypc.com.ng for any kind of build, whether gaming, video editing, CAD/Rendering, streaming, graphic design, music production, etc.

Now to the question, How do you get your components down to Nigeria?

Here, you have 2 options:

1. Use the Amazon direct shipping to Nigeria (which is not that expensive in some cases)
2. Or use a third-party logistics company.

Here is a list of third-party logistics companies that can do the lifting for you. Please note that I'm just recommending. How they eventually handle your items is their responsibility. I have not been paid to recommend them, so this is just an honest recommendation - no strings attached:

1. www.MyUS.com
These guys are good, but they don't ship directly to all cities in Nigeria, except Lagos. You will get a US address which you will use for your Amazon purchases. They have a logistics company in Nigeria they partner with, who will charge you another fee for clearing and forwarding to any location in Nigeria, except Lagos. So please know that you may end up paying more if you decide to use MyUS.com. Check the site for their shipping rates, which are not that high.

2. https://www.fedex.com/en-ng/shipping.html
They are also reputable and fast. They have different charges for different shipping speeds. Check the site for their shipping rates.

3. https://www.shoptomydoor.com/
ShopToMyDoor is also good, but they tend to charge more for their shipping. You will get a US address which you will use on your Amazon purchase. Check the site for their shipping rates.

4. https://heroshe.com/
I havent used them before, but I think they are ok. They charge $5 for a pound of cargo. They will assign you a US address for use on Amazon. They also have a Buy for Me Service https://heroshe.com/#buy-for-me which you can take advantage of, if your Verve card isn't accepted on Amazon, they will help you get the products you need even if the store doesn’t accept Nigerian cards or ship to Nigeria. They’ll shop for you and ship right to your location in Nigeria for a small fee.

5. https://www.parcelmonkey.com/destinations/africa/nigeria
These guys are quite expensive. But they use the best courier services like DHL and UPS. Their prices start from $61.16 per pound. They offer fast shipping times ranging from as little as 1-3 business days with an express shipping service to 11-22 business days for an economy service.

6. https://www.shiptonaija.com/
I have not used these guys, you should find out for yourself. They charge as low as $3 per pound, which is quite economical. They'll give you an address for either Houston or Atlanta which you can use to purchase on Amazon. The company was founded by Nduka Ekeh when he lost up to $24,000 to a bad shipping company in 2009. He decided to set up a company that "will do things the right way".

7. https://wwwapps.ups.com/ctc/request?loc=en_NG
UPS is a reputable shipping company, albeit they are expensive, but not as much as DHL. However, you must have a shipping address in US, which they don't offer. Use them if you have one already that you can use.

8. https://www.easyship.com/
These guys are a bit expensive, though I haven't tried them. Check through the site, if you are OK, use them. They will also give you a free address.

That's all for now guys. If you have any experience with shipping companies that move stuff to Nigeria from US, please share here so others will benefit.

Thanks

Following

Op assuming I order an item in eBay using the US address that will be given to me by MyUS dot com, how will they (MyUS dot com) forward it to Nigeria?

That's their problem. Just know that they won't send it to your location in Nigeria, but to a third party clearing and forwarding company which will bill you again for clearing and forwarding to your location.