How I got the Analogue Pocket Aluminum Edition to China without the usual paperwork

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More about shipping to China

• Why I obsessed over the Aluminum Edition
• The struggle of buying from US stores in China
• The lazy way I bypassed credit card blocks
• Shipping the Analogue Pocket to China
• Weight and battery specs you need to know
• Dealing with import tax and customs

Why I obsessed over the Aluminum Edition

If you are part of the retro gaming community in Hong Kong or mainland China, you already know the Analogue Pocket is the crown jewel of handhelds. But the Aluminum Edition? That is a different beast entirely. We are talking about a solid block of CNC-machined aluminum. It feels premium, it looks incredible, and it plays my old Game Boy cartridges better than the original hardware did.

The problem is that these things sell out in minutes. I missed the first drop because I was trying to figure out if they would ship directly to my house. Spoiler: they do, but it is expensive and often gets stuck in customs hell. I decided that for the 2026 restock, I needed a smarter, lazier approach to get my hands on one.

The struggle of buying from US stores in China

Buying directly from boutique US manufacturers like Analogue can be a nightmare if you live in China. My first attempt failed because my local credit card was flagged. Many US-based shops are notorious for blocking international payments or refusing to ship to what they perceive as high-risk addresses. I realized that if I wanted to shop US store selections without my order getting cancelled, I needed a better middleman.

I started looking for a reliable freight forwarder that could give me a legitimate US presence. That is when I found comGateway. They provide a tax-free US address in Oregon, which is a huge win because it saved me about 9% in US sales tax right off the bat.

The lazy way I bypassed credit card blocks

The real "lazy method" secret is the BuyForMe service. I am sure many of you have experienced the frustration of a store like Nike or Apple declining your order because your billing address is in China. Analogue can be just as picky. Instead of fighting with the checkout page, I used comGateway's proxy shopping service.

We basically just tell them what we want to buy, and they use a US domestic credit card to purchase it on our behalf. This is the safest way to guarantee the order actually goes through. No more "Order Cancelled" emails hitting my inbox at 3 AM. If you want a step-by-step guide on how this works, their site explains it clearly, but honestly, you just paste the link and they do the work.

Shipping the Analogue Pocket to China

Once the item arrived at my US address, I had to decide on the best international shipping method. Since this is an expensive, limited-edition piece of hardware, I wasn't going to risk it with a cheap, untracked service. I opted for a premium parcel forwarding service that offers tracking via DHL international shipping or FedEx international shipping.

Weight and battery specs you need to know

Before you commit, you should check the shipping calculator to estimate shipping cost. Here is what I found for the Analogue Pocket Aluminum Edition:

Dealing with import tax and customs

The final hurdle is always the import tax. China's customs can be strict with electronics. By using a professional package forwarding service, the paperwork is handled much more professionally than if a friend just mailed it to you. You should be prepared to pay the customs tax based on the declared value of the Aluminum Edition, which is higher than the standard plastic model. Check our guide on import duties to see the current 2026 rates for gaming consoles.

In the end, my Pocket arrived in Shanghai in about 6 days after leaving the Oregon warehouse. No phone calls from customs, no rejected credit cards, and no stress. If you are looking for the path of least resistance to get US-only tech, this is definitely the way I recommend doing it.