Xiaomi beta testing its UK accessory store

Xiaomi may be busy expanding its smartphone business around Asia, Brazil and India, but the company also has time for us over here in the UK too. Xiaomi will be beta testing the launch of its UK online accessories store with a limited quantity sale next week.

Starting from May 19^th at 12pm GMT, customers will be able to purchase a small selection of Mi branded accessories from Mi.com. To start with, limited quantities for the very reasonably priced 5000mAh and 10400mAh Mi power banks, the Mi Band fitness tracker, and Mi Headphones will be available to purchase.

However, one important point to note is that the products will be shipped directly from Xiaomi’s warehouses in China, meaning that UK customers will still have to pay import duties on any goods purchased. Small, cheap purchases, such as the power banks and Mi band might just slip under the £15 VAT free limit for imports from outside of the EU, depending on the GBP retail price and shipping costs.

Fortunately, Xiaomi will display the costs at checkout and handle the payment of taxes and duties on your behalf, to avoid any nasty surprises. You can read more about tax and duty here, to better understand the extra costs.

If you want to grab yourself something from the store  next week, you can already sign up for a Mi Account to save yourself some time and login before the sale starts.