An electrical shop in Accra Central and a shop in a mall will sell you the same television at very different prices, and the difference is mostly what happens afterwards: who honours the warranty, and who you can find again.

— Where to shop in Accra

The places, and what each is for

Kwame Nkrumah Circle and Accra Central are where the city buys electrical goods: televisions, fans, speakers, fridges, small appliances, cables, and anything that needs replacing on a Saturday. Cheapest, widest, and the least protected if it fails.

Tip Toe Lane, at Circle, is the computer market - laptops, monitors, printers, parts, repairs, and the “UK used” trade in second-hand machines.

Melcom is the default for household appliances at a fixed price, with branches everywhere. Usually cheaper than a mall and far calmer than Circle.

China Mall and the big discount stores are for cheap homeware, fans, kettles, extension leads and things needed in bulk. Quality varies, and the price tells you which end you are at.

Malls and brand stores cost the most and are the easiest place to get a real manufacturer’s warranty, a receipt that means something, and a shop that will still be there in a year.

Online marketplaces cover everything, at prices between Circle and the malls, with the risks that come with paying before seeing.

— Buying online in Ghana — Buying a phone or laptop

Ask these four questions before you pay

  1. Is it new, refurbished or “home used”? All three are sold side by side and all three are legitimate. The price should differ sharply; ask which you are being offered.
  2. What warranty, from whom, and on paper? A seller’s word is not a warranty. Written, with a date, a stamp and a phone number.
  3. Will it run on Ghanaian power? Voltage, plug type, and whether it survives a sudden return of power after an outage.
  4. What happens if it fails in a week? The answer at a mall is a returns desk. At Circle, it is the relationship you have with that seller.

Counterfeits and near-copies

Accra has a great deal of merchandise that looks like a known brand and is not: chargers, batteries, cables, irons, blenders, “branded” speakers.

  • Look at the packaging, the spelling and the weight. A copy is usually lighter than the original.
  • Cheap chargers and extension leads are the ones that matter, because they are what burn houses down. This is the wrong category to save on.
  • Products sold in Ghana should carry GSA standards marking where the standard applies, and the Authority is who to complain to about goods that do not meet it.

— Ghana’s regulators, and who to complain to

Power is the thing that kills appliances here

Accra’s supply goes off and comes back hard, and the surge on the return is what ends fridges and televisions.

  • Buy a surge protector or a stabiliser for anything expensive. It costs a fraction of the thing it protects.
  • Inverters and solar are increasingly common in homes that work from home.
  • Ask about the compressor on a fridge or air conditioner. It is the expensive part, and it is what a long warranty should cover.

— Electricity, prepaid meters and dumsor

Getting it home and installed

Delivery is usually extra and usually negotiable, especially on a large purchase. Agree it before you pay, and check the item works before the delivery driver leaves.

For anything that needs fitting - an air conditioner, a water heater, a television bracket - arrange the fitter separately rather than accepting whoever the shop knows.

— Finding a tradesperson — Furnishing a home in Accra — Online fraud in Ghana