Full Question
I bought 2 smartphones from a "company" in China. Neither of them worked to make phone calls, but everything else worked just fine. So I contacted the company to get some help. Then I saw that the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number was gone in both phones, so there was no way that I could get them opened for usage. I told the company about this and they would look into it. After many emails and chat on MSN they sent me a "software program" that would allow me to put in an IMEI number myself (lots of red flags popped up); just a random number that I could insert into the phone and hope that it worked. I haven't even tried to use the IMEI insert software program since I'm not "that" good in using a computer, and that I am afraid that this is something illegal.

Answer
A phone without an IMEI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mobile_Equipment_Identity) is like a car with out a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) #. It does sound very fishy that your phones are missing the IMEI. It appears to me that you have purchased products which are defective and do not meet the basic criteria of being "fit for purpose." As such, I think you are well within your rights to ask the supplier to remedy this problem at their expense. Having said that, it sounds like you are dealing with a small trading company or broker and I doubt they will be willing to cover such expenses. For future reference, know that third party inspection agents like www.AsiaQualityFocus.com can be hired for just a few hundred USD. They could have turned your phones on to make sure things worked before the phones shipped out of China and before you made your final payment to the supplier.