You can now request an invite to buy a new OnePlus 2 phone

OnePlus surprised everybody (including itself) by selling many millions of its first phone, the OnePlus One. Despite trouble getting enough phones into distribution channels last time, OnePlus is sticking with the invite system for its new phone, the OnePlus 2.

You can request an invite on the company’s site.

OnePlus uses the invite system as an alternative to more traditional distribution methods, which require that a lot of inventory be kept on hand.

As with the OnePlus One, you can get an invite from someone who already owns a OnePlus 2, or through one of the company’s promotions. After you purchase your OnePlus 2 with an invite, the phone may take up to 3 weeks to ship.

“When a OnePlus 2 is born, it’s assigned an invite to help it find its home,” OnePlus says at the invite site. “Launching a second flagship product to an exponentially larger community brings a whole set of new challenges, and invites will help us manage them.”

In April, OnePlus finally announced it was making its flagship One smartphone available for purchase without an invite.  The China-based manufacturer also revealed its first ever tie-up with a mobile carrier.