last two phones I bought were $250 off of aliexpress.
Before that I got used phones from relatives who upgraded, but that was at the time when a newer model was actually a big improvement generation-to-generation. Then everyone started to use their phone until it became completely useless so I had to buy new.
Aliexpress xiaomi/poco phones used to be better value, the next time I buy I phone I'll probably get a previous generation or 2 flagship from a mainstream company because waterproofing would be nice.
They were right, they are an untrustworthy seller.
Reminds me of when all their customer data leaked, and obviously the people who pirated didn't have that issue.