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After much browsing for a new reasonably priced not massive phone I have settled on a Xiaomi 9 SE in the 64Gb variant. It will be SIM free as I have a GiffGaff sim.
I have considered the usual suspects like Moto G and Sony ones but currently have a 3 year old Xiaomi Redmi 4 Pro and have been very happy with it.
Now onto the buying conundrum. Direct from Xiaomi is £349 but there are loads of other options which have a lower price but one way or another look a bit iffy. So this is a 'What would STW do' question. I'm interested if anyone knows these retailers or can offer advice
The Phones sell it in Euros at a price that works out as £166.
LM Prices have it for £180.
Laptop Outlet have it for £239.
And it is on Amazon (but not sold directly by Amazon, actually again by Laptop Outlet via Amazon) for £249.
So I'd like to make the saving of the lower price but have never heard of 'The Phones' It would be great if anyone has had experience of the cheaper options and could recommended to go for it or to avoid!
I would also welcome any advice on purchasing safeguards, I guess buying on a credit card is the obvious one.
I have a Xiaomi max 3 globle rom phone not available in uk. Bought on a reputable China website, no issues. Yep credit card. Sorry I don't recognise the names above
Look on HotUKDeals and see how people have commented. I'm very tempted by the Laptops Direct Mi Mix 3 5G which will be £250ish on eBay until midnight.
Sorry it's a Mi Max 2 phone I think, but same applies, just do some research online of the genuine websites. I looked for Chinese sites that had good reps and had EU depots.
Buying directly from Xiaomi in the UK gets you a UK charger and warranty. Amazon sell the global variant which comes with an EU charger (although any USB-PD charger will work).
The very cheapest ones may be Chinese variants reflashed with Global firmware. These have different radio chipsets and will be unreliable on UK or European 4G networks.
I got my note 8 Pro from Amazon via a seller in the EU (although I think it came direct from Amazons EU Warehouse - not sure how that worked) and I got a UK charger with it. No problems with the phone at all and way cheaper the Apple and Samsung!
I got my old Mi5 and current Mi8 from Gearbest - both delivered promptly and no setup issues at all. But that was before xioami were selling direct in Europe and before coronavirus potentially knackered Chinese supply lines.
Thanks all, very useful. I bought my last Xiaomi from Gearbest so that was my first port of call but they don't seem to sell the 9SE or may have sold out as there are so few retailers I get the feeling it may have been discontinued.
Thanks for pointing out the Global ROM and 4G band stuff. I am interested in phones but don't have a detailed understanding and want to make sure I get it right first time!
After a bit more research I think that buying from Deal Extreme may be the best bet. It clearly states Global version of the phone (the others do not) and I have heard of them as a retailer which betters some of the others (one of which has even changed name since my original post!). Looks like a bit of a wait for delivery and suspect no UK charger but a good saving compared to Amazon.