I was screen-shopping a few unopened Pixel 3a on eBay, and it was a good deal at 66$. I could have had them shipped to India, or bought them through my relatives, effectively bypassing the need to pay duty, delivery fees or taxes. But lo, it’s Verizon-locked. And maybe I could be wrong here, but apparently, flashing international ROM or custom ROM can’t bypass this. So annoyed by this shit, because factory-unlocked devices get sold quickly, or are deliberately expensive.
I switched from pre paid to monthly payments for comfort, I would run out of data because I’d forget to buy more.
I do buy my phone and sim separately though. The people that buy their phone from their internet provider probably do it because they want an expensive phone but can’t pay in 1 go. In the end they pay more though.