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.
Can you use phones made in China? I'd like to get a Huawei phone but they are missing an important band I need for my area (usa). Seems like they are easier to find unlocked.
If someone is looking for an unlocked Pixel, they probably want Graphene for privacy and you can't get that on Huaweis.
On point. I'm going to move to a privacy ROM. Unfortunately, Huawei phones lack support - as in, the community maintains Pixel, Moto and OnPlus devices.
I'm in the same boat, I got a pixel 8 pro for ridiculously cheap but there's no plan to pay it off with a lump sum so I'm just waiting till carrier lock gets turned off.