aliexpress

And considering aliexpress being more expensive then ordering in bulk that number is most likely more like $2.

Also, on the flip side of cost comparison, low-quality Allwinner-based tablets are easily available at under $30 on AliExpress.

You can buy them from AliExpress for around $14.50 USD in single quantity with free shipping.

Same with another pi (classic model b), 1usd aliexpress webcam, humidity sensor, some quick scripts and another random wifi dongle.

Can you recommend a good chinese phone with similar specs that I could find on aliexpress?

They are using much older A13 which retails for $3 on aliexpress...

No more easy imports of clones from aliexpress, etc?

And yes, I like AliExpress and Ali Baba.

$400 on Aliexpress gets you into the range of branded phones from brands like Sony, Xiaomi, Lenovo, Huawei, ZTE, Oppo, Jiayu these days.

Connection would be like: 110V AC -> switching supply -> 3.3V DC -> powers ESP8266 always on -> switches a relay to supply or cut power at the output side Cost: An ESP8266 is around $3 and switching module is around $6 on aliexpress.

I do agree that Ebay has really turned things around for the better starting about 18 months ago, and I find myself ordering a lot of items from Ebay that previously would have come from Amazon or AliExpress, especially inexpensive Chinese-sourced electronics components.

So that Swatch doesn't 'do' it for me here -- you can already buy automatic watches with chinese movements for a LOT less than $150 -- in fact, you can get one for $15 (check aliexpress); with movements that are actually quite nice and fairly precise (most of them).

Assuming a large portion of that comes from Taobao+Aliexpress, maybe eBay is a more apt comparison?

Alibaba/Aliexpress would be the place to go for this and other unbranded feature phones.

You can get a Xiaomi 10400mAh powerbank for $22.22, free shipping from Aliexpress.