system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: There's nothing unethical about buying an extremely cheap smartphone from developing countries

Several friends of mine have bought smartphones from local stores. There's nothing special about prices here, they may vary by 5% to 10% from prices in other western countries but nothing special. 

As expected, getting a phone with a contract is going to end up costing you more but people still choose this option for some reason. 

I recently had my phone stolen and despite the fact that it wasn't super expensive I wouldn't like to spend much money on a phone again. After some research online I found out that ordering a phone from countries like China, Singapore, India etc. could end up being a lot more frugal. It's possible to find phones with the same capabilities as the most expensive Samsung ones for 1/8 of the price. 

Of course the brand wouldn't be well known and there's no service warranty at all but the phone could very well be manufactured in the same factories with the phones we're familiar with here. 

When I tried to take the advice of my friends most of them were extremely negative about my thoughts of buying a smartphone from there. 

Claiming that if I did so I would be facilitating underpaid labor and create demand for products that their price is too unrealistic for western standards. 

If we live in a free economy what about choosing the cheaper product is unethical?
gpt
There can be no ethical consumption under the currently existing system. You show me someone who only buys products that are produced without using underpaid labor and exploitative practices, and I'll show you someone who is either lying or in denial.

And you can tell that to your friends. As you said, the phones were probably produced in the same or similar factories under the same or similar exploitative labor conditions.

However, if, hypothetically, your choice were between a truly ethical and expensive product, and a truly unethical but cheap product, and only those products, and those products were not necessities, then as a responsibly consumer you shouldn't necessarily buy the more expensive one, but you shouldn't buy the cheap one because in that case, you'd be creating a demand for an unethical product.