Hi,
Personally, I prefer ebay to aliexpress, etc. (or even to some Amazon "Marketplace" sellers), because they seem more "up front" about typical/latest delivery times and the VAT surcharge, etc.. There are some Chinese sellers who do keep UK stock, or bulk ship (aeroplane) within a week (sometimes marked "posted from UK"), and the "SpeedPAK" service is impressive (usually tracked) at a modest price. So I always look carefully at the predicted delivery window.
The two Energy Monitors that I linked do seem to be quite different, just as the various (apparently identical) "cylindrical" smart switches of this thread can have quite different features and software, sadly almost impossible to identify from their listing/descriptions
(except for the Tasmotas). Of the DIY shops, I usually start at the Screwfix webpage because they have Q&A and Customer Review pages (but object that it defaults to all the 5* reviews first, not in sequence of posting). Their reviews seem mainly positive but I see that they have no stock of the Energenie in any of my local branches (but Toolstation have
). There are contradictions whether it has/needs a battery, because another of my objections to the Lidl device is that it has a coin cell battery which its manual suggests may expire quite quickly unless it is left plugged in.
Cheers, Alan.