personally, Digikey/Mouser if I'm scoping and need to know a specific stock count ahead of time, paying the premium for some future-proofing makes sense to me i

personally, Digikey/Mouser if I'm scoping and need to know a specific stock count ahead of time, paying the premium for some future-proofing makes sense to me in that regard for prototypes/one-offs, aliexpress or ebay are fun if you ever only need one (haven't had a DOA yet), and if you email the company directly they may get back with their 'secret menu'