I got my 3ds LL from ali. works as expected and can play JP and US regions. its also white and it was pretty cleaned up when i received it. ive played through star fox a few times and I am halfway through OOT. approaching a year of ownership.
Ive bought a few handhelds and only had a DSi go bunk on me.
at this point amazon, etsy and other large online retailers/resellers serve the same stuff as aliexpress does, just with better shipping and return policy.