Buy a different thinkpad (an older gen T/L/E 14) (but check the upgradability), there is too much demand for it for it to be normally priced.

I wanted one in ~2023 and couldn't find one under 300€, I then bought a Dell Latitude 5290 with the same CPU (i5-8350u) as the T480. The Latitude is working well enough, Dells (Latitudes and Precisions) are also a great thinkpad alternative - keep in mind they don't have a trackpoint (since 2018).