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Raspberry is not really cheap anymore. The start package (rp4 4gb + charger + sd + ethernet/hdmi cables) is 100 euros in my country. Meanwhile you can get a GK

Raspberry is not really cheap anymore. The start package (rp4 4gb + charger + sd + ethernet/hdmi cables) is 100 euros in my country. Meanwhile you can get a GK3V mini pc on Aliexpress with a j4125, 8gb LPDDR4 and 256GB SSD for 180 euros, which probably has 3x-4x the performance of the pi.

justin66 5y ago
That's quite a markup you're experiencing. A conversion based on US prices makes it seem like you should be able to get that stuff for a little more than sixty Euros. If you can get it at all: availability is tough right now all over, I assume. Is that price difference about shipping costs or VAT or what? > GK3V mini pc That is a very cool looking thing, but targeting a different use case, I would think.
- lunfard000 5y ago
  idk, maybe you get it a bit cheaper if you look around. This is from a offical store though: https://www.raspberrystore.nl/PrestaShop/complete-sets/245-raspberry-pi-4-starter-pack-2019-4gb-8718734751502.html https://www.raspberrystore.nl/PrestaShop/complete-sets/245-r...
  - wila 5y ago
    It's the rest of the kit that makes it expensive. If you don't need all the parts, then you can shave some off. https://www.kiwi-electronics.nl/nl/merk-raspberry-pi https://www.kiwi-electronics.nl/nl/merk-raspberry-pi
    - lunfard000 5y ago
      I mean, at the very least you always need a charger and a sd card, the barebone price is kinda misleading
      - wila 5y ago
        Not everyone has to buy that separately. For example, I have plenty of sd cards laying around. For the charger you are probably right due to the rpi not working with every usbc adapter, but that's 10 euros. You selected the 4GB one, but if you select the 2GB or 1GB version things get cheaper too. I think they are great value for a very reasonable price.
geerlingguy 5y ago
The kits are always going to be marked up—and even more so today, since it's so hard to find individual Pis in stock anywhere. Here in the US, the only way for many people to get a Pi 4 is in a kit that's at least $100 (sometimes scalped and marked up to $150-200 on Amazon or eBay). Until about 3 months ago, though, I could reliably find a model I wanted from Micro Center or one of the official Pi online resellers for $35-75 (list price).
- throwaway743 5y ago
  Any reason why this is the case? Chip shortages? Backing up of imports? I just noticed this the other day when looking to get a Pi 4 as a gift for my brother. It's crazy to think just a year or two ago I bought two at normal price, and now one can't find any individual boards anywhere really
  - geerlingguy 5y ago
    Mostly the chip shortages—Raspberry Pi has pulled out all the stops but couldn't come anywhere close to meeting demand over 2021. And they even decided to focus production only on the BCM2711-based devices for the latter part of this year. They posted a blog post with some detail behind what's going on: https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/supply-chain-shortages-and-our-first-ever-price-increase/ https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/supply-chain-shortages-and-...
frampytown 5y ago
I'd be interested if anyone can comment on commercial bulk procurement of Pis. Any idea what the volume discounts are? And also would be interesting to know what the supply has been like for the past year(s) for commercial customers. I've heard anecdotally that most Pis sold are used in industry, so wouldn't be surprised if they're being prioritized.
orev 5y ago
I’ve found this to be the case for most of the time Raspberry Pis have been around. The cost proposition has always relied on using other components people have “lying around”, like the power adapter, SD card, etc. However as the power quality requirements have gone up for each Pi release, old AC adapters can’t be used anymore, SD cards need to be better quality to handle the writes, and you want a case for it, etc. From my perspective you’ve always been looking at close to $100 to get everything you need for it to be useful.

justin66 5y ago

That's quite a markup you're experiencing. A conversion based on US prices makes it seem like you should be able to get that stuff for a little more than sixty Euros. If you can get it at all: availability is tough right now all over, I assume. Is that price difference about shipping costs or VAT or what? > GK3V mini pc That is a very cool looking thing, but targeting a different use case, I would think.

lunfard000 5y ago
idk, maybe you get it a bit cheaper if you look around. This is from a offical store though: https://www.raspberrystore.nl/PrestaShop/complete-sets/245-raspberry-pi-4-starter-pack-2019-4gb-8718734751502.html https://www.raspberrystore.nl/PrestaShop/complete-sets/245-r...
- wila 5y ago
  It's the rest of the kit that makes it expensive. If you don't need all the parts, then you can shave some off. https://www.kiwi-electronics.nl/nl/merk-raspberry-pi https://www.kiwi-electronics.nl/nl/merk-raspberry-pi
  - lunfard000 5y ago
    I mean, at the very least you always need a charger and a sd card, the barebone price is kinda misleading
    - wila 5y ago
      Not everyone has to buy that separately. For example, I have plenty of sd cards laying around. For the charger you are probably right due to the rpi not working with every usbc adapter, but that's 10 euros. You selected the 4GB one, but if you select the 2GB or 1GB version things get cheaper too. I think they are great value for a very reasonable price.

geerlingguy 5y ago

The kits are always going to be marked up—and even more so today, since it's so hard to find individual Pis in stock anywhere. Here in the US, the only way for many people to get a Pi 4 is in a kit that's at least $100 (sometimes scalped and marked up to $150-200 on Amazon or eBay). Until about 3 months ago, though, I could reliably find a model I wanted from Micro Center or one of the official Pi online resellers for $35-75 (list price).

throwaway743 5y ago
Any reason why this is the case? Chip shortages? Backing up of imports? I just noticed this the other day when looking to get a Pi 4 as a gift for my brother. It's crazy to think just a year or two ago I bought two at normal price, and now one can't find any individual boards anywhere really
- geerlingguy 5y ago
  Mostly the chip shortages—Raspberry Pi has pulled out all the stops but couldn't come anywhere close to meeting demand over 2021. And they even decided to focus production only on the BCM2711-based devices for the latter part of this year. They posted a blog post with some detail behind what's going on: https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/supply-chain-shortages-and-our-first-ever-price-increase/ https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/supply-chain-shortages-and-...

frampytown 5y ago

I'd be interested if anyone can comment on commercial bulk procurement of Pis. Any idea what the volume discounts are? And also would be interesting to know what the supply has been like for the past year(s) for commercial customers. I've heard anecdotally that most Pis sold are used in industry, so wouldn't be surprised if they're being prioritized.

orev 5y ago

I’ve found this to be the case for most of the time Raspberry Pis have been around. The cost proposition has always relied on using other components people have “lying around”, like the power adapter, SD card, etc. However as the power quality requirements have gone up for each Pi release, old AC adapters can’t be used anymore, SD cards need to be better quality to handle the writes, and you want a case for it, etc. From my perspective you’ve always been looking at close to $100 to get everything you need for it to be useful.