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I do appreciate the effort here; however, I suspect this is going to make it even harder to find affordable units due to how fast the scalpers scoop up any read

I do appreciate the effort here; however, I suspect this is going to make it even harder to find affordable units due to how fast the scalpers scoop up any readily discoverable inventory. I’ve been struggling to come up with 35 for a class I teach in the March. I would typically have my students buy their own devices, but pivoted when I saw the writing on the wall. Until this tracker was published yesterday, the Pi Hut had consistently kept the 2GB unit in stock, allowing me to pick up a couple per month. I was a little disheartened to see how quickly that changed once this was online.

alar44 5y ago
No one is scalping Pis. They simply aren't valuable enough to scalp. There is a massive electronics shortage, in case you haven't heard.
- mmastrac 5y ago
  People are scalping anything with a name and a value. Unifi $40 cameras are being scalped for 2x.
- tasha0663 5y ago
  TFA had a quote about them being overpriced on Amazon. Translation: people are indeed scalping them.
  - djbusby 5y ago
    I just observed this too, before this post even hit HN, where a Pi4B-4GB was...shit you not...$250. So I opted for one of the alt boards...just deciding which one (so this thread is perfect timing for me) Edit: the Amazon link https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-Computer-Suitable-Workstation/dp/B0899VXM8F/ref=mp_s_a_1_61?keywords=NanoPi&qid=1643679229&sr=8-61 https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-Computer-Suitable-Workst...
  - alar44 5y ago
    Explain how you know they are being scalped rather than the low supply increasing prices.
    - tasha0663 5y ago
      No problem. The approved resellers are sold out and sellers you've never heard of are selling them at a ridiculous markup over list price on Amazon. That's scalping.
- sascha_sl 5y ago
  The Pi 4, last I checked, cost 200 EUR on amazon.de via marketplace, so I'm calling BS on that. And that wasn't even an 8GB model.
Terry_Roll 5y ago
If you are really struggling to get a job lot, the link below may be an option. Its something which could become a lunchtime/after school club/activity to get them fixed quickly but it can also help your students learn about repairing stuff because the Right to Repair is now a thing in the US, UK & EU so becoming familiar with repairing circuit boards will be a life skill, if not a hackers life skill. :-) https://blog.jmdawson.co.uk/i-bought-200-raspberry-pi-model-bs-and-im-going-to-fix-them-part-1/ https://blog.jmdawson.co.uk/i-bought-200-raspberry-pi-model-...
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
beebmam 5y ago
My biggest problem with scalpers is that they often send damaged or refurbished gear (while claiming the gear is new) and then rug pull. The graphics card market is such a god damned mess right now, and it makes me tremendously sad that the Raspberry Pi market is headed towards this hell.
ppaagi 5y ago
Someone at work sent this into the devops channel a few mins ago, saying if more than one of our pis break we would get a shortage also. Should we buy more now? Yeah let's worsen the shortage for others that actually need them now, why not... Thankfully the manager agreed wiht me the risk is low enough. It was not us that got them from Pi Hut at least! Feels similar to the toilet paper situation, my wife did not get them for weeks because we always keep two closed packages to avoid getting short on something like that and we did not want to be a part of the problem so we waited. Because there was no shortage on the production site, we thought stores would ramp up shipping and it would be OK. But the panic buyers just kept getting the stores empty. Then we finally were down to the last rolls and she only found two small rolls in the fourth store she tried at... annoying when you want to stay home (no vaccines yet) and not go out three days later for another ration of paper. It is stories like this that make me think if I should buy like normal and then give without profit to those who actually need them now.
- brokenmachine 5y ago
  Where are you that you can't get a vaccine by now?
  - ppaagi 5y ago
    For us this toilet paper shortage was only during the time when there were no vaccines, I just mentioned this fact as a reminder of context to readers that it was'nt a good idea to just go to the store every day for daily amounts of paper back then. (Alternative response: where are you that you still got a toilet paper shortage?) I assume you're the person that took my first karma point based on this misunderstanding? Note also that around 40% of world population hasn't gotten a single vaccination yet. It's a bit presumptuous to assume these are all personal choice, even if I weren't vaccinated (I am lucky enough to have gotten multiple, even if I wish we could offer everyone the same amount at a similar time -- it stung a little, if you will).

alar44 5y ago

No one is scalping Pis. They simply aren't valuable enough to scalp. There is a massive electronics shortage, in case you haven't heard.

mmastrac 5y ago
People are scalping anything with a name and a value. Unifi $40 cameras are being scalped for 2x.
tasha0663 5y ago
TFA had a quote about them being overpriced on Amazon. Translation: people are indeed scalping them.
- djbusby 5y ago
  I just observed this too, before this post even hit HN, where a Pi4B-4GB was...shit you not...$250. So I opted for one of the alt boards...just deciding which one (so this thread is perfect timing for me) Edit: the Amazon link https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-Computer-Suitable-Workstation/dp/B0899VXM8F/ref=mp_s_a_1_61?keywords=NanoPi&qid=1643679229&sr=8-61 https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-Computer-Suitable-Workst...
- alar44 5y ago
  Explain how you know they are being scalped rather than the low supply increasing prices.
  - tasha0663 5y ago
    No problem. The approved resellers are sold out and sellers you've never heard of are selling them at a ridiculous markup over list price on Amazon. That's scalping.
sascha_sl 5y ago
The Pi 4, last I checked, cost 200 EUR on amazon.de via marketplace, so I'm calling BS on that. And that wasn't even an 8GB model.

Terry_Roll 5y ago

If you are really struggling to get a job lot, the link below may be an option. Its something which could become a lunchtime/after school club/activity to get them fixed quickly but it can also help your students learn about repairing stuff because the Right to Repair is now a thing in the US, UK & EU so becoming familiar with repairing circuit boards will be a life skill, if not a hackers life skill. :-) https://blog.jmdawson.co.uk/i-bought-200-raspberry-pi-model-bs-and-im-going-to-fix-them-part-1/ https://blog.jmdawson.co.uk/i-bought-200-raspberry-pi-model-...

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

beebmam 5y ago

My biggest problem with scalpers is that they often send damaged or refurbished gear (while claiming the gear is new) and then rug pull. The graphics card market is such a god damned mess right now, and it makes me tremendously sad that the Raspberry Pi market is headed towards this hell.

ppaagi 5y ago

Someone at work sent this into the devops channel a few mins ago, saying if more than one of our pis break we would get a shortage also. Should we buy more now? Yeah let's worsen the shortage for others that actually need them now, why not... Thankfully the manager agreed wiht me the risk is low enough. It was not us that got them from Pi Hut at least! Feels similar to the toilet paper situation, my wife did not get them for weeks because we always keep two closed packages to avoid getting short on something like that and we did not want to be a part of the problem so we waited. Because there was no shortage on the production site, we thought stores would ramp up shipping and it would be OK. But the panic buyers just kept getting the stores empty. Then we finally were down to the last rolls and she only found two small rolls in the fourth store she tried at... annoying when you want to stay home (no vaccines yet) and not go out three days later for another ration of paper. It is stories like this that make me think if I should buy like normal and then give without profit to those who actually need them now.

brokenmachine 5y ago
Where are you that you can't get a vaccine by now?
- ppaagi 5y ago
  For us this toilet paper shortage was only during the time when there were no vaccines, I just mentioned this fact as a reminder of context to readers that it was'nt a good idea to just go to the store every day for daily amounts of paper back then. (Alternative response: where are you that you still got a toilet paper shortage?) I assume you're the person that took my first karma point based on this misunderstanding? Note also that around 40% of world population hasn't gotten a single vaccination yet. It's a bit presumptuous to assume these are all personal choice, even if I weren't vaccinated (I am lucky enough to have gotten multiple, even if I wish we could offer everyone the same amount at a similar time -- it stung a little, if you will).