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The Raspberry Pi store is much cooler than an Apple Store

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Re: The Raspberry Pi store is much cooler than an Apple Store

#91

Post by alias_neo »

sswu wrote: post #38
LeoPanthera wrote: post #2

I wonder if they will sell you more than one Raspberry Pi Zero? The Zero is advertised as being $5, and it makes me angry every time, because it's not possible to buy it at that price. Every Pi retailer either has a one-per-customer limit, and charges shipping, or, charges up to $15(!) per Zero if you buy more than one. So it's essentially a $15 device being advertised as $5. I shouldn't be so annoyed about it, but I…

This post on the forums [0] is the best answer I've read yet. They sell the Pi Zero (W) at such a low price to promote the platform for educational and non-commercial purposes. However, the margins are so low at that price that they cannot afford to sell in bulk. They apparently do offer bulk buys (>500 [1]) at higher prices. The few options to buy multiple are to buy kits (which basically pass that bulk pricing in t…

Although this may work in general, it hurts the very purpose of the Pi.

I have an open source project I've been working on for some time, it's based around the Pi Zero W, however, here in the UK it's practically impossible to get more than one Zero W unless you order individually from each site and pay shipping individually for each. Even then, you'll be paying at least £12+shipping per unit. It's wasteful and needless to do all this individual shipping.

Is not just a case of buying individually until I can get all the Pis I need, because once I release, if users have the same issues getting the hardware, the project is pointless.

For now the project is sitting on a shelf until I find an alternative platform or Pi stops this 1 unit per customer "shortage".

Re: The Raspberry Pi store is much cooler than an Apple Store

#92

Post by ForHackernews »

IshKebab wrote: post #63
Spivak wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know any stores that include shipping on their price tags. But you're right, the Zeros are so popular that the MSRP of $5 is difficult to achieve without them being constantly sold out. Hard to blame the market for correcting, they're worth way more than $5.

That's not how economics works! If they aren't making a loss at $5 then by now they have had plenty of time to ramp up production to meet demand (and save money since more production means lower costs). The fact that they haven't strongly implies that they are selling it at a loss.

They might well be making a loss at $5!

Don't take this too harshly, but the Raspberry Pi foundation's goal is to encourage young children to learn about programming and computer science, not to subsidize the IoT hobbies of wealthy adults who already have careers in computing.

Re: The Raspberry Pi store is much cooler than an Apple Store

#93

Post by jplayer01 »

tsumnia wrote: post #29

Because this headline demands a cynical response - this isn't cooler than Apple, its cooler than RadioShack. Also, why the couch? Unless there are some coding camps at the location, I can't imagine someone (even a parent) coming in and needing to sit down. Maybe an experienced sales associate that maps out the types of activities that can be done, but I doubt that as well.

> why the couch

Are you American? Do your stores not have seating?

Re: The Raspberry Pi store is much cooler than an Apple Store

#94

Post by kelrien »

close04 wrote: post #77
rmoriz wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The zero WH model with Wifi and Bluetooth is sold without such limits, includes pre-soldered headers. Price is below 15€ In Germany right now and if you order 3+ (or just order more than 29€) there is free shipping. https://www.sertronics-shop.de/en/2089/raspberry-pi-zero-wh

The RPi Zero W costs 10.35E. That's more than double the advertised price (I'm ignoring shipping here). It's not a big deal though, I doubt anyone interested in "joining the club" would pass because of the extra 5-6E but the point stands. It's impossible to find the Zero W for the advertised price in many parts of the world. I get the limitations on manufacturing, costs, margins, etc. But they could just advertise it…

The raspberry pi Zero W was never priced at 5€ AFAIK.

edit: found the announcement: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-zero-w-joins-f...

Re: The Raspberry Pi store is much cooler than an Apple Store

#95

Post by enobrev »

LeoPanthera wrote: post #2

I wonder if they will sell you more than one Raspberry Pi Zero? The Zero is advertised as being $5, and it makes me angry every time, because it's not possible to buy it at that price. Every Pi retailer either has a one-per-customer limit, and charges shipping, or, charges up to $15(!) per Zero if you buy more than one. So it's essentially a $15 device being advertised as $5. I shouldn't be so annoyed about it, but I…

There's a store near me that sells them for $5. I bought three around the holidays for various projects for $15 plus tax. No limits, as far as I know. They didn't say a thing when I asked for three.

Considering how many others are saying what you're saying, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to share what store I'm referring to.

Re: The Raspberry Pi store is much cooler than an Apple Store

#96

Post by close04 »

kelrien wrote: post #94
close04 wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The RPi Zero W costs 10.35E. That's more than double the advertised price (I'm ignoring shipping here). It's not a big deal though, I doubt anyone interested in "joining the club" would pass because of the extra 5-6E but the point stands. It's impossible to find the Zero W for the advertised price in many parts of the world. I get the limitations on manufacturing, costs, margins, etc. But they could just advertise it…

The raspberry pi Zero W was never priced at 5€ AFAIK. edit: found the announcement: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-zero-w-joins-f...

Mea culpa. I was under the impression that every subsequent model is released at the same price point as the old one (similar to the normal RPi at $35).

But this means the original Zero was marketed at $5 which was still never the case where I live (10-20E was/is the norm, maybe courtesy of the shortage). This being said I bought them either way. It just felt a bit disappointing when the expectations set by the promotional material weren't met when ordering the product.

Re: The Raspberry Pi store is much cooler than an Apple Store

#97

Post by SiVal »

gambiting wrote: post #51
abhishekjha wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is core CS subjects don’t train you enough to do that. You would have to learn that from somebody who already is an expert and that maybe a little out of reach for a lot of people. I have been wanting to hack hardware but I haven’t had any guidance yet about what/how to proceed and debug. Looks like abstractions have gotten complicated enough for somebody to necessarily ignore how it works under the hood…

Why would a CS course teach you any of this? You want an EE degree to learn this, not CS

There are exceptions, but neither really teaches these things in most universities. My EE classes were about the skills needed to design a RasPi, not use one, which was "electronics technician stuff", not "serious electrical engineering". And CS is about lofty concepts of algorithms and type theory, where mere "programming" is a dirty business that sometimes can't be avoided. Hardware in CS? Oh, dear.... (Clutching my pearls, heading for my swooning couch.)

Using a RasPi is in that middle ground of intellectual disrepute where hobbyists teach each other and have lots of fun. It's what you do after school.

Re: The Raspberry Pi store is much cooler than an Apple Store

#98

Post by twic »

LeoPanthera wrote: post #2

I wonder if they will sell you more than one Raspberry Pi Zero? The Zero is advertised as being $5, and it makes me angry every time, because it's not possible to buy it at that price. Every Pi retailer either has a one-per-customer limit, and charges shipping, or, charges up to $15(!) per Zero if you buy more than one. So it's essentially a $15 device being advertised as $5. I shouldn't be so annoyed about it, but I…

A better way to think about it is that a Pi Zero costs $15, and that the Pi Foundation gives away free "$10 off your first Pi Zero" vouchers. It just happens that they bundle those together.

Re: The Raspberry Pi store is much cooler than an Apple Store

#99

Post by Waterluvian »

twic wrote: post #98
LeoPanthera wrote: post #2

I wonder if they will sell you more than one Raspberry Pi Zero? The Zero is advertised as being $5, and it makes me angry every time, because it's not possible to buy it at that price. Every Pi retailer either has a one-per-customer limit, and charges shipping, or, charges up to $15(!) per Zero if you buy more than one. So it's essentially a $15 device being advertised as $5. I shouldn't be so annoyed about it, but I…

A better way to think about it is that a Pi Zero costs $15, and that the Pi Foundation gives away free "$10 off your first Pi Zero" vouchers. It just happens that they bundle those together.

That would be a better way to advertise it. Attracts newcomers and whatnot. And doesn't feel slimy.

Re: The Raspberry Pi store is much cooler than an Apple Store

#100

Post by hrnnnnnn »

lacer wrote: post #88
comex wrote: post #27

Seems like comparing apples and... uh, raspberries.

Why can't fruit be compared?

They can be, at least in the case of apples and oranges, and they are "remarkably similar" [1].

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1120087/

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