When HN users recommended it
2 HN users recommended this between 2022 and 2023, in 3 comments.
20072026
Each tall tick is one HN user's first recommendation. A short tick is the same user again. Click a tick to jump to the comment.
2 HN users recommended this between 2022 and 2023, in 3 comments.
Each tall tick is one HN user's first recommendation. A short tick is the same user again. Click a tick to jump to the comment.
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-Workst...
I think things are starting to improve, yes. If you look at rpilocator[1] now, you see a LOT more green in general than, say, a month ago. Now to be fair, a lot of it is for Pico boards and/or Pi 3 boards, but still, progress is progress. And this lines up with that they told us back in December[2] when the word was that the situation would start to improve sometime in Q2 2023 and that stocks (and prices) would reach normal levels sometime in the second half of 2023.
I suspect that once enough supply hits that the scalpers start getting stuck with stock they can't resell at a premium, and turn off their bots, things will improve very quickly. Of course that's just my hunch. YMMV.
Also, FWIW, there's no difficulty in getting a Pi 4 now. You only have to be willing to done one or the other of two things:
1. Pay an exorbitant price. If you're willing to buy from scalpers who scoop them up and resell them, you can buy an 8G Pi 4 right now on Amazon for the low, low price of $180.00.[3]
OR
2. Be very patient. There are authorized resellers selling at MSRP who are taking backorders and who will ship you a board as soon as they get it (relative to your position in the queue). I believe both Mouser and Newark are taking backorders for most Pi models (and one or the other, or both, have some Picos and other low end boards in stock).
The only real problem is if you want one RIGHT NOW and you want it as MSRP. And even then, if you watch rpilocator enough, you'll eventually catch a few in stock somewhere and be able to order one for immediate delivery. I understand that Adafruit receive stock fairly frequently (which unfortunately sells out very fast) but I've had luck getting Pi's from Elektor a couple of times in the past year. Or one could drive to the nearest Microcenter store that has stock, if you happen to live within reasonable driving distance of one of their stores.
[1]: https://rpilocator.com/
[2]: https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/supply-chain-update-its-goo...
[3]: https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-Computer-Suitable-Workst...
I keep reading how "it'll get better soon" but still can't buy them like I used to.
Their messaging has been consistent going back to at least sometime last year, from what I can tell: things will be tight at least through the end of Q2 2023 (albeit improving towards the end of that range) and will get much better through Q3 and Q4, with normal (pre-pandemic) availability by sometime in Q4.
So far things seem to be tracking exactly along that path. Prices on the scalper-resold Pi 4's on Amazon started dropping precipitously about a month or so ago, and have dropped from north of $200 USD to around $120 USD (for the 8GB model). And rpilocator consistently shows far more availability of different models than it did a couple of months ago.
Clearly we aren't "out of the woods" yet, but one can absolutely start to see the lights of civilization in the distance if you look.
https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Pi-Computer-Suitable-Workst...