From memory the RPI mission was to make cheap compute available to everyday people.

I wonder what went into the decision to prioritize industrial & commercial customers?

I fully accept there is nuance and difficulty to mass hardware production & sales that I have no knowledge about, so this isn't an accusation of anything :)

> Right now we feel the right thing to do is to prioritise commercial and industrial customers – the people who need Raspberry Pis to run their businesses – we’re acutely aware that people’s livelihoods are at stake.

Also bear in mind that most* educational needs can be met by the Pi 400, which generally hasn't suffered a shortage to the same degree. So they can often be satisfied by the 400 whereas the industrial/commercial uses are typically more constrained (esp. if it's a design based on the compute module)

* - but perhaps not all, in case there are some pedants

I was under the impression that the decision to prioritize industrial & commercial customers was a temporary one during the current shortages. At least, I certainly hope that is the case.

From https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/production-and-supply-chain... :

>> "...supply constraints have prevented us from flexing up to meet this demand..."

Wish they would have elaborated more on what kind of supply constraints they are facing. Is there a limit to how many microchips that they can order that they can't manufacture themselves? Seems to me regardless of the supply constraints, if they raise the price by $20 to $50 and pass that money on to the suppliers that would positively motivate them to increase the supply.

>> Where units do appear, bots often attempt to scalp stock which is then resold at higher prices elsewhere. Many Approved Resellers have implemented single-unit limits to combat this, with Adafruit and others going further and enforcing two-factor authentication – we’re encouraging other Approved Resellers to consider this route.

For as long as the price is artificially constrained, what is there to prevent secret mafia deals between reseller insiders and the bot farm operators, or what is there to prevent the bot farm operators from infiltrating the resellers, and quickly gobbling up the supply as soon as it is available, to sell at market prices for the easy profit??

Thanks for the context. I did notice they were 2x more expensive than the last time I checked on Amazon. I thought it was mostly due to the chip shortage.