I've heard that it was largely COVID (both decreased supply and increased demand) that caused RPis to skyrocket in price (or be generally unavailable), but three years on it seems that short supply and inflated prices are here to stay.<p>Anyone have any insight into why this is still the case and if it will ever end?
It's hard to be sure, but the RPi Foundation seem to think so. Late last year they said[1]<p><i>For a variety of reasons, we leave 2022 with much better visibility of our future silicon supply chain than we entered with. As a result, we can say with confidence that, after a lean first quarter, we expect supply to recover to pre-pandemic levels in the second quarter of 2023, and to be unlimited in the second half of the year.</i><p>Also, keep in mind that even now Pi's <i>can</i> be bought for the normal price. You just have to be very patient (and maybe a little lucky) to score one. Some official distributors are taking back-orders at the normal price, but the lead times vary quite a bit. And some distributors (Adafruit come to mind) get periodic drops that sell at the list price. The problem is, you almost have to be on their website, logged in, with your mouse pointer hovering over the "add to cart" button when they release a batch, to get one before they sell out. Still, it <i>is</i> possible.<p>[1]: <a href="https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/supply-chain-update-its-good-news/" rel="nofollow">https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/supply-chain-update-its-goo...</a>