Raspberry Pi - Order Cancelled

To be honest I've gone off the idea of owning a Raspberry Pi, mainly because they 'released' it before they had any proper stock levels of it.

It's been a disappointment from start to finish.  I'm not prepared to pay £5 for 7 week delivery, that's just a joke!

And as for RS to send you email updates saying you can't get yours yet, but have a look at what all the people who have managed to get one have done with theirs is just a smack in the face.

Needless to say I have just cancelled my order with RS so I will no longer be getting my Raspberry Pi.  I may well get one in the future when they actually have them in stock ready to deliver, to be honest I'll probably wait for the inevitable upgrade in a year or so's time.

I hope they get stock levels right for Christmas (yes I know it's months away) as it could be a huge hit for them.

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Raspberry Pi - Order Placed

Well, there's no looking back now - I've just placed my order for a Raspberry Pi from RS Components as per the email I received the other week.

On closer reading of the email it doesn't actually say how long delivery takes, what it actually says is "On placing your order, we will advise you when we are likely to be able to send you your Raspberry Pi." it then goes on to say that "Payment will be taken at the time of your order."

That means that they get hold of my money straight away and I may not receive it for a few weeks!

Well here goes, I'm about to purchase my £22 computer...

Nothings ever as it seems is it?  £22 is what I was expecting to pay with a couple of quid for P&P.  It turns out the £22 is excluding VAT and a whopping £4.95 for delivery for a small PCB!!  A total of just under £31 for what was being billed as a £22 piece of hardware.

On top of that, if you live in the USA you can get it for a much lower price of $25 (approx £16).

Disgusted with the fact that Raspberry Pi is a BRITISH charity so how one earth can it be cheaper to buy it in the USA????  I suspect it would be cheaper to import this British computer from abroad but I can't do with all the hassle so I'll settle with buying one from RS for now...

SEVEN WEEKS???   EXPECTED???

This has got to be some sort of joke hasn't it?  They've told me they're ready for me to place my order and that they will take payment straight away, yet I have to wait 7 weeks (possible longer if there are any delays) for it to arrive?

£4.95 for 7 week delivery - that's disgusting.

When you get an email saying that you can now purchase your Raspberry Pi that you've been waiting weeks/months for the opportunity of getting your hands on one, you assume they have them in stock ready to go!  But oh no they don't :( they're still on a ship somewhere between China and the UK.

Useless.

Anyway, I have completed my order and they have my money.  I guess I might have it in my hands by Christmas...

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Raspberry Pi Latest Update - Pt 6

I think I'm about to feint...  I've just received an email from RS Components Online saying they are ready to take my order for a Raspberry Pi!

There's is a limit of one per customer and to access the store you have to enter your email address along with a unique activation code that can be used just the once.

It goes on to say that they will offer you lots of different accessories to go with the Pi and you should add them to your Pi order to save on postage and packaging - I wonder how much P&P is going to be on what is being advertised as a £22 computer?

I'm still in two minds on whether to buy one or not, it's been so long since they were launched that I'm starting to go off the idea so I'll have to have a think about it over the next few days to see if I should purchase one or not...

Raspberry Pi Latest Update - Pt 5

Ooh look! Another Raspberry Pi update from RS Components.  They start of their email by saying that lots of people have already been invited to purchase their Raspberry Pi - talk about rubbing it in my face?!

I couldn't give a monkeys about all those people who have been able to order one, I just want to know when I will be able to order mine.

To rub more salt in to the wound they list a couple of websites where you can see what people who have managed to get their hands one have done with them.  Needless to say I'm not touching these links.

The simple fact of the matter is, they should not have launched the product until they were in the situation where they could actually sell more than just a handful.

To be completely honest I'm starting to lose interest and I think I may be at the stage where I no longer want one.

Not impressed, not impressed at all.

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Raspberry Pi Latest Update - Pt 4

The 4th Raspberry Pi landed in my inbox today and surprise, surprise! Still no nearer to getting my hands on one!

4,000 other people ahead of me in the queue have actually had the opportunity to get their hands on one though and another batch of the boards are on their way.

The email was full of links to websites where people who have managed to get their hands on one but to me that's just a smack in the face to those of us who don't have one yet.

To be honest I'm starting to get fed up of all these emails telling me that other people can buy one but not me and I'm starting to loose interest and I think a lot of other people will be feeling the same way.  The novelty of owning such a computer is now wearing off so unless they get their act together soon they could end up with lots of stock on their hands with no one willing to buy any.

Raspberry Pi Latest Update - Pt 3

I'm now on my third Raspberry Pi update from RS Components but still no nearer to getting my hands on one.

CE testing and certification is now complete and they have received 2,000 of the devices and those at the front of the queue have already been invited to go to their dedicated shop to make their purchase.

Now the testing has been completed and was successful, they have vamped up production so (hopefully) I'll be able to get my hands on one soon!

Raspberry Pi Latest Update - Pt 2

I've just received another Raspberry Pi update from RS Components, this time it tells me that 2000 of the devices have landed at the Pi Foundation in Cambridge but they are still testing them so we can't have them just yet.

They are waiting for the testing certificate to come through (there has been some debate on whether they need this or not).

RS have created a dedicated Raspberry Pi online store and once the testing has completed they will invite the first bunch of people in the queue to purchase one.

They will then move to the next group of people in the queue and invite them to go to the store as and when more stock arrives.

The only thing they don't tell you is whereabouts in the queue you are so I could be waiting days, weeks or even months before I receive my invitation...

Raspberry Pi Latest Update - Pt 1

I've just received an email from RS Components regarding the latest update on the Raspberry Pi.  The first batches of the devices will be in their warehouses any moment now and emails will be sent out to people who signed up purchase the computer as soon as they become available for them to buy.  The sooner you registered your interest, the sooner you will be invited to purchase one.

Many weeks ago when the Raspberry Pi was launched I personally got the impression that had already been manufactured and ready for sale on the launch date.  It turns out that this is not the case and they only had a limited supply.

None appear to be for sale at the moment as it has been reported that they have had a manufacturing error where they soldered on the wrong components to the boards.

What the Raspberry Pi people did was, instead of taking the risk of manufacturing them themselves, they licensed out the design to a couple of different companies in the UK, Premier Farnell and RS Components.  I bet they're glad they did it this way as it's an Open Source device and the manufacturing error would have cost them big time.

I registered my interest with both companies and when I got an email indicating that the actual cost of the £22 device once postage and packaging had been taken in to consideration came closer to £30 I unsubscribed and deleted the message.

I don't know what RS's total price will be as they are not taking any payments until they have the devices to sell which is a responsible thing to do.

Useful Links:

http://www.raspberrypi.org/

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/

http://uk.farnell.com/