Is the Pi Zero 2W globally unobtainable at this point? What are folks using instead?

You can get amazingly far with an ESP32, RP2350, or other modern microcontrollers if Linux isnt a hard requirement.

Complete starter kit for $90 here

https://www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-zero-2-w.html?cid=usd&s...

You’re not saying that this 8$ project costs 90$ today, are you?

Damn, I just checked eBay prices - even second hand some people are asking close to this! I should dig mine out and cash in too.

Out of interest I just dug out my invoice for the pi500+ I brought almost exactly 12 months ago - looks I got it at around 40% of the price it goes for today.

I agree with the other poster though, ESP32 is a good alternative if you don't need linux - these things are great ...

https://shop.m5stack.com/products/atom-lite-esp32-developmen...

For a buyer, eBay prices for used Raspberry Pis have never looked very attractive.

People don't sell enough of them[1], so the supply/demand curve favors demand and the price is only tempered by that of new hardware (if it is readily available).

That's good for sellers who pay attention. If you've got stuff that you aren't using and the price is high-enough to get your interest, then: Please sell it. :)

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[1]: I have a theory for why it is this way:

Lots of folks buy Pi hardware. And by that, I mean: It's small compared to the market for iPhones, but it's enormous for a quirky SBC with DIY traits. But lots of those folks futz around with them and lose interest. Into the drawer they go.

People assume the value of computer-ish electronics drops dramatically over time. And for most of the history of personal computers, that's broadly been very true.

Plenty of folks do sell stuff on eBay, and those who have done so know that it can be a pain in the ass to deal with. Packaging, descriptions, printing, photos, getting the thing to the post office or whatever, dealing with the risk of getting ripped off: It sucks. It especially sucks for small quantities of unique (to the seller) low-value items.

So that Raspberry Pi (whether once $20, $40, $80, or whatever) sits in the drawer. They might sell for $200 today, but the uninterested owner doesn't know that. They assume that it's worth less than the cost of a pizza and just isn't worth fucking with at all.

So, even if they might be motivated to deal with eBay for a couple of hundred bucks, their lack of interest means that they never know that the price is high.

Accordingly, the devices stay in the drawer. The $200 remains unrealized. The devices will probably get binned after a few more years of taking up space, if they aren't binned in the next move.

It was always misleading to say it was just $5 because you need power supply, flash card, case etc

This includes all of that

You can pick them up in the Cambridge store, if you're anywhere near it, I bought one last week and they had plenty in stock.

But online it's very hard to find

There seems to be a 3W coming. I guess availability will suck though.

My local Microcenter has 20 in stock but the price has risen to $18