To: CEO, RASPBERRY PI FOUNDATION
Bcc: CEO, Raspberry Pi (Trading) Limited
Bcc: To management AND the trustees of the board, UK.
Dear Sir/Madam,
We know that Raspberry Pi Foundation and its products developed in the UK via Raspberry Pi (Trading) Limited and manufactured in the UK and elsewhere and sold to distributors , suppliers and places across the world. The main aim of it being to help more young people understand and get into computing and advance education of adults and children, particularly in the field of computers, computer science and related subjects.
But with each iteration of your products and the current situation in the UK and the world regarding chip production and backorders, There may be a significant impact on your production and this may have impacted the supply and demand and your need to significantly increase prices even though being a non-profit organization.
This does not mean that you should let unscrupulous traders resell your products on popular online market or e-commerce platforms worldwide for a 200% markup on the price. It sort of has bought to the seeker a moral dilemma if they should purchase it or not ? And who profits from the 200% markup on your product when you yourself do not? And what this money spends to purchase the goods goes to ? Possibly to what purpose ? Are the intentions for pure profit ? Does selling Razberi pi sold for a 200% markup become the new narcotics industry ? to make profit off a naive organization in the UK with an intent that was once pure and now has become something like the of a cocaine producing farmer ?
It is understood that you may not have much control over the reseller market, but you may have to introspect what your purpose to release these products were and why are these products being marked up so much and is this a supply and demand problem that will get resolved in the near future ?
As an organization you do may need to take further steps and now it seems your products are not being used for the way basic functions it may have been indented to and unacceptably the demand has grown and the usage has been commercialized off your organizations back , people seem to be also using your products for solutions and services , and making profit off them that may outweigh your organization good intentions.
We fail to understand your organization not taking a proper response to such mal- intended ways that undermine the vision of the products. Rather you may look at normal businesses and how they sell for profit and how they pay tax on their earnings that in turn contributes to the UK economy.
As an organization you have failed miserably to address the fact that though you may be non profit and may not be paying tax in the UK while your employees may be taxed etc. But your products seem to have been marked up 200% by cartels taking shape in the free market. Even paying 10% tax on 200% would still be a profit where ever your products have been sold on such platforms in worldwide markets.
This brings a dilemma to the consumer as to why they should buy your products? or even support your products . With every tom dick harry expecting to buy your product and to sell it with a 200% percent markup , and your organization making revenue out of undisclosed circumstances with the current rate of inflation in the UK and worldwide to the various worldly circumstances. You may say that do not support such people ?
We hope you though your staff and resource available to your Raspberry Pi (Trading) Limited will conducts a proper review of reselling at more profit on such online platforms worldwide and review as to how products you sell and stocked at distributors are scalped, horded and resold worldwide at such enormous profit online and also inform such trading platforms to halt such sales.
We hope the management and the trustees of your both organizations will open their eyes and minds and look deep and take actions to bring matters under control in an already fragmented and fragile world circumstance.
The End.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
