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RE: Why the Raspberry Pi makes a great Christmas gift for kids
They charge more than they cost. They are $35 list price, AliExpress always charges over list price. The problem, in the US they are hard to get without a bundle unless you buy from overseas or through Arrow.
Amazon sellers are known to gouge on this item because there is very little profit margin and there is a very high demand. But list price is $35 and anything higher is actually charging a premium.
Check out Adafruit in New York, https://www.adafruit.com/product/3775 just $35US. They have a large amount of addons and a wonderful learning site. learn.adafruit.com with projects of all skill levels.
A few of the parts from my portable gaming console is from Adafruit. I believe it ends up being more when you add shipping. Arrow is the best place for US citizens to buy a buy when they have their deals.
We just tend to buy stuff from Ali Express because they are free freight to New Zealand in under two weeks, while American places like amazon charge up to US$50 courier, often take longer, and sometimes totally stuff up the packaging! (my favourite was the time they sent us a box of stuff but forgot to tape it closed!)
So the price of the Pi itself is not that critical - I think we paid about $150 for our first one from England, so $37 is a bargain
WOW, I just purchased a Raspberry Pi 3B+ from Arrow with free shipping to Canada. How do they make money?