The retailers that have partnered with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to sell the organization's low-cost Linux computer clarified their pricing structures today. Inconsistent regional prices and shipping costs have created some confusion about the total cost of procuring the computer, which has met with massive demand.

The Raspberry Pi foundation was founded with the goal of building an inexpensive Linux computer that can be used by young students to learn computer programming. The computer, which is a bare ARM board roughly the size of a deck of playing cards, has a 700MHz ARM11 CPU and 256MB of RAM. The project has attracted considerable interest from Linux users and embedded systems enthusiasts.

The first model of the Raspberry Pi board was intended to sell for $35, but it looks like buyers can expect to pay closer to $50 after factoring in taxes and shipping. RS Components, one of the Raspberry Pi retailers, announced today that it has adopted a flat global price of £21.60 and a flat global shipping charge of £4.95. Add the 20 percent VAT, and the total cost becomes £31.86.

RS Components allowed users to register for their purchase on launch day, but hasn't actually made its Raspberry Pi units available for purchase yet. The company says that it will be making units available on a first-come-first-served basis, in the order that users registered on the site. They will be contacting buyers within the next few days to tell them how to complete their orders.

RS Components received over 200,000 registrations from individuals who are interested in buying the board. There are only 10,000 units available in total in the first batch, which will be split between RS Components and Premier Farnell, the other retail partner.

Farnell has also been working to simplify its pricing structure for the Raspberry Pi, but still has variable regional pricing. The company has published a table that shows what the price and associated sales tax will be in various regions. The cost of purchasing the device from Farnell and having it shipped to the United States is $40 plus sales tax. Farnell began taking orders on launch day, but the company says that it will automatically adjust prices for existing orders in cases where the new pricing model is less expensive than when the user placed the order.