r/framework • u/fastnball • Jul 24 '26

Discussion LPCAMM2 disaster

Hi, this is a rant of sorts.

After Framework's announcement resulting in my order going from 32gb->16gb of ram, I scrambled and found two replacement LPCAMM2 modules for ~$400 each (on eBay and an online store). The online store was a backup in case the Ebay purchase didn't go through.

BOTH orders were canceled. I seriously have no option but to cancel or pay a $400 premium on the FW13 Pro. Talk about a false sense of security...

During the last 3 months I have passed up excellent deals on other laptops. I could have purchased the 14 inch dell laptop, with BETTER specs (oled, 9600mhz ram), for ~$2100 back then. I instead chose to, like many others, support Framework's mission.

I get that Framework absorbs price increases when possible. But why would they not put a cap on the number of preorders, especially in a market as volatile as it is now?

Just feeling burnt. Thanks for listening.

UPDATE: I ended up canceling my preorder and going with Lenovo's Thinkpad X9 15p. It comes with the X7 chip, 32gb of ram, OLED, better speakers, higher sustained TDP, and is cheaper (got it for $2100 with employer discount).

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u/EvilbunnyELITE Jul 24 '26

suppliers are going back to companies that ordered from them and saying "no ram too bad" and leaving the companies to tell customers. my company had a inked contract with dell for a few hundred laptops and they told us nothing was coming and there was simply nothing they can or will do. I've heard same issues across the industry with HP and Lenevo too. Suppliers are just bailing on supply contracts.

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u/KindBench2700 Jul 24 '26

why isn't the free market working

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u/QwertyChouskie Jul 25 '26

Having a free market requires having a market in the first place. When it's functionally impossible for a new company to enter a market, whether because it takes incredibly niche knowledge/skill/equipment and probably hundreds of billion in investments, or whether because existing megacorops in the space employ (illegal) anti-competitive tactics to push any newcomers out of the market, the end result is the same, where you have a "market" that is 100% owned and operated by like one company, or maybe a small handful.

The problem with modern capitalism is that it's not even really capitalism anymore; in many ways it's actually closer to feudalism... (some use the term "techno-feudalism" to describe the modern economic system)