Although innovative, the Fotron was also extremely expensive, unwieldy, and reportedly suffered from poor optical quality. Introduced at a list price of $139.95, by 1971 the camera was selling for $520 (), plus $3.98 per 10-exposure roll for film and processing (). Despite this, Traid claimed the cameras were sold at a loss and only the film processing operation was able to turn a profit. Due to the high price, vendor lock-in of film and processing, and aggressive direct selling techniques used to market the camera, it is often regarded as something of a scam. Traid faced multiple class-action lawsuits brought by Fotron customers and stopped selling the camera in 1971.