A COMMENT ABOUT TARIFFS
How the Trade War has effects upon the retailers and collectors
By Alex Ness
April 15, 2025
I have written for 25 years about comics, movies and collectibles for various websites and my own websites. The world doesn't necessarily revolve around entertainment and reading material, but it does provide both a collectible and financial pursuit, and a world of ideas and imagination that appeals to people of all ages and diverse demographic representation. This is both about the tariffs and not about who voted and why. That is, who did this isn't really as important as a question about the effects of such decisions. Once that is understood, perhaps then choose your targets of blame. I try to relate pop culture's media and product to real life, to explore our overall goals and avoid divisive aspects of the media. I aim at clarity more than anything like political views or to serve any master regarding taste or P.O.V.
But there are aspects of the real world that have no easy path for commentary. The tariffs of the present US administration mark a distinct moment of specific and real world intrusion upon entertainment's end product and structure. If inflation has an effect upon real world spending habits, it is just as wild and deep an intrusion upon the spending habits to by regulations and governmental choices to raise tariffs to adjust trade surplus or deficits. In fact, tariffs have a greater impact upon the retailers who have a narrow margin of pricing after inflation and tariffs raise the entry level pricing. The result of this are not about administrations and policy, it is about those who buy said products, and those who sell it.
Blame is easy to cast. In making a choice about a book to read, a comic series to enjoy, a collectible for one's shelves or a game to play, whether upon a table or one's interactive device, one might think about who is responsible. General concerns about one's livelihood are made more difficult when prices have driven many from the market place of non necessity offerings. If one can't afford a food product, living arrangement or costs of transit to and from work, the choices made of the surplus bank balance for entertainment product will become far more limited, and certainly, with less choices due to the limits upon both the consumer, and retailers.
I offer a response to tariffs from the desk of founder and president of BigBadToyStore.com
FROM THE TOY AND COLLECTIBLE INDUSTRY
by Joel Boblit from Big Bad Toy Store
Hi Everyone,
I’m writing to share
with you how we are working to handle the rapidly escalating tariff
situation. I want to be transparent and honest with you about the
impacts of these tariffs. This is a complex situation so I apologize
upfront for the length of my note, but I feel it is important to be as
clear as possible in this difficult time.
Tariffs – What Just Happened
For 25 years, we have
operated as a family-owned business under a 0% tariff rate. Several
months ago a 10% tariff was enacted for goods made in China. It was then
doubled to 20%. In April a 34% tariff was added to the total, bringing
us to 54%. Last night another 50% was added, and today (April 9th) an
additional 21% was added, bringing us to 125% total tariffs on Chinese
goods. Vietnam was to be subject to a 46% tariff, but it appears that
this has been reduced to 10% for the next 90 days. These two countries
manufacture 90% of the goods that we sell.
What is the Impact
This unfortunately is
going to result in retail price increases on products impacted by the
tariffs, including new and open pre-orders. We are working hard to
minimize these increases through discussions with our vendors, deploying
the most efficient importing processes, and ultimately sharing directly
in the financial pain. I’m heartbroken to have to do this, and I hate
this tariff situation: it is ridiculous, poorly thought out, poorly
implemented, cruel and punishing to everyone involved in affected
countries and at every level of our industry.
Who Pays Tariffs
Tariffs are a tax on
the US consumer. Foreign governments do NOT pay these tariffs. The US
based companies who import these goods are directly responsible for
paying the tariffs. And ultimately, the US based consumer pays for them
through higher product prices. We are devastated that it has come to
this, and we will continue to work hard to minimize the impact to you.
When and How will Prices Change
In
the past month we have raised prices in a manner that was inclusive of
expected tariffs, while also honoring previously pre-ordered prices.
Unfortunately, the dramatic increases in tariff levels has now made this
approach impossible.
To minimize confusion
during this rapidly changing situation, we will be changing newly
affected pre-order product listings to reflect our normal,
non-tariff-based price. We will also add a notice indicating that a
tariff surcharge will be added at the time of the product’s arrival. We
will inform you of the full amount before your payment method is
charged. You will also be able to cancel your pre-order at that time if
the surcharge amount is something you do not wish to pay. Our customer
service team, as always, will be ready to help with any issues that
arise from this situation, and we will be very flexible given the
circumstances. Today, we expect the surcharge may be between 15% to 40%
of the pre-order price, however that could change as the situation
continues to unfold. Please note that any items currently In Stock are
not subject to the tariff.
We are working as
fast as we can to make these changes clear on our site, but it will take
us time. We have over 10,000 items listed for pre-order currently, and
it is going to take us time to work through how each vendor will respond
to their specific tariff situation. Our supply chain is complex and we
have hundreds of vendors. The timing of when a particular tariff is
applied will depend on a variety of factors including import shipping
dates and any new rules set by the government.
Finally
I absolutely hate
increasing prices to you, but the tariff situation is beyond our
control. If tariffs are reduced or removed, we will reduce or remove the
tariff surcharges on orders accordingly. My pledge to you is that we
will be fair, and we will share the pain of this. I assure you we are
already feeling significant economic and business disruption pain from
these tariffs. We will continue to work hard to serve you with the
quality and customer service level you expect as we navigate through
this difficult time.
I
want to thank you deeply for all the trust and loyalty that you have
placed in BBTS with your collecting passion. Whether you have recently
joined our family or have been with us for years, we truly value our
relationship with you and will do our best to continue to earn your
trust every day.
Sincerely,
Joel Boblit
Founder and President
I thank BBTS.COM for permission to post their letter, and the clarity it brings.
CONCLUSION
I have numerous different articles on the way, as well as announcements about my own works. In the meantime, for all your printing needs, Matt at Speed Print Inc. is amazing.
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