It probably means either that someone is eating a good deal of the cost, or retailer markups might actually be pretty steep here. Might be a little of both. Could also be that Waffle’s price only accounts for the initial 20% and not the 34% announced this week. I feel like it’s too early for everyone to fully price it in.
Are Tariffs Going to Kill 400 Scale?
- Thread starter YesterAirlines
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Purpleplane
Well-known member
Irish
Well-known member
Usually when our little man baby threatens he will do… MAGA, killing any sort of hobby since 2016!
diecastfreak
New member
And that what happen when you accept tyranny. You accept 20% now. 10% next year. And 10% each year. You wont be able to buy it anymore.
Any brand that put price increases to help US, will get a boycott. Let the US drown in their own orange mud of ignorance.
LAN子
Member
While I understand the general sentiment, and paying more always sucks - is $7 make or break for you? This is a niche hobby as a whole and with the prices people pay for stuff on eBay I feel like this all ultimately won't really change much.
Wiseman
Member
I assume the price hike is a result of the 10 percent blanket tariff on all foreign imports that went into place recently. I would not be surprised if they only go up from here as the price shock from the additional china tariffs set in.
BD416
Member
I mean, some collectors on here buy 100s of models a year. A huge chunk of business for model manufacturers comes from these big clients and the big issue I foresee is these clients reducing their spending, causing economies of scale to be less effective, possibly raising prices. This coupled with the tariff price increases, could really hurt the US market. I agree with you in the sense that the market probably will not die, but you may see significant consolidation among manufacturers and a sizeable reduction in both stock/selection. This is purely speculative though, and this could go a million different ways.
$7 is just the start, and I assume it will get a lot higher once the more recent levies (including the 50% he threatened today) are priced in. Imagine if the price of models doubled - or worse - how many people would that price out of the hobby?
What’s more, we’re sitting here whining about toy planes when so many necessities in the US are about to get expensive. People won’t just be paying more for planes; they’ll be paying more for coffee, fruits, toilet paper, clothing, the list goes on. When people are cutting it closer to the wire in their daily lives, that makes them even less likely to pay for their hobbies, whether the cost increase there ends up being marginal or not.
Purpleplane
Well-known member
I'm definitely going to be more selective now, will probably go down to about 1 model a month or so.
squatchys_diecast_hangar
Active member
It would effectively kill this hobby and many more hobbies and businesses. A $45 to a $90 model in theory would bury the hobby for sure.
Something tells me that these price hikes are arbitrary from one retailer to the next, given that not all retailers have implemented it yet (most seem not to have), nor have prices increased this dramatically on other hobby items found in physical stores or other websites. Those that have implemented it may be capitalizing on the current situation to earn an extra couple bucks per sale. I can definitely see this with Waffle, considering his arbitrary price hikes on shipping...$18 to ship two 1:400 models vs $10 for the same two models on Jetcollector vs FREE shipping for the same two models on Prairie Diecast or Pandafoxtoys.
Not saying a 'Trump tax' won't happen in the future, but seeing how quickly a few retailers (including Eztoys) have implemented just shortly after the tariff announcements just screams overzealous and greedy.
My two cents: Unless a sought-after model can only be found at a specific retailer, purchase from those that demonstrate good ethics and customer support, including those that will fight to keep the hobby more affordable for customers, rather than those that will take every opportunity to squeeze an extra dollar from their customers. Yes, no one has any control over Trump's actions, but times like these (in my opinion) further differentiate the average from the good from the outstanding retailers.
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Silverbird
Member
Esp. when a shop applies the "Trump Tax" on models that are already in stock. For these the shop/distributor didn't pay the new import duties. But I have seen this often. Even if a manufacturer increases their prices, some retailers also increase the price accross the board for all items in stock.
UALFan1994
Member
Funny I’ve had poor experiences with Waffle and Eztoys before. Can’t say I’m entirely surprised by their price hikes. I’ll stick to my go to retailers which are Jetcollector, Pandafox and WCD!
Phantom
Well-known member
The American people have. I don't think he did away with democracy (yet!)
squatchys_diecast_hangar
Active member
It was a topic of discussion this weekend at the Seattle Aviation Expo. The only price hikes that have been seen are the ones that ADI(Gemini) have done on the last round of new releases, and that was 5%. The manufacturers haven't received their next rounds of new releases on US soil yet, so the tax has yet to be seen.
There were two manufacturer owners at the Expo and neither has seen the the increases nor bills. AC will be implementing a $4 price hike this week on new releases, which is indictitive of current tariffs. The other manufacturers next round hasn't hit port yet so they are in the dark as much as everyone else.
What's funny as some of the retailers mentioned don't even get their product directly from the manufacturers as they are banned from them, and have to get from a 3rd party not on US soil, so I find that as taking advantage of the situation. We haven't raised prices with the exception of the 5% which was passed onto us from ADI. We will also be $4 more on the AC this week. Other than that we are sitting idle until the invoices are in our face.
Scott
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