Lead Adventure Forum
Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: Mr. White on 04 April 2025, 08:46:02 PM
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This is not to start a political thread, so I hope this doesn't get locked right away (but understand if it does).
What I'm hoping to start here is how the new reality of world economics may or may not effect your hobby. Are you buying from local companies now? Quickly stockpiling what you need from overseas? Carrying on as usual? How do you think these little mens companies of ours are gonna weather this?
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To be fair, I stopped ordering from the States years ago as the cost of delivery and taxes has been prohibited for a while now.
I have to say we are very lucky here in the UK with a bloody good spread of quality manufacturers so I have not felt too much of a pinch.
I do fear though things will be even harder now…and I particularly feel for the companies involved finding it harder to sell into markets as well as the poor hobbyist struggling to get his fix…
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I buy most of my mail ordered stuff from the UK already. When the VAT is deducted from the prices, postage is not much more than ordering from retailers inside Canada (where I am located). As long as Canada doesn’t put tariffs on UK products, that purchasing pattern will not change.
That said, I also order within Canada when there are products I am interested in (I mostly like smaller press games and miniatures, so availability through Canadian sellers is hit and miss - GW and similar large producers dominate). One example is buying MDF buildings from Northern Lights Terrain, based in Winnipeg https://northernlightsterrain.com/ (https://northernlightsterrain.com/) They have a bunch of stuff that fits my current projects, so they got my order (vs Sarissa or some other UK companies).
The tariff situation will impact some of my purchasing going forward. I would like to order some products by companies like Splintered Light Miniatures and Wylie Games but the retaliatory Canadian import tariffs will probably put me off. I used to buy more from US companies, but postal costs reduced that. That issue predates the tariff situation, though. I will not make any purchases to try an beat the imposition of the tariffs, the orders probably will not arrive before then and will get charged anyway when crossing the border.
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As another Canadian, it can sometimes be cheaper to order direct from UK outfits than from Canadian distributors/retailers, and it's almost always cheaper to order from the UK than from the US - even pre-current "entertainment" the US Postal Service rates to Canada were almost always more expensive than Royal Mail rates from UK to Canada.
UK-Canada mail is also, in my experience, faster than any shipping method out of the States to Canada. The fact that the USPS might well be DOGE'd into the ground fairly soon ain't going to help that.
With the current tariffs and political climate, I'm even more likely to go UK or EU for stuff not made in Canada, and move away from Yank suppliers at all. for example, I'll probably start switching to Vallejo paints because I can get them locally and they're EU-produced so no tariff nonsense, vs the Reaper paints I've been mostly using until now but have to order from Texas...
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Also Canadian.
US Post rate killed ordering from the US even before the Elbows Up🇨🇦 campaign recently put a second kill marker on US stores.
UK has always been reliable and affordable - if not just ordering from Canadian shops or buying local.
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I wonder how it will affect my travel luggage when i cross the border…i was already stopped for a luggage search before by the security for carrying a lot of metal that they wondered about what it might be. I buy a lot of pewter when i travel.
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I live in Japan, so I'm already used to high shipping costs for things being mailed to me.
That said, I also ship my miniatures from Japan so American tariffs aren't really an issue for me at the moment.
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Guess it's a wait and see thing for us USA based gamers. I order lots of stuff from UK sallers and companies such as Perry, first Corp, and steelfist.
I haven't tried to order anything since the tariffs have kicked in, so don't know how much it will affect cost from a mom and pop shop vs a manufacturer. Or if there will be a difference at all.
I know the guys at Paizo games have said that they will have to increase prices because there is currently no US base for the amount of cardboard they will need for their board games, boxes, cards etc.
I would imagine wargames Atlantic being US based will have problems as well. I know most of there stuff in the past was made in China and they were talking about moving there production to the States. I don't know if they were able to complete the transfer yet.
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Iam US. I keep saying I am only going to buy from American companies because of the shipping,
but then I still buy from the UK. I find there are still a few companies whose shipping is fair.
However, with these new tariffs I am sure how shipping and cost with be impacted so I guess I
will wait a see.
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As far as I understand, imports into the US below $800 fall under the de minimis threshold and should be unaffected by tariffs. (Goods from China excepted.)
https://dclcorp.com/blog/supply-chain/liberation-day/
I would guess other countries apply similar mechanisms.
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As far as I understand, imports into the US below $800 fall under the de minimis threshold and should be unaffected by tariffs. (Goods from China excepted.)
https://dclcorp.com/blog/supply-chain/liberation-day/
I would guess other countries apply similar mechanisms.
I had read that de minimis has actually been cut, completely, by the US. Maybe it got rescinded - it’s freaking hard to keep up.
Canada has similar rules, but … not now. Everything is getting tariffed from the US to Canada.
I made the horrible mistake of ordering motorcycle parts I could only get from the US, and despite the CBSA website stating “whole motorcycles”, my parts were hit with 25% tariff. That was awesome.
Miniatures … I wouldn’t order anything now. Or anything else, now. At least from the US.
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Does anyone know whether tariffs apply to pdfs or 3D print files?
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Has the De Minimis value from the UK to the US also been scrapped? That would suck because very few US manufacturers make things that I like or want to play. lol
Blkout being the one exception at the moment, and they are made completely in the States.
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Does anyone know whether tariffs apply to pdfs or 3D print files?
I don’t know how border services could enforce that, it’s probably going to fly under the radar while they focus on larger easier targets, like … cars.
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I made the horrible mistake of ordering motorcycle parts I could only get from the US, and despite the CBSA website stating “whole motorcycles”, my parts were hit with 25% tariff. That was awesome.
That sucks! Sorry to hear that.
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That sucks! Sorry to hear that.
Yeah - $1200 in parts… $300 bill. I couldn’t get them literally anywhere else, so you know, whatever. My bike is back from the shop next week. It’s going to be an awesome summer, now. :D
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I order miniatures from Fife & Drum in the U.S. and Jim is always very reasonable with prices and postage so hopefully things will still be much the same. :)
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I avoid buying anything from the Estados Unidos due to the horrific postal costs. A 10% tariff would be near fucking meaningless when the postal costs are double or triple the price of the goods.
As it happens Australia has decided not to apply a 'reciprocal' tariff on US imports. We didn't apply one before either having a FTA with the US. The Orange Buffoon has used the rate of the Goods and Services Tax (VAT) which is applied to all goods, domestic and imported as the benchmark.
We did have a good laugh at the taxing of the Penguins. The Heard and McDonald Islands, listed separately on the naughty list, are actually Antarctic dependencies of Australia. ::)
By the by, bottle of American 'Whiskey' [sic] going free to a good home. My wife stopped off in Dallas on her way home and picked up a bottle of Jack Daniels in the duty free. It's wasted on me, I don't drink bourbon.
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Jack Daniel’s isn’t bourbon. Only Kentucky has bourbon, like Scotch, or champagne. They just laid off 16% of the their workforce though (JD parent co.). Imagine that.
And Canada is the largest importer - to the tune of billions - of bourbon.
Sorry - WAS the largest importer. It’s ALL been pulled off the shelves, and, as it was by contract by consignment, returned to the US.
Oh, how the bourbon industry in Kentucky is crying. It’s … what they voted for.
“Thoughts and prayers” lol
ELBOWS UP 🇨🇦
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The biggest issues for the wider industry will be the cost of Warhammer and games workshop products for American customers - all manufactured in the UK and shipped from the UK to the America distribution centre. Like them or not they make up a huge part of the wargaming eco system and often act as the foundation product for most tabletop games shops - without Warhammer most flgs make their money on magic the gathering.
And the cost for producers manufacturing in china now that all their components are liable for a huge rise in costs. Steve Jackson games have already put out a statement that boils down to "this is going to fuck us up royally" and I imagine many us based producers will be making similar statements soon.
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I buy uk only these days for my wargaming bits and bobs, I used to buy from the states and EU but the silly postage killed that, unless its for a PDF or something non-physical.
If I could do that for other stuff I buy, I would, but as we make very little these days it would be nigh on impossible, very sad.
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Jack Daniel’s isn’t bourbon. Only Kentucky has bourbon, like Scotch, or champagne. They just laid off 16% of the their workforce though (JD parent co.). Imagine that.
And Canada is the largest importer - to the tune of billions - of bourbon.
Sorry - WAS the largest importer. It’s ALL been pulled off the shelves, and, as it was by contract by consignment, returned to the US.
Oh, how the bourbon industry in Kentucky is crying. It’s … what they voted for.
“Thoughts and prayers” lol
ELBOWS UP 🇨🇦
Bugger! Is that what they call 'blowback'? lol lol lol lol lol Schadenfreude running deep here. FAaFO.
Oh well, whatever it is, it's not whisky, it's an abomination. I just wish she had bought me what I asked for: a bottle of cravinho and another of licor de jenipapo. Most other things I can get here anyway. Those two can only be found in one particular place on earth.
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The biggest issues for the wider industry will be the cost of Warhammer and games workshop products for American customers - all manufactured in the UK and shipped from the UK to the America distribution centre. Like them or not they make up a huge part of the wargaming eco system and often act as the foundation product for most tabletop games shops - without Warhammer most flgs make their money on magic the gathering.
And the cost for producers manufacturing in china now that all their components are liable for a huge rise in costs. Steve Jackson games have already put out a statement that boils down to "this is going to fuck us up royally" and I imagine many us based producers will be making similar statements soon.
This is a major concern for me.
GW is based out of Memphis for all of North America (they closed Canada at least 12? years ago?).
Right now, UPS ships their product to Canada. Wargaming has been exempt anywhere in the world to Canada.
But… now the new blanket tariffs to goods coming into the US… how will GW deal with that?!? I think their solution may well be isolate US, ship to Canada from the UK, otherwise the price will be 25% HIGHER. Even GW must know that’s not palatable.
And as you said, Steve Jackson - screwed.
Catalyst Games (Battletech) - same.
What about D&D? Books are printed where? China most often. Screwed!
The implication of the tariffs are quite deep and will change supply chains.
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SJ Games email below
An Important Message From Our CEO Meredith Placko
On April 5th, a 54% tariff goes into effect on a wide range of goods imported from China. For those of us who create boardgames, this is not just a policy change. It's a seismic shift.
At Steve Jackson Games, we are actively assessing what this means for our products, our pricing, and our future plans. We do know that we can't absorb this kind of cost increase without raising prices. We've done our best over the past few years to shield players and retailers from the full brunt of rising freight costs and other increases, but this new tax changes the equation entirely.
Here are the numbers: A product we might have manufactured in China for $3.00 last year could now cost $4.62 before we even ship it across the ocean. Add freight, warehousing, fulfillment, and distribution margins, and that once-$25 game quickly becomes a $40 product. That's not a luxury upcharge; it's survival math.
Some people ask, "Why not manufacture in the U.S.?" I wish we could. But the infrastructure to support full-scale boardgame production – specialty dice making, die-cutting, custom plastic and wood components – doesn't meaningfully exist here yet. I've gotten quotes. I've talked to factories. Even when the willingness is there, the equipment, labor, and timelines simply aren't.
We aren't the only company facing this challenge. The entire board game industry is having very difficult conversations right now. For some, this might mean simplifying products or delaying launches. For others, it might mean walking away from titles that are no longer economically viable. And, for what I fear will be too many, it means closing down entirely.
Tariffs, when part of a long-term strategy to bolster domestic manufacturing, can be an effective tool. But that only works when there's a plan to build up the industries needed to take over production. There is no national plan in place to support manufacturing for the types of products we make. This isn't about steel and semiconductors. This is about paper goods, chipboard, wood tokens, plastic trays, and color-matched ink. These new tariffs are imposing huge costs without providing alternatives, and it's going to cost American consumers more at every level of the supply chain.
We want to be transparent with our community. This is real: Prices are going up. We're still determining how much and where.
If you're frustrated, you're not alone. We are too. And if you want to help, write to your elected officials. You can find your representative and senators' contact information at house.gov and senate.gov. Ask them how these new policies help American creators and small businesses. Because right now, it feels like they don't.
We'll keep making games. But we'll be honest when the road gets harder, because we know you care about where your games come from – and about the people who make them.
As for PDFs, places like drivethru don't even seem to charge vat, so I'm hoping the tariffs will be skipped as well.
Like others, I stopped ordering from the US years ago when postage rates became stupid, although Wargames Atlantic could be a concern. Still, I have enough figures to keep me busy for a few decades.
I guess we'll see how it plays out...
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As mentioned above I think the end of cheap printing in China is going to make start up projects especially expensive. I wonder if Kickstarter projects will see a price hike ?
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This is a major concern for me.
GW is based out of Memphis for all of North America (they closed Canada at least 12? years ago?).
Right now, UPS ships their product to Canada. Wargaming has been exempt anywhere in the world to Canada.
But… now the new blanket tariffs to goods coming into the US… how will GW deal with that?!? I think their solution may well be isolate US, ship to Canada from the UK, otherwise the price will be 25% HIGHER. Even GW must know that’s not palatable.
And as you said, Steve Jackson - screwed.
Catalyst Games (Battletech) - same.
What about D&D? Books are printed where? China most often. Screwed!
The implication of the tariffs are quite deep and will change supply chains.
Oh yeah, the ramifications are long term. The idea that this will magically make companies switch to domestic production is laughable - of the domestic production capacity existed, it'd be used. What there is isn't financially viable at current consumer price expectations - so either the price goes up because of tarrifs, or the price goes up because of increased production cost/relocation.
It goes both ways as well - magic the gathering cards are printed in the us.if they become more expensive to import them they'll be forced to pass that cost on to players worldwide, Which means players will eventually move towards less expensive domestically produced
Games either out of choice, or simply through a lack of availablity as retailers drop US products. As I said above MtG is the lifeblood of most independent game shops - of you're not running Friday night magic and doing release events you're pretty much wholly reliant on Warhammer to make the majority of your income - so flgs on both sides of the Atlantic should really be looking to get their affairs in order asap.
One company that might benefit is privateer press - they may see a return to the glory days of being the American Warhammer competitor, although I think warmahordes has very much gone off the boil.
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The bit that really makes me laugh is all those red baseball caps are made in...... China.
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The bit that really makes me laugh is all those red baseball caps are made in...... China.
I believe it's pronounced CHAYYNAH.
But yes this is either a severe case of "we didn't know all our stuff was made elsewhere" or "we are bankrupting an empire in order to buy up the ruins". Either way it's certainly going to keep economics professors busy for the next decade.
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I had read that de minimis has actually been cut, completely, by the US. Maybe it got rescinded - it’s freaking hard to keep up.
Canada has similar rules, but … not now. Everything is getting tariffed from the US to Canada.
I made the horrible mistake of ordering motorcycle parts I could only get from the US, and despite the CBSA website stating “whole motorcycles”, my parts were hit with 25% tariff. That was awesome.
Miniatures … I wouldn’t order anything now. Or anything else, now. At least from the US.
I read the DLC website explanations a few times, the wording is kind of wonky. Only China has no minimum de minimis, Mexico and Canada are potentially going to get that too, but other than that it's still $800 for all other countries. At the top, where it talks about China makes it sound like everyone but in the bullet points it says that the de minimis still stands. Hope that helps.
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The yanks are trying to kickstart a manufacturing economy that is already virtually dead!
Look at the mess that was Detroit.
They are not far behind us in the UK as a post industrial economy, sadly they should have tried this in the 70's but not now.
>:D
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As another Canadian resident (alas still 9 months to citizenship lol), I typically buy from the UK/Europe as the costs from the US have always been high. Come to that, shipping from the UK is typically only a couple of $s more than shipping across Canada (and less than the Sentry Boxes flat C$35 rate *facepalm*)
I had planned a Brigade Games order to finish off my 3 Musketeers stuff, but that's on indefinite hold until tariffs and 51st state crap are over. I would say it will rule out Firelock games, but truth be told they always ran too expensive even before this!
Given that white metal mostly comes from the far east, I am guessing that US figure manufacturers are going to have to hike prices too... even if the moulds are spun in the US
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After a week of staring at tariff data at work, i wander onto LAF for a change of subject matter and what do i find ??? lol
The other factor to take into account is currency ...we are likely to see some interesting movements in exchange rates, which may (or may not) cancel out some of these tariffs, depending upon whether market makers believe these tariffs are going to be shortlived, or a feature of the next 4 years.
If you want an insight into what is the motivation behind this week's goings on, have a read of Peter Navarro's "Death by China"... he is someone that has the ear of the new Administration.
Personally speaking US tariff policy wont affect my purchase of wargames goodies, but then again i dont buy a lot from the States anyway.
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As another Canadian resident (alas still 9 months to citizenship lol), I typically buy from the UK/Europe as the costs from the US have always been high. Come to that, shipping from the UK is typically only a couple of $s more than shipping across Canada (and less than the Sentry Boxes flat C$35 rate *facepalm*)
I had planned a Brigade Games order to finish off my 3 Musketeers stuff, but that's on indefinite hold until tariffs and 51st state crap are over. I would say it will rule out Firelock games, but truth be told they always ran too expensive even before this!
Given that white metal mostly comes from the far east, I am guessing that US figure manufacturers are going to have to hike prices too... even if the moulds are spun in the US
I could buy from Sentry Box and ship it to you for less… lol
There’s a lot of other shops to go to, and most offer discounts. The Box collects points - not sure if that’s online as well. In person sales, they do add up and make it work out ok.
I use about four online Canadian shops for stuff. What brands do you hunt for?
Good luck on your citizenship, eh, fellow hoser! 🇨🇦👍🤣
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Thanks, all, for keeping it fairly civil so far at 3 pages deep.
For myself, I tend to order a lot from Northstar and Footsore with the occasional order from smaller boutique suppliers like Bac Ninh or Oathsworn. I'm in the US (Texas) so I've usually waited to place larger orders so the shipping made sense. I wonder now if I'll need to go to Badger Games to pick up a few odds and ends from the likes of the Oathmark or Baron's War lines. I'm not sure if they'll continue to carry those at the current price. I don't really wanna panic buy, but the thought is there.
I've also been waiting for some Gale Force 9 "Battlefield in a Box" terrain items to come back into production. Those seem to happen in steady waves. I believe they were made in Asia, but I could be wrong, so who knows if they're coming back. I'm not looking forward to making terrain. That part of the hobby never appealed, sadly.
Reaper is up the road in Dallas, but I've spent a lifetime buying Citadel paints that buying the colors I need at the FLGS is like being on autopilot. I might have to work at finding paint alternatives now. I believe the latest Epic Scale Fantasy armies from Wargames Atlantic are made in the US, but I don't know if their other lines are.
Either way, I do have a decent queue of models to paint already so if I can kick the spending habit, I should be good for the next four years. I over bought on my last Burrows and Badgers order, which may now turn out to be a happy accident. If the hobby as a whole becomes to expensive (which it's been close to already) I have a huge bag of 1/72 Dark Alliance/Red Box plastic models I bought up a few years ago. Maybe I end up in 1/72 land...
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We are absolutely going to see big shifts in industries closely related to our hobby. The boardgame industry is in panic mode currently, especially a number of big names which have kickstarters going or funded but not fulfilled yet. Even in digital gaming, Nintendo cancelled the option to pre-order their new console (the switch 2) in the US due to tariffs. While I haven't seen anything specific about it, I imagine the same is going to apply to a big chunk of the toy industry at large, so any toy car or boat or spaceship you've used for wargaming or scenery in the past? yeah...
Interestingly I know that Lego has a manufacturing plant inside the US (lego nerds complain that the printing quality is noticeably lower from this source) but besides them I imagine any brand big or small is going to have problems.
So we are going to see some tectonic shifts in the industries our hobby overlaps with for sure. And not just in the US or related to US manufactured stuff, the flow of goods is going to shift massively and that will have ramifications all round, just hard to say how exactly.
In the longer run, and staying optimistic, this may boost the rise of localized to order or small batch manufacturing. We already have a rapidly growing cottage industry with 3d printers globally, and print on demand books/magazines/playing cards aren't new either, but with the cost of import/export becoming prohibitive there could be more of a market for companies specializing in this kind of board/card/miniature game manufacturing. Plenty of things that could end up bad about that, but it might not be a bad thing for our hobby. If some sort of manufacturing hub network like that does take root, it would open options for a middle sized game company that we don't really have right now. Wargaming and miniature manufacturers are either entirely boutique one person or family businesses, or much much larger established companies who can only persist by being fully commercial minded about their products. Miniatures and wargames are a poor rate on investment for companies and retailers alike in general. You need to stock a wide range of models for the game to be "supported" enough for local interest to flourish, taking up huge chunks of shelf space and distribution storage. Compared to say a collectable card game? you can pack an entire new release of magic cards in the same box that would hold 3-4 starter sets of 40k!
Bankrolling that product, distribution and inspiring stores to actually stock your product is such an investment that your more or less forced to become that big bad corporation if you want to make it work. And thats a huge step to make from two guys sculpting and casting in their garage. The only real middle ground we have currently have been crowdfunding, kickstarter especially. Getting so many pre-orders in up front that you can produce and ship to customers directly, maybe have a bit of stock extra to sell and then you won't produce anything until you launch the next campaign which will offer your older work as add ons sure, but its a very start stop jerky way to keep your game alive!
That's looking at it optimistically though, I don't think its impossible, but I'm not going to bet on it becoming a viable alternative, not before we see a bunch of crap consequences from this policy first.
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I've also been waiting for some Gale Force 9 "Battlefield in a Box" terrain items to come back into production. Those seem to happen in steady waves. I believe they were made in Asia, but I could be wrong, so who knows if they're coming back. I'm not looking forward to making terrain. That part of the hobby never appealed, sadly.
That's a good question! Sadly I binned the boxes so I can't see if it says anything on there, but I got some of the hextech 6mm sci-fi buildings a bit ago and going by the manufacturing methods its uses it doesn't scream china production to me. The masters were clearly 3d printed and given minor adjustments by hand. And the heavy resin casting their scenery uses isn't a made in china staple either I think? The weight alone would make shipping it over costly.
Now if that means its US produced or comes from another country with a cheaper production industry I really don't know.
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I have Hex Tech as well, but can’t say where it was made.
Incidentally, GW makes terrain in China still. Latest stuff I ordered I was surprised to see that. So that’s likely to change.
GW books are printed all over the place - I am sure one or two even in Canada. So it can be done.
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That's a good question! Sadly I binned the boxes so I can't see if it says anything on there, but I got some of the hextech 6mm sci-fi buildings a bit ago and going by the manufacturing methods its uses it doesn't scream china production to me. The masters were clearly 3d printed and given minor adjustments by hand. And the heavy resin casting their scenery uses isn't a made in china staple either I think? The weight alone would make shipping it over costly.
Now if that means its US produced or comes from another country with a cheaper production industry I really don't know.
When it’s cheaper to ship in whole cargos of steel, and to truck bottled water thousands of miles, ya gotta know that it isn’t weight that stops such.
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Jack Daniel’s isn’t bourbon. Only Kentucky has bourbon, like Scotch, or champagne. They just laid off 16% of the their workforce though (JD parent co.). Imagine that.
And Canada is the largest importer - to the tune of billions - of bourbon.
Sorry - WAS the largest importer. It’s ALL been pulled off the shelves, and, as it was by contract by consignment, returned to the US.
Oh, how the bourbon industry in Kentucky is crying. It’s … what they voted for.
“Thoughts and prayers” lol
ELBOWS UP 🇨🇦
I wanted to stock up on Canadian Whisky in a reverse boycott but i think it’s now too late. i don’t want to pay the tax as it were, such that the administration thinks this tariff business was a good idea.
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The biggest issues for the wider industry will be the cost of Warhammer and games workshop products for American customers - all manufactured in the UK and shipped from the UK to the America distribution centre. Like them or not they make up a huge part of the wargaming eco system and often act as the foundation product for most tabletop games shops - without Warhammer most flgs make their money on magic the gathering.
And the cost for producers manufacturing in china now that all their components are liable for a huge rise in costs. Steve Jackson games have already put out a statement that boils down to "this is going to fuck us up royally" and I imagine many us based producers will be making similar statements soon.
I guess this will mean i finally get to the unpainted mountain and back under control for lack of new purchases to distract me from what i already have on hand.
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I've also been waiting for some Gale Force 9 "Battlefield in a Box" terrain items to come back into production. Those seem to happen in steady waves. I believe they were made in Asia, but I could be wrong, so who knows if they're coming back. I'm not looking forward to making terrain. That part of the hobby never appealed, sadly.
The GF9 Galactic Warzones: Desert Buildings box I have says "Designed in New Zealand, Made in Malaysia" if that's any help
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Made in Malaysia, Thailand, or Vietnam doesn’t rule out a Chinese owner of the factory.
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Made in Malaysia, Thailand, or Vietnam doesn’t rule out a Chinese owner of the factory.
True.
Off topic a bit, but Apple is getting burnt on this as they moved factories from China to Vietnam for Air Pods and MacBook (some models). 46% tariff.
Nintendo Switch 2 was supposed to be out this month - price just went up by 50%, pre-launch delayed.
It’s the worst economic policy since … the tariffs of another GOP, the Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930.
Is America Great again? There is just so much winning in this. 6 TRILLION cut from the stock market in 3 days. Only the oligarchs love this as they can buy at massive discounts.
Do not pass Go and enjoy the Roaring Twenties, go straight to Great Depression.
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I wanted to stock up on Canadian Whisky in a reverse boycott but i think it’s now too late. i don’t want to pay the tax as it were, such that the administration thinks this tariff business was a good idea.
It will always be there! I actually stopped drinking … lol
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I will save my all whisky buying for when i am back in the UK. I tend to drink craft beer when i am in the States. I suspect my days of shuttling back and forth are going to come to an end soon.
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I will save my all whisky buying for when i am back in the UK. I tend to drink craft beer when i am in the States. I suspect my days of shuttling back and forth are going to come to an end soon.
I think a lot of that is happening, too. Canadian flights to the US are down around 70+%. Staggering.
The grocery stores here have shifted to non-US produce. I saw product of Egypt oranges last week. And that’s what people were buying. Not California, which were heavily discounted… and going bad.
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True.
Off topic a bit, but Apple is getting burnt on this as they moved factories from China to Vietnam for Air Pods and MacBook (some models). 46% tariff.
Nintendo Switch 2 was supposed to be out this month - price just went up by 50%, pre-launch delayed.
It’s the worst economic policy since … the tariffs of another GOP, the Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930.
Is America Great again? There is just so much winning in this. 6 TRILLION cut from the stock market in 3 days. Only the oligarchs love this as they can buy at massive discounts.
Do not pass Go and enjoy the Roaring Twenties, go straight to Great Depression.
So much winning! lol That Tim Apple is gonna be mighty sore he didn't line up with Elon, Zuck and Jeff at the inauguration.
Inevitably it will be US gamers that take it in the arse the hardest. Think of it as your own Brexit catastrophe writ large. Of course if Trump goes the distance with this, the price of toys will be the least concern they'll have.
The one upside to it all is that this will probably be the final nail in Tesla's coffin. (free-falling stock dropped another 10% in the past 24 hours). :D
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Yeah, TSLA is a free fall at this point.
“Thoughts and prayers, friends… “ lol
So much winning, all around. All around.
And no, I don’t think gaming is anywhere on the minds of Nutlick the trade advisor or Donald, at all.
Just fallout from all this.
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There is one upside for US hobbyists. Once the marines has seized Greenland, you'll have access to Denmark's Lego mines. ;)
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There is one upside for US hobbyists. Once the marines has seized Greenland, you'll have access to Denmark's Lego mines. ;)
Famous Danish quote:
“What happens if someone invades Greenland?”
“Well, we’ll have to rescue them, of course!”
Vance thought it was “cold”. The vast majority of the US forces are from the southern states. There is no way they are going to Greenland. They’ll literally die of frostbite like an 18th century expedition lol
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I think the dangers are far greater than the cold. Just remember the invader always takes a bit more of the invaded away than they might like.
The last time a major US dignitary visited the frozen north was Reagan in Reykjavik. Not long after the US got Björk (but craftily held on to Emiliana Torrini). God only knows what indie-pop weirdo Greenland is harbouring, ready to unleash like a Doomsday bomb. :)
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I guess I'm your regular doomsayer, but I have a bad feeling that toy soldiers will be least of our problems in short time, even for those whose livelihood depends on them.
Talking 'bout Reagan, any other fans of Gil Scott-Heron's music here? His song B-Movie seems to capsulate things happening right now pretty well. Hell, even Village People gets mentioned (wrong song, though...) and here I am wondering if Scott-Heron was a time traveller or if it's just so obvious that we, people, never change and this was bound to happen sooner or later.
Quote from the song:
"As Wall Street goes, so goes the Nation
And here's a look at the closing numbers:
Racism is up, human rights are down
Peace is shaky, war items are hot
The House claims all ties
Jobs are down, money is scarce
And common sense is at an all-time low with heavy trading"
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I guess I'm your regular doomsayer, but I have a bad feeling that toy soldiers will be least of our problems in short time, even for those whose livelihood depends on them.
Talking 'bout Reagan, any other fans of Gil Scott-Heron's music here? His song B-Movie seems to capsulate things happening right now pretty well. Hell, even Village People gets mentioned (wrong song, though...) and here I am wondering if Scott-Heron was a time traveller or if it's just so obvious that we, people, never change and this was bound to happen sooner or later.
Quote from the song:
"As Wall Street goes, so goes the Nation
And here's a look at the closing numbers:
Racism is up, human rights are down
Peace is shaky, war items are hot
The House claims all ties
Jobs are down, money is scarce
And common sense is at an all-time low with heavy trading"
Huge Gil Scott-Heron fan! Very appropriate. I’m saving my red, black, and green liberation jumpsuit for just the proper occasion…
Because the revolution will NOT be televised, brother!
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The biggest issues for the wider industry will be the cost of Warhammer and games workshop products for American customers
If there is one thing that I have learned over the past 25 years, it is that GW consumers have zero tolerance for price increases, regardless of source. Their hold on a tiny piece of market share has always been a tenuous one, and my heart is breaking for the impeding exodus from 40K and AoS...
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I actually bought what I wanted to from Pulp Miniatures (Canada) a couple months ago, seeing and hearing this was on the horizon. Glad I did, as I live in the U.S.
I think others have alluded to this, but I think buying PDF copies of rules and STLs of miniatures may be even more dominant in the future. Those beautiful, glossy print books are going to be a lot more expensive if printed in a different country. For minis, I can see people patronizing in-country companies out of necessity. Or matching their vacations up with where they want to buy them from and returning with a suitcase full of their new project... lol
Mike Demana
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If there is one thing that I have learned over the past 25 years, it is that GW consumers have zero tolerance for price increases, regardless of source. Their hold on a tiny piece of market share has always been a tenuous one, and my heart is breaking for the impeding exodus from 40K and AoS...
Thirty years of GW gaming has taught me… nothing could be further from the truth! GW is so hard to get now, at any price, and tournaments have never been larger. It’s incredible just how dominant GW really is.
That said, 25% tariffs for US customers will hurt. But not enough to kill anything like you’re doom-saying.
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Maybe we should organise a sort of Band Aid charity for our gaming chums in the Estados Unidos? Send little baggies of toy soldiers to the deserving cousins? I reckon USAID must have a surplus of their food sacks these days, I'm sure they'll sell 'em on cheap. America First after all.
Herbert you talk to Celine, we'll get someone in the UK to talk to Geldhof (anyone here speak bollocks?) and I'll try and tee up Kylie. She'll be chuffed, she wasn't in the first one.
See you all at Wembley in a couple of months time. The concert title suggests itself. Lead America First.
Bleed the World, let them know it's Tarriff Time.
Bleed the World......
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Let’s do it: DICEAID! 2025. Help the poor Americans with a hand up … lol
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Thirty years of GW gaming has taught me… nothing could be further from the truth! GW is so hard to get now, at any price, and tournaments have never been larger. It’s incredible just how dominant GW really is.
That said, 25% tariffs for US customers will hurt. But not enough to kill anything like you’re doom-saying.
My post would have been better received 4 days ago, it was thoroughly tongue-in-cheek, and honestly I think that they will see their sales increase with passed on prices. Everything that I have seen of the 40K community has been typified by the sunk cost fallacy that has basically every player taking pride in how much they have spent on their armies, built or not, painted or not.
I would be willing to bet that as soon as there is an across the board announcement that GW will have to raise their MSRP, there will be a flurry of YouTube videos all saying that "if we don't spend more on models, The Hobby(TM) will collapse" and even when the tariffs settle out, their prices will not drop.
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My post would have been better received 4 days ago, it was thoroughly tongue-in-cheek, and honestly I think that they will see their sales increase with passed on prices. Everything that I have seen of the 40K community has been typified by the sunk cost fallacy that has basically every player taking pride in how much they have spent on their armies, built or not, painted or not.
I would be willing to bet that as soon as there is an across the board announcement that GW will have to raise their MSRP, there will be a flurry of YouTube videos all saying that "if we don't spend more on models, The Hobby(TM) will collapse" and even when the tariffs settle out, their prices will not drop.
Well played - satire is hard to get across on teh webz. lol
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Err - certain, um, thing, I cannot discuss without inventing new bad words, in spades, so, I'll try and be good.
"Do not pass Go and enjoy the Roaring Twenties, go straight to Great Depression." < prescience.
Recession is all but guaranteed now. Depression is now a very real possibility - worldwide. That may pale all other discussions. But will it be worse than the Great Depression? Unknown.
UAW seem happy (United Auto Workers union) but are missing a critical point: tariffs can only bring back car making jobs to the US if the US still has an auto industry. I fear that is in jeopardy now. Used cars are going to skyrocket in price. Certainly, US gave away any chance of leadership in the renewable energy sector to China courtesy of The Fartsolini. Stupid is as stupid does. Speaking of which - I guess chocolate, already expensive, is going to get worse. Now, while that may make my doctor happy, it really pisses me off!
I am so thankful that I bought almost everything 'hobby' I need before I retired and stocked up with rest before the 'orange shit hit the far too powerful fan'(and oh how it stinks!). Certainly, now, instead of giving away the excess figures in my collection, I am more likely to sell them to the beleaguered seekers. Hey, wait, that means I am a capitalist! :o. Just when you think there is no hope, I will ride to the rescue - with an auction. lol
Actually, seriously, still possible I might give some stuff away. Need to reduce my collection by maybe half - and that means around 20,000 extra 15 mm figures to flood the market over time. If there is any market left.
In the 'former' USA. It isn't the same anymore so I think that is proper. And breaks my heart.
Oh, yeah, I do have one order I am waiting on - placed pre-tariff insanity - that may not ship for a bit due to time for material to 'cure' so I may get hit with a tariff charge on that stuff, from UK to USA. Last order I plan from outside of US for what may be a long time to come.
Best of luck to all the hobby businesses that must endure, where ever they are, courtesy - XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX (self-censored).
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Vance thought it was “cold”.
To focus just on history, I'll say that I'm sure old Erik the Red would be tickled to know his sales snowjob is still jobbing dimwits a thousand years later!
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To focus just on history, I'll say that I'm sure old Erik the Red would be tickled to know his sales snowjob is still jobbing dimwits a thousand years later!
No kidding lol
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The ancient equvalent of selling the Brooklyn Bridge.
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This whole thing is just so stupid, I am going to boil it down into a single covering word.
"FUCKTARDS!" >:(
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Tariffs and trade wars are going to be bad for most areas of life and for the majority of people, but so long as we can meet the basics then affecting a hobby is just that.
Sure we might not be able to afford everything we would like but we can choose not to let buying less stuff make us sad.
Beautiful miniatures and detailed terrain is wonderful, but so is imagination and creativity.
I recall seeing photos of a Philipino game group playing with limited terrain and an eclectic selection of miniatures.
Same picture also showed 8 or 9 friends grinning, laughing eating and drinking while they played.
For my part this hobby is about an escape from the real world and I intend to keep it doing just that.
As for purchasing I think the small guys are going to struggle the most so my business will be going to them.
Hope everyone continues to have a good life outside of gaming, and continue to roll crits inside.
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At this point, I'm pretty sure y'all are opening these topics on Fridays just to ruin my weekends.
Could you please stay focused on concrete information e.g. the SJG announcement and walk back from letting this devolve into an expletive-riddled reenaaction of latter-day Frothers, thank you very much.
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....... letting this devolve into an expletive-riddled reenaaction of latter-day Frothers, thank you very much.
lol
If anyone wants to know why all this is needed:
"China Shock" David Autor/David Dorn/Gordon Hansen
"The Persistence of the China Shock" David Dorn/Gordon Hansen
"Death By China" Peter Navarro (already recommended earlier and the easiest to read)
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I haven't ordered from the US for many years aa I found that (a) postage charges are prohibitive anyway (b) some US vendors had their own expensive shipping policies plus (c) you can get hit for UK Customs duty .I was sent something free of charge by a guy in the US and I still got stung for $50 UK taxes, with no right of appeal. That said I recently bought something from Canada that came in two large boxers marked "Canadian Postal Service" and they sailed through UK customs with no extra bill .
All a bit of a shame as I would love to order some Kurasan and Brigade Games products.
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If anyone wants to know why all this is needed:
"China Shock" David Autor/David Dorn/Gordon Hansen
"The Persistence of the China Shock" David Dorn/Gordon Hansen
"Death By China" Peter Navarro (already recommended earlier and the easiest to read)
You might want to do some reading around the subject ? Peter Navarro is as damaged as JD Vance.
Might be an idea to close this thread as I think its going Pete Tong ;)
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I have at least learned the difference between Brigade Games (US) and Brigade Models (UK), which should save me some confusion down the road ;D
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I have at least learned the difference between Brigade Games (US) and Brigade Models (UK), which should save me some confusion down the road ;D
;) :D lol it should! I also work for a company called Brigade, so imagine how I feel :o lol
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As it turns out, I stockpiled a 6mm fantasy/medieval project from Baccus. Added to my existing stash, I probably don’t need to ever buy anything other than paint and brushes again. I expect that companies dependent on US sales will be in some trouble due to reduced discretionary spending. That’s assuming that the tariffs are in place for an extended period, and the administration’s messaging on that has not exactly been consistent.
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Tariffs will have zero effect on my personal hobby purchases because, as others have already mentioned, international shipping rates and import duties make it prohibitively expensive already.
Here in the UK even if I want US stuff where there is a UK stockist there often seems to be a "price premium" that reflects, I assume, the import costs to the UK seller.
One exception I notice is North star selling Pulp Figures, but I think Nick casts here in the UK so only the Moulds would have the import costs, but I could be wrong.