Tariffs and Wargaming

[HerbertTarkel]

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.

[carlos marighela]

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!  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). 

[HerbertTarkel]

Yeah, TSLA is a free fall at this point.

“Thoughts and prayers, friends… “

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.

[carlos marighela]

There is one upside for US hobbyists. Once the marines has seized Greenland, you'll have access to Denmark's Lego mines.

[HerbertTarkel]

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 

[carlos marighela]

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.

[Kanto]

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"

[HerbertTarkel]

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!

[Kelly_]

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...

[mikedemana]

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... 

Mike Demana

[HerbertTarkel]

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.

[carlos marighela]

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......

[HerbertTarkel]

Let’s do it: DICEAID! 2025. Help the poor Americans with a hand up … 

[Kelly_]

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.

[HerbertTarkel]

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.