It's going to be interesting and chaotic watching retailers hold the line and then break. If you have big purchases you wanted to make this year, now is the time to get them out of the way, before the next round of price hikes and shortages.
> If you have big purchases you wanted to make this year, now is the time to get them out of the way, before the next round of price hikes and shortages
That's what I just did. I got a 2025 Hyundai Kona SEL EV. It doesn't qualify for the tax credit, but many EV makers (such as Hyundai, Kia, and Nissan) who have cars that don't have been offering deals that give the same amount off as the tax credit. With that it brought it down to $32050, before tax/license/registration.
There's a good chance these are going to go up when the ones that were imported before the tariffs are gone, considering that final assembly is in South Korea from a 50/50 mix of parts from South Korea and China.
I think there are definitely others trying to beat the tariffs. In the last 3 days, 3 of the 4 Kona SEL EVs that were on the lot when I bought mine are now gone.
Even if someone manufactures something in the U.S. the odds are they will still be importing some parts from China. Especially in the bike industry where most components are not manufactured in the U.S.
But even if we assume for the sake of argument that the every piece of the bike is manufactured in the U.S., manufacturers will still be affected by the Chinese tariffs.
Their packaging material? Their machinery that they use? The tools that they use? The cost of the plumber they call to fix the bathroom on the shop floor might be higher because the tools the plumber uses have now become more expensive.
And that’s just China. The U.S. has placed tariffs of at least 10% on everything including lumber, aluminum, steel which will raise the cost of everything at every step of the economic activity that leads to the manufacturing and purchasing of a product.
There will be no shortages. Prices will hike and then discounts will appear. The market will seek equilibrium as prices and buyers negotiate the new landscape.
> Prices will hike and then discounts will appear.
I don't recall that happening with eggs/poultry, computer parts, electronics, electric vehicles or clothing. Tariffs aren't put in place to handle a trade surplus, the "equilibrium" you're describing is very distinctly outside America's control.
American businesses can't compete abroad going up against China. Even military threats just give more credence to a new global order, reinforcing the importance of NATO to America's trade partners. We don't have the price controls required to make these choices.
"On April 9, Specialized Bicycles informed its retailers that it is listing the 10% tariff surcharge on a separate line item on B2B invoices after May 1."
Wonder how common this will be, and if it would expand to consumer/retail receipts?
It's going to be interesting and chaotic watching retailers hold the line and then break. If you have big purchases you wanted to make this year, now is the time to get them out of the way, before the next round of price hikes and shortages.
> If you have big purchases you wanted to make this year, now is the time to get them out of the way, before the next round of price hikes and shortages
That's what I just did. I got a 2025 Hyundai Kona SEL EV. It doesn't qualify for the tax credit, but many EV makers (such as Hyundai, Kia, and Nissan) who have cars that don't have been offering deals that give the same amount off as the tax credit. With that it brought it down to $32050, before tax/license/registration.
There's a good chance these are going to go up when the ones that were imported before the tariffs are gone, considering that final assembly is in South Korea from a 50/50 mix of parts from South Korea and China.
I think there are definitely others trying to beat the tariffs. In the last 3 days, 3 of the 4 Kona SEL EVs that were on the lot when I bought mine are now gone.
Is Trek not one of the dozens of bike brands made in the US? I’d always thought they were.
Edit: this looks like a good source on US bike manufacturers: https://thebestbikelock.com/bike-brands/bikes-made-in-usa/
Even if someone manufactures something in the U.S. the odds are they will still be importing some parts from China. Especially in the bike industry where most components are not manufactured in the U.S.
But even if we assume for the sake of argument that the every piece of the bike is manufactured in the U.S., manufacturers will still be affected by the Chinese tariffs.
Their packaging material? Their machinery that they use? The tools that they use? The cost of the plumber they call to fix the bathroom on the shop floor might be higher because the tools the plumber uses have now become more expensive.
And that’s just China. The U.S. has placed tariffs of at least 10% on everything including lumber, aluminum, steel which will raise the cost of everything at every step of the economic activity that leads to the manufacturing and purchasing of a product.
There will be no shortages. Prices will hike and then discounts will appear. The market will seek equilibrium as prices and buyers negotiate the new landscape.
> Prices will hike and then discounts will appear.
I don't recall that happening with eggs/poultry, computer parts, electronics, electric vehicles or clothing. Tariffs aren't put in place to handle a trade surplus, the "equilibrium" you're describing is very distinctly outside America's control.
American businesses can't compete abroad going up against China. Even military threats just give more credence to a new global order, reinforcing the importance of NATO to America's trade partners. We don't have the price controls required to make these choices.
I agree probably no shortage on bicycles. People will just not buy the bikes and the shops will go out of business.
And you know this because...
"On April 9, Specialized Bicycles informed its retailers that it is listing the 10% tariff surcharge on a separate line item on B2B invoices after May 1."
Wonder how common this will be, and if it would expand to consumer/retail receipts?
That's pretty predatory. 10% on the wholesale price is probably much less than 10% of the retail price
Retailer gross margins on bikes is ~50%. As in you normally sell a bike for roughly twice the wholesale price.
But apparently a typical bike store runs a net profit on the order of 5-10%.
Having your COGs jump 10% is pretty significant then your net profits are that slim. It would wipe out a 5% net profit for example.
https://www.bicycleretailer.com/opinion-analysis/2013/06/14/...
https://sharpsheets.io/blog/how-profitable-is-a-bike-shop/
So if gross margin is 50%, tarrifed bike will be a lot less because it doesn't include r&d, marketing, support, whatever app track has etc.
The 2017ish 10% tarrifs increased retail costs 1-2%--unnoticeable vs background inflation
It’s a good thing we still have consumer protection agencies to look into predatory practices…