Any plans for fighting tariffs?

[meme6253]

These tariffs are going to impact all of us either directly or indirectly, I am curious if any sellers have a plan for fighting this problem outside of just surrendering & lowering your prices to ridiculous levels just to make a sale., It's going to be a tough road ahead, No Doubt!

[fbusoni]

Even though I do not think my eBay sales will be affected (I sell only old things made here in the USA), I am waiting to see how the tariffs actually shake out.  

I suspect that we will be seeing some intense negotiations taking place between the US and other countries to try to ameliorate the impact bilaterally; there is nothing like the imminence of economic upheaval to bring reluctant foreign partners to the table (and that, as we have seen many times before, is Mr. Trump's modus operandi).

Jerome Powell was interviewed about this today (as it relates to Fed policymaking); he said that the Fed was well positioned to handle any eventuality and would deal with things as they unfolded.  To me that makes sense.

Right now it seems that most folks are in anticipatory anxiety mode... made worse of course by the precipitous decline in the stock market and the impact of that on people's retirement funds.

[slippinjimmy]

As it relates to eBay sellers.....

If you are selling US made goods (or goods you have purchased from US sources) and selling to US residents tariffs are a non issue for you or your buyers.

If you are talking about the increased cost of goods YOU import your "plan" should be to exercise your right to vote at the next opportunity (for all that would be November 2026).

In the meantime send your comments to your elected representatives and join protest groups.

I do not understand why you would need to lower your prices.

[richard1rst]

Haven’t you noticed that over the past couple of months he has announced tariffs and then postponed them. So we really don;t know what we are going to wind up with.

Understand that Trump is a more of a deal maker than he is a politician. The announcements of tariffs are his equivalent of Pawn to King 4 - your move.

For example. Honda has announced they are building a massive manufacturing plant in Indiana instead of Mexico - that way they don’t have to deal with import tariffs. And of course that will create U S jobs - fulfilling one of Trump’s campaign promises to bring manufacturing and jobs back to the US.

Taiwanese chip maker TSMC is investing $100 billion in a new plant in the US so it too does not have to deal with tariffs. And more U S jobs.

Japan’s tech company Softbank is investing another $100 billion for the same reason.

Ford cancelled plans to build a $1.6 billion manufacturing facility in Mexico and is instead building it in the US.

Apple committed to $500 billion over the next 5 years to build multiple data centers in at least 7 states.

And the list goes on. Estimated at this point to be over several Trillion dollars in new U S investments..

You don’t see how that helps you? Well, all those new factories are going to, initially, create tons of construction jobs followed by tons of manufacturing jobs creating tons of people with new money to buy your stuff.

See how it works? Something about the carrot and the stick comes to mind.

As a business man he is targeting the profit and loss of individual businesses even though it looks like politics. We’re going to charge you tariffs - UNLESS you invest money to build here in the US. And if you build in the US we will charge you a lower tax on your profits than if you build overseas.

Check and Mate.

Additionally, consider that until 1916 (or so) before the income tax was established all of the monies that the federal government collected were from import taxes, customs fees and tariffs. And we did quite well for that 140 years or so.

I’ll deal with it when I see EXACTLY what I have to deal with (not chicken little predictions). I don't play "what ifs" because the hypotheticals  very rarely match the reality.

[1786davycrockett]

@meme6253 

Don't panic.

I make no international purchases through eBay; and, if an international buyer wishes to purchase an item from me, it is purchased through eBay International Shipping -- so I have assigned any tariff headaches to EIS.

And, at this time, I do not foresee lowering any of my prices -- my profits are small enough as it is, without becoming a charity due to foolish trade policies.

[fbusoni]

@richard1rst 

Good analysis.

[inhawaii]

I'm not that concerned about tariffs, I am worried about being picked up at my home

in the middle of the night and sent to a El Salvador prison by mistake. 

"Whoops-a-daisy!"

[bashort]

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@meme6253 wrote:

These tariffs are going to impact all of us either directly or indirectly, I am curious if any sellers have a plan for fighting this problem outside of just surrendering & lowering your prices to ridiculous levels just to make a sale., It's going to be a tough road ahead, No Doubt!

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I plan on embracing them, I have a couple semi trailers full of unlisted un tariffed items.

[luckythewinner]

there is nothing like the imminence of economic upheaval to bring reluctant foreign partners to the table.

Or wait on the sidelines until you implode. 

 and would deal with things as they unfolded

ROTFL.

What other option does the Fed have?

To not deal with things as they unfold? 😂

[toysaver]

For sellers that resale ordinary commercial goods - tariffs may be a good thing.  Buyers that never would have bought secondhand goods before may consider the opportunity.  The reality is there will likely be less new goods available to purchase giving the sale of existing merchandise a boost.

[luckythewinner]

For example. Honda has announced they are building a massive manufacturing plant in Indiana instead of Mexico - that way they don’t have to deal with import tariffs. And of course that will create U S jobs - fulfilling one of Trump’s campaign promises to bring manufacturing and jobs back to the US.

Is Honda building a massive new plant, or just using the existing Greensburg plant where they already build other Civics? 

[a_c_green]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

For example. Honda has announced they are building a massive manufacturing plant in Indiana instead of Mexico - that way they don’t have to deal with import tariffs. And of course that will create U S jobs - fulfilling one of Trump’s campaign promises to bring manufacturing and jobs back to the US.

Is Honda building a massive new plant, or just using the existing Greensburg plant where they already build other Civics? 

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I was wondering the same thing. Our Toyota was built in Kentucky, for example, and I know Honda has U.S. plants as well.

Conversely as well, Ford has plants in Mexico.

[chevymontecarlo88]

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@inhawaii wrote:

I'm not that concerned about tariffs, I am worried about being picked up at my home in the middle of the night and sent to a El Salvador prison by mistake. 

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Make sure you put your store on vacation mode just in case. 😁

[tarotfindsandmore]

There's also the added advantage of having items in our inventories that were purchased when Chinese imports had diluted the market to the point that things could be purchased for next to nothing.  We can sell those items at prices below what they'll be at retail without undercutting ourselves (and one another) once the tariffs take effect. 

I've seen two separate designer toy companies announce an end to their plans for future releases until they find US manufacturers/factories to produce their designs. I'm ecstatic about this as both companies were already producing their items in very limited quantities. 

I remember when designer toys came from places other than China, such as Japan and the U.S., and the quality of those toys were far superior.  The same can be said of the decks I sell.  So, for me, the tariffs are a major win in this regard.

I have no problem with paying more for items produced here at home in factories where labor laws exist and workers actually get paid more than a few bucks a day (while simultaneously being viciously exploited by their government).  So far, the only tariff that looks like it's going to be set in stone, is with the one country it should be. 

https://apnews.com/article/jobs-economy-unemployment-inflation-federal-reserve-trump-d43b08bda57cb5d...

[campanaelia]

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@toysaver wrote:

For sellers that resale ordinary commercial goods - tariffs may be a good thing.

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Recessions and bear markets are never good for anybody. People will be hoarding their cash and layoffs will increase. I'm retired and my retirement funds are all down since Trump took office.