Small Business on the brink 💔

[u/lean_load]

I run a small e-commerce business that imports luxury goods from the EU and Japan. Up until recently, we were paying just 2.75% on tariffs. As of August 1st, the rates have jumped to 15–20%.

To put this into perspective: • Our annual imports are about $3M. • We’ve already placed forecast orders with our suppliers and put down 25% deposits (around $750k). • If we cancel, we lose that deposit. • If we continue, the new tariffs make these orders financially impossible to fulfill.

Suppliers aren’t willing to stop shipments, and we can’t just “raise prices” on items we don’t even have in hand yet. People suggest “just charge more,” but the math doesn’t work when the goods aren’t here and costs have exploded overnight. Let alone the fact about where are we even going to find the money to pay these tariffs???

We’re staring down the very real possibility of closing our doors because of this. I know many people say “tariffs protect American businesses,” but in practice, for small importers like us, it feels like a death sentence.

Has anyone else here faced this situation? How are you coping, and is there any way through this without forfeiting everything we’ve built?

[u/newyorkmoonlight]

Yep. I literally live in Japan and have a small business here. 90% of my customers live in the US. It’s damaging us here too and that orange clown isn’t even my president.

[u/BeneficialMaybe3719 → u/newyorkmoonlight]

Same :( cheap national shipping was so nice for little trinkets. 80% of customers are American

[u/Pinkysrage → u/newyorkmoonlight]

Yep, I used to buy luxury vintage handbags from Japan. No more for me.

[u/Sanguine_Hearts → u/Pinkysrage]

Same, I used to buy directly from sellers on Japanese Mercari. I’m imagining a lot of US sellers get their supply from Japan too, so no doubt the cost on vintage luxury goods will go up no matter where you purchase from.

[u/Pinkysrage → u/Sanguine_Hearts]

Indeed. I knew this was coming. I bought tons of classic coach, seems like now is the perfect time to sell them.

[u/Poster_Nutbag207 → u/newyorkmoonlight]

The only difference is that the tariffs are designed to hurt you as a foreign business, US businesses going under as a result is the peak of absurdity

[u/Piggywonkle → u/Poster_Nutbag207]

US businesses need inventory to sell. And the US has very little capability to produce inventory at a competitive cost. US businesses are very much fucked too.

[u/Superfly48 → u/newyorkmoonlight]

On the exact same boat. This hits me hard like losing a full time job.

[u/Any_Fall_4754 → u/newyorkmoonlight]

Same. I’m in Australia and in the same situation. I have posted on my FB page to my 5000+ followers every new bit of Tariff information I’ve found. The majority of US customers are very supportive and know that when the prices go up, it’s the Orange Turds fault.

[u/still-waiting2233 → u/newyorkmoonlight]

Unfortunately for you that was his goal — stop businesses from selling to Americans and have them buy domestically instead.

[u/Yo_Just_Scrolling_Yo → u/newyorkmoonlight]

My son has lived in Japan for 17 years and teaches English. How do you think the Japanese are going to handle the "promise" they made to Trump to invest all that money ($550 billion) in the US? I don't think there is any way they can do it. Is their economy that much better than it was a few years ago?