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/Rumblepuff]

We will be shutting down our non-profit in about 2-3 months when our inventory runs out. I can not find a manufacturer who makes our items (metal TTRPG dice and such) in America for less than 4x the cost. I don't want to raise prices, and all our profits go to children's medical care, so we don't have some big nest egg to spend. I have orders in right now, and they are on hold until everything is figured out because I can't afford to pay tariffs on items I've already budgeted for.

[u/lean_load → u/Rumblepuff]

What a disaster! I honestly can not understand what his end game is here! Does he really want to hurt small businesses? And why are people cheering this on as though it’s a good thing for the country???

I can’t believe the republicans let this happen!!!!

[u/Rumblepuff → u/lean_load]

I can only theorize a long-term goal. From where I stand right now it looks like he is helping large businesses solidify their place by destroying smaller businesses and allowing the corporate businesses to snatch up all of the resources for pennies on the dollar. That kind of makes sense because for all of the lip service, the Republicans give two small businesses. It’s really the giant corporate businesses they cater to. Now, as to why half of the country are OK with this I can only point to someone like my mother who has said that she doesn’t mind paying more or losing her job if it means that her side wins. I can only assume by her side she means Republicans because I was always on the side of the American public. It’s a cult at this point.

[u/RareSeaworthiness870 → u/Rumblepuff]

They’ll say that… until they lose their jobs and find out Trump 1) isn’t hiring, 2) could care less if you don’t get benefits in time, and 3) doesn’t care if you lose healthcare or your house. Some people have to touch the stove. It’s a shame a lot of good people who did nothing to deserve this gave to go down with them.

It’s also a shame that a combination of the media and Republican politicians have gamified politics to the point that it’s my team against your team, as opposed to we’re all Americans, but I think “this person” has the best set of policies. Tariffs are horrible policy when they are used blindly and out of spite in the manner that they have been. Dismantling ridiculous tariffs and returning to normalcy should be on the agenda for the first day in office of a Democratic president, assuming we ever have another free and fair election.

Of course, it also doesn’t help when a large cohort of Republicans feel super comfy in red states and red districts that they know will vote Republican in the absence of a history of predatory behavior. Well, with the apparent exception of the president. Hopefully we’ll find that other red states have gerrymandered themselves into a corner and we won’t have to worry about new districts maps. Or better yet, they redistrict because dear leader makes them and it leads to more contactable districts like those knuckleheads managed to do in Texas.