Tariffs...how bad is it?
Hello Fam! Tony Kim here, owner of Hero Within. Unless you have been lost in the Delta Quadrant, you have heard about the global tariffs and how it is negatively impacting our world economy. For Hero Within, we are certainly feeling the immediate pressure so I wanted to share with you what's going on. I'll keep this brief but here are the two major ways the new tariffs are affecting us:
First, we manufacture all over the world like in China, Pakistan, Turkey and some small domestic runs. Because of the current 145% tariff on China, we are unable to continue manufacturing there for the foreseeable future. This means, we have halted about 1/3 of our production. We've already started paying an additional 29+% in the remaining countries which is going back down for the next 90 days but will most likely return. A 90 day break doesn't really help us since we plan and prepare farther out than 3 months. Because of the roller-coaster situation, over the past two months, production has started and stopped a few times- which is frustrating.
Secondly, regardless of country of origin or tariff rates, customs is taking 2-3 times longer to process goods. Every shipment is being scrutinized and much more paperwork is being requested. We received and shipped out half of our January Preorders but the other half is still being processed. All this is resulting in longer delivery times. Regardless of how these tariffs pan out, hopefully customs will return to a more efficient situation.
I share all this because for small business, time = money. The longer it takes for us to get inventory and the more we have to pay these exorbitant tariffs, the smaller our profit margin gets. We are attempting to hold our current prices but it's becoming an impossibility.
I share all this because I am asking you to be patient with us as we figure out the next steps. All orders are in production now but we are having to proceed with caution. One wrong move can set us back weeks or months. Worst case scenario is that we have to halt global production indefinitely. I have tried to manufacture domestically and it would only be possible if we charged 2-3X more which I don't want to do. With your support, I know we can survive this. Every great novel, comic book or sci-fi story shares dires circumstances and heroes that overcome insurmountable odds. Tightening the belt isn't easy for us but I am confident our small company will be stronger on the other side. Thank you for your patience and understanding- regardless of what happens, the best is yet to come.
On a positive note, we have a few new releases coming soon to experiment with the cost and delivery speed. I am excited to expand our collection and hopefully you will be happy with our new offerings. LLaP.
Tony B Kim
Owner & Chief Nerd
Hero Within
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