As of this morning, the US has imposed a 25% blanket tariff on all imports from Canada to the US, and the Canadian Government has responded in kind with targeted tariffs on specific US imports with more to come in 120 days.
The Good News and the Bad News
The good news for US customers is that the De Minimis exemption still stands, which means orders shipped to the US that are under $800USD are exempt from tariffs at this time.
The bad news is that one of the product categories that is counter-tariffed immediately is all paper products including sports cards and trading cards. As a Canadian company, this will have severe impacts on our operations and ultimately on our customers.
As a sole proprietor of a entirely self-funded small business I am in the unenviable position of navigating this with limited resources and capital. I will do my best to minimize disruption but the reality is that this is very much out of my hands.
I will continue to update the blog as more information becomes available.
For Canadian and other non-US Customers
Canadian prices will rise on all newly imported Hobby/Retail boxes. Product currently in our stock, or in stock with our distributors is not affected but as new releases arrive in Canada from US warehouses, the 25% counter tariff will be applied.
For US Customers
US Customers are facing both the same increased cost on newly imported Hobby and Retail boxes, as well as their own 25% import tariff when product over $800USD is shipped to the US.
Customers with existing subscription bundles over $800USD will be contacted directly for shipping and packing options.
Additional Information for Hit Box Subscribers
There will be no change to the cost of your subscription. Your subscription price is set when you started your subscription and those prices will be honoured. The overall value of the packs placed in your box will not change either, but the contents will reflect the increased costs.
What I am Doing to Minimize Impact
First and foremost, I have brought in several cases of product in advance of the new tariffs to secure the best cost on those products. Not every product is easily sourced and there are capital limits as well but this was an important step.
Future product acquisition will focus on products that are already within Canada which will not be affected by the counter-tariffs. Whether the distributors within Canada take this opportunity to 'market re-price' these products remains to be seen, but hopefully that will not occur.
Final Notes
If you have a current Hit Box subscription and would like your subscription paused until the tariffs are removed, please contact me ASAP. I will be maintaining a list of those subscribers and I will automatically pause your subscription and restart it when this is resolved.
If you would like to be on this list, I would appreciate knowing as soon as possible, since I gauge my product purchasing based on the number of upcoming subscription fulfilments.
Ultimately, when governments fight it's the citizens who pay the bills. I hope that this trade war is short lived and its impact is minimized.
Cheers,
Dave @ Hit Box
