Tracking toy tariffs

I came in to post about the Mattel rant too. I know the "country" bit is probably as much his usual word salad vs him actually THINKING Mattel is a country, but I miss having a leader who knew how to speak in a way that didn't sound like a high pitched garbage disposal chewing words out in random order.

But man, the most powerful job in the world and ranting about putting a tariff on Barbies when we've got airplanes rolling off aircraft carriers feels like maybe leadership could be focusing their attention elsewhere. I'm so tired. Let kids have dolls.

I'm usually a "if I think I'll regret not buying it, just preorder it" guy, had been cutting back, but this past week or two if I was on the fence I preordered. I want those Thunderbolts figures but I don't want to pay six or eight dollars more than usual for them, that sort of thing.
 
What exactly did he say? I'm having trouble finding it.

I've seen a statement where he says he'll tariff Mattel by 100%. I assumed he meant all toys since tariffs often apply to different types of goods differently. If that's the statement in question it looks like he was reacting to Mattel saying they wouldn't move manufacturing back to the US. Not sure why that set him off; very few companies will be moving manufacturing out of China in this global economy. Most will just charge Americans more.
 
EnigmaticClarity said:
If Hasbro does nothing different except pay the new tariffs then that's the best guess I've seen for what the new price would be. If they declare a Legends to be worth $10, then 145% * $10 is about $15, so prices would raise by $15.

But they've probably waited this long to come up with a way of avoiding the tariffs. And since Mattel hasn't raised prices yet then they've probably found a way since they don't want to announce new price points significantly higher than their competitors' prices are. I bet they moved packaging to somewhere else--maybe Mexico, maybe someplace closer to China like India or Vietnam--and Legends will import from that new country now, yet still be mostly manufactured in China.
Click to expand...
I agree that is how the math works out. What I mean is that I think Hasbro knows that Legends, etc at $39.99 a pop are an absolute non-starter for most people, and putting that price out there - even if it's totally and completely not their fault and just a pass-through of the tariffs - could do tremendous damage to their various lines. I would imagine they'd stick everything in storage and try to wait it out rather than send people running when they see such a huge jump in price. But I guess we'll find out pretty soon!

EDIT: The example you gave is even generous - I'd personally be pretty surprised if Hasbro's unit costs were as low as $10/each.
 
Last edited:
hmmberto said:
I'd personally be pretty surprised if Hasbro's unit costs were as low as $10/each.
Click to expand...

When I've seen production cost numbers for products in the past they were usually around 30% to 40% of the company's MSRP for that item.

When you first hear that it sounds like quite a markup, but the products have to ship from China and be tariffed (the tariffs were always there; Trump just increased them), ship again to the retailer, and then retailers have to mark them up to make their cut and account for their costs as well such as employees, retail space, shipping the product to each of their stores, etc.
 
docsilence said:
"Mattel— they’re the only country I’ve heard saying they’re going to go some place else. That’s okay. Let them go and we’ll put a 100% tariff on his toys. He won’t sell one toy in the US."
Click to expand...

The "he" is almost certainly Mattel's CEO Ynon Kreiz.

What does Trump mean by "they're the only company I've heard saying they're going to go some place else?" That's what the majority of companies are saying they'll do--either continue on in China but do a two-step to move products to another country before they go to America, or move manufacturing to another Third World nation.

There is no other option for most products. We're too rich to make moving manufacturing most goods in America cost effective, so our workers are always going to cost significantly more than workers make in Third World nations. That's particularly true with manufacturing where labor unions enable workers to make 1.5 to 2 times the minimum wage that is mostly $15 around the nation now (even though the federal minimum wage is still a paltry $7.25 per hour). UAW (Union of Auto Workers) members usually make $25 to $30 per hour these days.
 
Last edited:
I put "they're the only" company up there with his favorite "most people don't know this" verbal tick - "I just learned this so clearly it's new information even though everyone else was aware of it first." I mean, every board game kickstarter I get a message from is trying to find some sort of workaround, gotta assume literally everyone no matter their size is.
 
EnigmaticClarity said:
The "he" is almost certainly Mattel's CEO Ynon Kreiz.

What does Trump mean by "they're the only company I've heard saying they're going to go some place else?" That's what the majority of companies are saying they'll do--either continue on in China but do a two-step to move products to another country before they go to America, or move manufacturing to another Third World nation.

There is no other option for most products. We're too rich to make moving manufacturing most goods in America cost effective, so our workers are always going to cost significantly more than workers make in Third World nations. That's particularly true with manufacturing where labor unions enable workers to make 1.5 to 2 times the minimum wage that is mostly $15 around the nation now (even though the federal minimum wage is still a paltry $7.25 per hour). UAW (Union of Auto Workers) members usually make $25 to $30 per hour these days.
Click to expand...

Trump should probably say what he means, then, instead of forcing people to guess. I'm sure you're right - the "he" here is Mattel's CEO - but if we want to play the game, then that's not exactly what he said. For a decade now I've seen people constantly speak for him with the "well, you're just being a jerk, what he MEANT was..." and it's very tiresome lol

He also referred to Mattel as a country, not a company. What he said was "they're the only country", not "the only company."

Sure, yes, Trump is an old man and it's probably petty to hold the President of the United States to a certain standard in how he uses words; but I'm just that sort of petty. I'm sure he meant "company" and I'm sure he meant "CEO", but that's not what he said. He said "country" and "he". Sorry to be pedantic, but if we're going to talk about what he said then we should do him the courtesy of properly quoting him lol


(and for the record - I used to complain every time Biden said the wrong words, too)
 
TheRealSmallville said:
Trump should probably say what he means, then, instead of forcing people to guess. I'm sure you're right - the "he" here is Mattel's CEO - but if we want to play the game, then that's not exactly what he said. For a decade now I've seen people constantly speak for him with the "well, you're just being a jerk, what he MEANT was..." and it's very tiresome lol

He also referred to Mattel as a country, not a company. What he said was "they're the only country", not "the only company."

Sure, yes, Trump is an old man and it's probably petty to hold the President of the United States to a certain standard in how he uses words; but I'm just that sort of petty. I'm sure he meant "company" and I'm sure he meant "CEO", but that's not what he said. He said "country" and "he". Sorry to be pedantic, but if we're going to talk about what he said then we should do him the courtesy of properly quoting him lol


(and for the record - I used to complain every time Biden said the wrong words, too)
Click to expand...
Very much agree.

I never liked Dan Quayle but but I used to think we were a little hard on someone for shaming them for misspelling potato under pressure, but now I think we do not shame people for not being able to explain themselves coherently in public when they are in roles of power. Not crazy about how far the pendulum swung.

And now I want to see 47 attempt to spell potato. Bet he goes on a rant about McDonalds fries and never answers.
 
docsilence said:
Very much agree.

I never liked Dan Quayle but but I used to think we were a little hard on someone for shaming them for misspelling potato under pressure, but now I think we do not shame people for not being able to explain themselves coherently in public when they are in roles of power. Not crazy about how far the pendulum swung.

And now I want to see 47 attempt to spell potato. Bet he goes on a rant about McDonalds fries and never answers.
Click to expand...
"You say you want me to spell potato, and, I will, but potatos are, and the murderers and rapists are just pouring in over Obama's border, right? And Obamna, I mean, uh, SLEEPY Joe, the worst potato in the history of our country, he ruined it, y'know, and then the doctors come in, right? And they say "oh, well, he's very much, you know, the potato izzzz, a STARCH. And in our country, we really need them to pay their share. We really need them to, America was great, and, I'm the only one who can spell potato great, again, and then we'll save it. We will save our country. Thank you."


I'm old enough to remember when Dan Quayle's political career was destroyed because he added an 'e' to potato. Granted, he was already on thin ice with a lot of people, but that moment was devasting. It may have helped, in part, to sink Bush's re-election. It's weird to think we've come so far that "potato(e)" once destroyed a career, and "grab them by the pussy" kickstarted one. Unreal.

Anyway, tariffs, amirite? There, I brought it back full circle.
 
TheRealSmallville said:
"You say you want me to spell potato, and, I will, but potatos are, and the murderers and rapists are just pouring in over Obama's border, right? And Obamna, I mean, uh, SLEEPY Joe, the worst potato in the history of our country, he ruined it, y'know, and then the doctors come in, right? And they say "oh, well, he's very much, you know, the potato izzzz, a STARCH. And in our country, we really need them to pay their share. We really need them to, America was great, and, I'm the only one who can spell potato great, again, and then we'll save it. We will save our country. Thank you."


I'm old enough to remember when Dan Quayle's political career was destroyed because he added an 'e' to potato. Granted, he was already on thin ice with a lot of people, but that moment was devasting. It may have helped, in part, to sink Bush's re-election. It's weird to think we've come so far that "potato(e)" once destroyed a career, and "grab them by the pussy" kickstarted one. Unreal.

Anyway, tariffs, amirite? There, I brought it back full circle.
Click to expand...
I don't think America lost much by Quayle disappearing, but even I, who am also old enough to remember that happening, am like really, THAT was his end? There was so much better stuff... But also we had Howard Dean tanking his career for yahoo'ing weird on mic. We used to wield shame so much more aggressively.

Back to tariffs - my friend just convinced me to stock up on soap and deodorant just in case the prices go through he roof, so hey, I added a Star Wars Black Series preorder to my order to get free shipping before the prices go up! Argh. I hate worrying about the little things not being on shelves. I'll be pissed if toy prices go up but if I start running out of hygiene products I'll lose my mind.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top