Rolling for Initiative is a weekly column by Scott Thorne, PhD, owner of Castle Perilous Games & Books in Carbondale, Illinois and instructor in marketing at Southeast Missouri State University. This week, Thorne continues his discussion of the potential effects of tariffs.
Following up on last week’s column on tariffs, I wanted to take a further look at their effects on the industry (see “Tariffs,Take 2“). President-elect Trump plans to impose a 20% tariff on goods imported into the United States from any country, except China. For imports from China, hoping to “level the playing field,” Trump has threatened tariffs of up to 60%. We do not know how encompassing the tariffs would be. During Trump’s first term, after a lot of back and forth, the segment of the market including tabletop games got exempted, for the most part, from tariffs. There was some back and forth on playing cards, but if I remember correctly, those got removed as well.
The store is getting ready to put in a direct order for dice and accessories from a supplier in China, so we wanted to look at how costs might change. From this particular supplier, we can purchase a collapsible dice tray for $2.88 with a minimum order quantity of 10. A similar dice tray from one of our U.S. suppliers costs $7.50. Should the China-sourced dice tray get hit with a 60% tariff, I estimate my cost for that tray increases to $4.61.
On items brought in directly from China, we look to maintain about an 80% gross margin, which covers the costs of shipping and adding more items to inventory than we reasonably expect to sell within a month’s time. We pay about $7.50 currently for the same style of tray from a distributor and keystone-price those at $14.99. If the price goes up to $4.61 for us, we could absorb the price increase and still sell them at $14.99. We would not be thrilled about it but could do it. My distributor would likely raise their price to $9.99 or thereabouts, meaning we would increase out price on the trays to $19.99 on ones we purchased through distribution. I like buying through distribution on many items because I do not have to warehouse large quantities, but prices would certainly go up.
Surprisingly, a large number of our best-selling game products would be exempt from any tariff (at least the finished goods would be, although ink, paper and cardstock might be subject to them). Magic: The Gathering, for example, is printed in the U.S. From what I understand, some of the product printed for pre-release events are printed in Japan, but checking the legal text on various recent sets, most say Made in USA. Looking at our other TCGs, Pokemon TCG, Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, Disney Lorcana and Star Wars Unlimited all say printed in the USA. One Piece CG is the only one of our top-selling TCGs printed outside the U.S.
Looking at the miniature lines we carry, it looks as if Reaper Miniatures is the only one carrying a “Made in USA” tag. WizKids products are all imported from China, as is Catalyst Game Lab’s BattleTech, while Games Workshop and Bolt Action miniatures are all imported from the United Kingdom. Looking at board and card games, the only major publisher I see with games printed in the U.S. is Looney Labs, which uses Delano Games as their printer. If the proposed tariffs are enacted, and printed products do not get an exemption again, we will likely see a lot of price increases in the next year.
Comments? Other Games published in the U.S., RPG or Board? Send them to castleperilousgames@gmail.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
Source: ICv2
