How Will The New Tariffs Affect TTRPG Prices?

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New US tariffs have hit the world, and the tabletop gaming industry is bracing for impact. Every company (including us) will be doing a thorough analysis of how the recent US tariffs will affect their business, and then plan accordingly.

Of the raft of global tariffs on US imports declared yesterday, two in particular affect the tabletop gaming industry--the tariffs on the EU and on China.

The new tariff on goods manufactured in the EU is 20%, while those which originate in China are 34%. This is in addition to a recent 20% tariff on China, raising that level to 54%.

The tariff applies to the place of origin of a product, not the country where the company is registered. Many game companies in Europe, the UK, and Scandinavia print books in the EU; and more complex products which require boxes or other components, including those from game companies in the US, often come from China. The tariff on UK-produced products is 10%, but most UK-based companies print in the EU and China.

There is something called the 'de minimis threshold', and generally shipments below that value do not incur tariffs. In the US that is currently $800, and it mainly affects individual orders bought from overseas. However, that no longer applies to goods made in China. It also won't help with shipments of inventory (such as a print run) shipped to a US warehouse from the EU. When somebody in the US orders a book from, say, a UK game company, that order will often be fulfilled from inventory stored in a US warehouse rather than shipped directly from the UK. That US inventory will have incurred the tariff when it was shipped as part of a larger shipment.

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A shipment of our books from our printer in the EU

Of course, these aren't the only way that tariffs can affect prices. Even products manufactured in the US might use materials or components from China, Canada, or the EU, and that will affect the production cost of those products. For example, a US printer which uses paper sources in Canada is going to have increased costs. DriveThruRPG's print-on-demand costs have already increased by as much as 50% in the US.

How might game companies go about handling these increased costs?
  • Eat the tariff themselves. That might be possible in some instances, but the size of them will likely make that non-feasible. Most game products do not have a 54% profit margin.​
  • Manufacture in the US. That solution might be feasible but runs into a couple of barriers. (1) US printing costs tend to be higher; (2) goods would then have to be exported to the EU, Canada, and other countries, which may have reciprocal tariffs in place; (3) US printing capacity isn't up to the task (remember printers don't just print games--we're talking books); (4) US non-book game component manufacture capacity is even more difficult; (5) splitting a print run between a US and EU or Chinese printer greatly reduces the per-unit manufacture cost as the volume at each location will be halved; (6) as the recent DTRPG printing cost increase shows, even US printers use raw materials from elsewhere.​
  • Pass the cost along to customers. This, unfortunately, is probably going to be the most feasible result. This means that the price of games will be going up.​
It gets really difficult when the production/shipping process straddles the tariff. We at EN Publishing have four Kickstarters fulfilling (Voidrunner's Codex, Gate Pass Gazette Annual 2024, Monstrous Menagerie II, and Split the Hoard) which have been paid for, including shipping, by the customer already. Two of those (Voidrunner and Split the Hoard) involve boxes and components, which meant they were manufactured in China. The other two are printed in the EU (Lithuania, specifically). All four inventory shipments will arrive in the US after the tariffs come in. We haven't yet worked out exactly what that means, but it won't be pleasant.

I suspect in the future, in these days of sudden tariffs, companies will hold back on charging for shipping right up until the last minute. And that's also bad news for customers, as they won't know the shipping price of a game until it's about to ship. This might also mean a shift towards digital sales which--currently--are not affected.

Most game companies are likely crunching numbers and planning right now. It is not known how long the tariffs will be in effect for, or what retaliatory tariffs countries will put in place against US goods. But this is a global issue which is going to drastically affect the tabletop gaming industry (along with most every other industry, but this is a TTRPG news site!)

Steve Jackson Games posted about the tariffs (the site seems to be experiencing high traffic at the time of writing)--

Some people ask, "Why not manufacture in the U.S.?" I wish we could. But the infrastructure to support full-scale boardgame production – specialty dice making, die-cutting, custom plastic and wood components – doesn't meaningfully exist here yet. I've gotten quotes. I've talked to factories. Even when the willingness is there, the equipment, labor, and timelines simply aren't.

We aren't the only company facing this challenge. The entire board game industry is having very difficult conversations right now. For some, this might mean simplifying products or delaying launches. For others, it might mean walking away from titles that are no longer economically viable. And, for what I fear will be too many, it means closing down entirely.

Note: please keep discussion to the effect of tariffs on the game industry. This forum isn't the place to discuss international politics.
 

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It’s not “China” deciding what to sell at, it’s companies in China, and companies like us manufacturing in China. China doesn’t decide what I sell the Voidrunner’s Codex at, I do. Neither does it decide how much the printer charges to manufacture it.

China can introduce tariffs or devalue its currency, etc. it can’t decide that companies are going to sell below costs.

I know that China doesn't determine what you charge the end consumer for the product.

But in a controlled economy such as China, the government could (and does) subsidize various industries, which allows the manufacturing company to sell the product to you at a price that maintains it's price competitiveness.

The primary reason companies choose to have their products manufactured in China is the low cost. China will fight tooth and nail to maintain that advantage.
 
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The primary reason companies choose to have their products manufactured in China is the low cost. China will fight tooth and nail to maintain that advantage.
That was true years ago. Not today.
Today, in this market, China leads in quality and ability to manufacture board games and accessories such as dice, cards, and more

I have tried to get a quote in Europe for a game, and was told that I need to procure it in parts and assemble it myself - as not a single factory had all the production capabilities.
In China I got multiple quotes for the final products.

The US is even further behind than Europe in manufacturing lines

And building this capability takes years, no company will invest millions that can turn profit only if the 145% tariffs remain for the upcoming decade.
 

I know that China doesn't determine what you charge the end consumer for the product.

But in a controlled economy such as China, the government could (and does) subsidize various industries, which allows the manufacturing company to sell the product to you at a price that maintains it's price competitiveness.
Well that's a very different thing
The primary reason companies choose to have their products manufactured in China is the low cost.
In this industry, that's a secondary reason. The primary reason is that that there's nowhere else to do it. At least in the case of games which aren't just a book.
 

It’s not “China” deciding what to sell at, it’s companies in China, and companies like us manufacturing in China. China doesn’t decide what I sell the Voidrunner’s Codex at, I do. Neither does it decide how much the printer charges to manufacture it.

China can introduce tariffs or devalue its currency, etc. it can’t decide that companies are going to sell below costs.
Thats not correct. See TikTok as 1 example
 

Thats not correct. See TikTok as 1 example
C'mon, that's a disingenuous argument for argument's sake. We're talking about tariffs on products being imported into the US, not the selling of Chinese companies to US entities. The two are not the same things.

China can't decide that I'm going to sell Voidrunner's Codex at below cost. And you know perfectly well that's what I was saying.
 

There seems to be a pervasive myth that "Made in China" means "low quality," and so it would be simple for companies to relocate and make even better stuff someplace else (i.e. the US). As every games company has attested, that is emphatically not the case in our hobby. Decades of investment and expertise have made China leaders in producing high quality plastics, packaging, etc. - basically, all the stuff we rely on. They are years ahead of almost everyone else at this stuff.

There is zero chance of those industries suddenly relocating to the US. Nor, as a Canadian, am I particularly interested in paying more to incentivize companies to move to the US.

The tariffs between the US and China are now at the point where they may as well just be "infinity," which is a disaster for this hobby.
 


C'mon, that's a disingenuous argument for argument's sake. We're talking about tariffs on products being imported into the US, not the selling of Chinese companies to US entities. The two are not the same things.

China can't decide that I'm going to sell Voidrunner's Codex at below cost. And you know perfectly well that's what I was saying.
I think the Chinese government controls more than you think. Maybe they aren’t controlling small items but I bet anything over a certain dollar amount is
 


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