[UPDATE April 18th Part II: Kotobukiya-specific short-term process change]

We received word from Kotobukiya that, in an effort to alleviate the financial strain of the tariffs, they will hold our shipments in the origin facility so they do not get caught up in the minute-to-minute changes and risk significant price increases. However, there is still one container on the water that may be subject to the tariffs and subsequently have item prices increased when it arrives in early May. Once we have a complete manifest and pricing breakdown, we will update all known tariff-affected Kotobukiya items, and the rest will be pushed to a date later in the year.

[UPDATE April 18th: How items reflect on our website]

We spent today auditing our catalog and re-enabling listings that we had deactivated. The deactivated listings were causing confusion, so we're leaving any paused preorder items listed as "Sold Out." These items are not necessarily pre-sold out (although some are), but you will now at least be able to consult the listing and see our current price. 

Additionally, we updated every item that we have been charged a tariff on, along with their new prices. You can see all of them at this link, which will update as we continue to receive shipments and communicate with our suppliers.

[UPDATE April 17th: Tamashii Nations]

Bandai has notified us that Tamashii collectible items currently on the water will not have tariff charges passed through to retailers, and those items are still available to order on our site. However, they have decided to halt all new shipments until the end of May so that they can better determine their course of action in the coming month. This means all items originally scheduled for May & June will be pushed to a later date in the summer and may have additional costs added once the listings are re-enabled. 

[UPDATE April 15th: the post is not even live yet and we've had to change it already.]

Last night, Kotobukiya announced they will pass a 100% tariff cost onto us. We now have to disable all preorders originally scheduled for this summer and adjust the pricing to match true cost, which is going to be more than we even sold the item for in a vast majority of cases. This not only wipes out the profit made from the sales, but it effectively means that it hurt us to carry those items at all.

(As an example, if an item cost us $50 to purchase and we sold it for $65 to a customer, we now have to pay Kotobukiya $100 for that item because the cost is doubled. This means we lost $35 on the transaction. If we had sold 50 of this item on preorder, it would cost us almost $2,000 for a single SKU.)

This is completely unprecedented, and yet it is not Kotobukiya's fault. They are still absorbing 45% of the tariff cost, and we appreciate their transparency in this difficult stage and are committed to working with them toward an agreeable solution. Whether that be in the form of product holds until a future date or possibly a reduction in order quantity to minimize overstock and financial burden remains to be seen, but we will always do our absolute best for our customers.

 

ORIGINAL POST:

 

We have been in constant contact with our various suppliers around the world for the past week and have been closely monitoring the effects of these sweeping changes on our industry and our business. Based on all the information we have received, we made the difficult choice to pause preorders for a vast majority of products manufactured in China by major brands like Good Smile, Tamashii Nations, and Kotobukiya until further notice.

We have seen many other businesses either blanket raise prices or continue business as usual with a "tariff surcharge" being added as necessary at time of item arrival. We are choosing not to take either of these approaches for two reasons:

1. Tariffs are charged at time of import, if they are still in effect. If we raise prices and list items for preorder that will be arriving in 6-8 months, there is a solid chance the tariff will either be a different rate or will not exist anymore and we will have upcharged you for nothing.
2. On the flip side, if we begin taking preorders at normal prices and the rates either persist or increase, then we would have to collect sometimes double the item value from customers upon item arrival. This would not be fair to customers, as we cannot reasonably expect you to be okay with absorbing a full extra item cost. We also would not be able to continue operations while selling entire shipments at a loss.

For these reasons, we are continuing to create listings and order items from suppliers as normal, and once the metaphorical dust settles we will be able to activate them with a clear picture of what they will cost in mind.

If you already have processing preorders with us expected to arrive before the end of May, we will not raise the cost to you. We agreed to sell you the item at a specific price, and it is not your fault that the price has arbitrarily doubled. If these charges persist longer than that, we will have to assess solutions for potential issues that may arise:

1. If the importer decides to abandon the importing process due to the raised cost OR the manufacturer ceases production, order cancellation will become unavoidable.
2. If the importer agrees to continue processing despite increased costs, these costs will be added onto the item price of any affected items prior to listing.
3. If these costs continue being passed to us in June and beyond, we will have to begin invoicing tariff surcharges on preorders or offering penalty-free cancellations to customers.
4. If the overall tariff issue is resolved smoothly or if adjustments are made to tariffs related to toys and hobbies, there will be no additional burden.

But as of now, we have no information about what will happen or how long this will last. In fact, no one has any information. If someone tells you they have information they are lying, because this is completely unprecedented. The president isn’t allowed to levy tariffs without congressional approval according to the document that founded our government, so none of this should be happening and yet it is.

Some of our suppliers are passing a majority of costs directly to us (Kotobukiya). Others are absorbing them while they wait to see the long-term effects (Bandai). Others are taking a hybrid approach, mitigating cost increases by splitting them with us evenly (God Hand). Again, we have no information past this other than “This is chaos and some things are going to get a lot more expensive and it’s completely out of our control.” One thing we can promise is that the stock that is currently in our building as of today will NOT get more expensive.

If you’re annoyed that one of your hobbies is going to be collateral damage in a bizarre trade war that has no precedent for even being allowed to happen, call your representative! It’s their job to listen to you, and it’s also their job to levy tariffs. Every day is confusing and we wish we, your independent small business import hobby retailer, could provide you more insight and solace but we cannot. As much as everyone wants to keep politics out of their hobby, politics has suddenly forced its way directly into the hobby around which our business is centered.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support. All of it means the world to us <3

-The Gundam Planet Team-