How is pausing sales in one area, rather than just raising prices accordingly, the better business decision? No one is forcing them to sell at a specific price point.
A big problem with Trump’s tariffs isn’t that they exist; it’s that they’re subject to change at any moment. To be clear, they’re idiotic. But no one can invest in anything long term in America right now.
Imagine opening a restaurant in the U.S. right now. Half your kitchen equipment is subject to steel or aluminum tariffs. You don’t know if you can import anything. Or you can wait a year and see how full Trump’s diaper is. He also looks half dead without makeup and might have pissed off the Yakuza (or worse). The smart move is to wait to open your restaurant.
Now imagine any business bigger than a restaurant.
Imagine even a business that is supposed to benefit from tariffs, like garment manufacturing. Previously it wasn’t worth it because other countries could do it cheaper. So, now you could set up a garment factory and start making things in the US. You can buy cotton from Texas, spin it into yarn, make that yarn into cloth, do it all from seed to finished garment all in the USA.
But, can you really trust that these tariffs are going to be around for the long haul? If you invest $200k to start making clothing in the US, then Trump, the master negotiator, does a deal with Bangladesh and their tariffs go to zero again there’s no way you can compete and you’re out $200k.
Even if you’re extremely lucky and already had a US-based business that was surviving vs. overseas competition, would now be a good time to ramp up production? Sure, your goods are now much cheaper than your competitor’s goods, but with the economy cratering is anybody going to be buying?
There are times when tariffs can work extremely well for certain lucky companies, but they have to be targeted long-term tariffs. Not this chaos.
The economy isn’t cratering, the stock market is. The stock market is all about where investors think future profitability will be, whereas the economy is about jobs and consumer spending behavior. They’re related, but different concepts. Hopefully the economy weathers this nonsense.
And if investors think the future is extremely bleak they will cancel plans to expand, “right-size” their workforce, and so-on, which will smash the economy. The future looks incredibly bleak right now. Many businesses have stopped ordering at all from China because they have no idea what the tariffs will be once the goods arrive.
It all depends on how long the tariffs stay and what deals other countries make. A huge stock downturn can cause economic issues, but usually it’s the other way around.
…and then you finished reading the sentence, right? Just in case it adds more nuance or context, or makes an argument you didn’t consider, right? You engaged their comment in good faith and gave them the chance to make their case before deciding whether you actually disagree with them, right?
I wasn’t dismissing the problem that they exist. That’s the first problem. I was saying uncertainty prevents as much investment as do tariffs. No one knows what the tariffs will be in a month. His brain is a non-Newtronean fluid at this point.
But like that article says, automakers have ~3 months of inventory already in the US. They aren’t pausing sales, they are just continuing selling what they have here while betting the tariffs get lowered before they run out.
I will assume that if you are a salesperson you have a pipeline and that mean there is a pause for the 3month timeline. Sure for this case the day to day they don’t pause but all in all every business is adapting with the everyday news coming up. Crazy time to run a business in the states.
Well, my original question stands. Is it really a better business decision to choose not to sell at all vs raising prices.
I run a US business where the cost of materials has always been volatile and the cost of the end product follows that. 40% swings aren’t uncommon and just get passed onto the end user; my profit stays relatively the same. So I can’t fathom just locking the doors when things get expensive (and people are still willing to pay it).
I could understand it if they were doing it as some form of protest, but then it doesn’t make sense to only stop selling the low priced options. That’s just hurting the people furthest removed from what you are protesting.
This is a hardware startup trying to attract customers away from the likes of Lenova, who has simpler products, a more mature supply chain, and economy-of-scale to their advantage. No way are they pricing to absorb 40%+ with day-to-day swings unless they have to.
They have no idea how much more the trade war will escalate between the purchase and the item getting imported. If their laptops take several months to ship and their margins are lower than the increase in tariffs after the sale was made, then they lose money on the sale.
Agree with you it is a business decision and as of every business seems to be doing its things. I think they do that as mitigation but will need to rise.
If you don’t mind me asking, what type of business/product do you run with such price volatility?
How is pausing sales in one area, rather than just raising prices accordingly, the better business decision? No one is forcing them to sell at a specific price point.
A big problem with Trump’s tariffs isn’t that they exist; it’s that they’re subject to change at any moment. To be clear, they’re idiotic. But no one can invest in anything long term in America right now.
Imagine opening a restaurant in the U.S. right now. Half your kitchen equipment is subject to steel or aluminum tariffs. You don’t know if you can import anything. Or you can wait a year and see how full Trump’s diaper is. He also looks half dead without makeup and might have pissed off the Yakuza (or worse). The smart move is to wait to open your restaurant.
Now imagine any business bigger than a restaurant.
Imagine even a business that is supposed to benefit from tariffs, like garment manufacturing. Previously it wasn’t worth it because other countries could do it cheaper. So, now you could set up a garment factory and start making things in the US. You can buy cotton from Texas, spin it into yarn, make that yarn into cloth, do it all from seed to finished garment all in the USA.
But, can you really trust that these tariffs are going to be around for the long haul? If you invest $200k to start making clothing in the US, then Trump, the master negotiator, does a deal with Bangladesh and their tariffs go to zero again there’s no way you can compete and you’re out $200k.
Even if you’re extremely lucky and already had a US-based business that was surviving vs. overseas competition, would now be a good time to ramp up production? Sure, your goods are now much cheaper than your competitor’s goods, but with the economy cratering is anybody going to be buying?
There are times when tariffs can work extremely well for certain lucky companies, but they have to be targeted long-term tariffs. Not this chaos.
The economy isn’t cratering, the stock market is. The stock market is all about where investors think future profitability will be, whereas the economy is about jobs and consumer spending behavior. They’re related, but different concepts. Hopefully the economy weathers this nonsense.
And if investors think the future is extremely bleak they will cancel plans to expand, “right-size” their workforce, and so-on, which will smash the economy. The future looks incredibly bleak right now. Many businesses have stopped ordering at all from China because they have no idea what the tariffs will be once the goods arrive.
It all depends on how long the tariffs stay and what deals other countries make. A huge stock downturn can cause economic issues, but usually it’s the other way around.
Haven’t even finished reading your first sentence before I HARD disagree with you.
…and then you finished reading the sentence, right? Just in case it adds more nuance or context, or makes an argument you didn’t consider, right? You engaged their comment in good faith and gave them the chance to make their case before deciding whether you actually disagree with them, right?
I wasn’t dismissing the problem that they exist. That’s the first problem. I was saying uncertainty prevents as much investment as do tariffs. No one knows what the tariffs will be in a month. His brain is a non-Newtronean fluid at this point.
Don’t feed the trolls.
Appropriate username
Many business are doing that pending clarity/resolution on the tariff. Here another example with automobile maker holding cars in port https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2025/04/07/volkswagen-audi-freezes-shipments-trump-tariffs/82981796007/
But like that article says, automakers have ~3 months of inventory already in the US. They aren’t pausing sales, they are just continuing selling what they have here while betting the tariffs get lowered before they run out.
I will assume that if you are a salesperson you have a pipeline and that mean there is a pause for the 3month timeline. Sure for this case the day to day they don’t pause but all in all every business is adapting with the everyday news coming up. Crazy time to run a business in the states.
Well, my original question stands. Is it really a better business decision to choose not to sell at all vs raising prices.
I run a US business where the cost of materials has always been volatile and the cost of the end product follows that. 40% swings aren’t uncommon and just get passed onto the end user; my profit stays relatively the same. So I can’t fathom just locking the doors when things get expensive (and people are still willing to pay it).
I could understand it if they were doing it as some form of protest, but then it doesn’t make sense to only stop selling the low priced options. That’s just hurting the people furthest removed from what you are protesting.
This is a hardware startup trying to attract customers away from the likes of Lenova, who has simpler products, a more mature supply chain, and economy-of-scale to their advantage. No way are they pricing to absorb 40%+ with day-to-day swings unless they have to.
I prefer second-hand Lenovos to any new Lenova.
Making it even tougher for Frameworks to win a customer like you over, even without 40%+ fuckery in pricing.
I prefer to buy used. Less ewaste. Also they’re expensive, even w/o turdtax.
They have no idea how much more the trade war will escalate between the purchase and the item getting imported. If their laptops take several months to ship and their margins are lower than the increase in tariffs after the sale was made, then they lose money on the sale.
Agree with you it is a business decision and as of every business seems to be doing its things. I think they do that as mitigation but will need to rise.
If you don’t mind me asking, what type of business/product do you run with such price volatility?
Supply line disruptions
You think the customers would be happy paying 1500$ in US vs 1000$ simply by stepping outside US borders?
Trumps shit tariffs will be gone soon enough, hopefully with him.