Are you buying now because you anticipate higher prices?

[thunderchicken]

Yes and no. I’m buying now while I have the budget and while things are still available. The uncertainty is causing a lot of empty shelves in the industry. I’ve already had trouble with suppliers running out of one version or another of a product or raising prices due to tariffs on product components.

I planned on buying now, but had my options and timing limited in frustrating ways to get the prices I budgeted for. I am loathe to wait and see what happens with the next purchase on my list, but I can’t pull the trigger for another couple weeks on budget grounds.

Supply chain issues are likely to increase prices on the used equipment I’m trying to track down too, which I find extremely frustrating.

 

[amper42]

Yes and no. I’m buying now while I have the budget and while things are still available. The uncertainty is causing a lot of empty shelves in the industry. I’ve already had trouble with suppliers running out of one version or another of a product or raising prices due to tariffs on product components.

I planned on buying now, but had my options and timing limited in frustrating ways to get the prices I budgeted for. I am loathe to wait and see what happens with the next purchase on my list, but I can’t pull the trigger for another couple weeks on budget grounds.

Supply chain issues are likely to increase prices on the used equipment I’m trying to track down too, which I find extremely frustrating.

Yes, might be a great time to sell slightly used audio gear. Kind of like the Denon 4700 after the ASR Denon 4800 review.

 

[Carlton80@0]

Purchased a couple of amplifiers from abroad to try and avoid this malarkey that is currently taking place. I am in the US and the purchase was from Audiophonics in France. They have agreed to accept the amplifiers back and supplied paid shipping back to France. Dropped off with UPS and now they are stuck in UPS warehouse awaiting export documents from me. This should be a simple RMA return as Audiophonics has guaranteed the shipment cost.

Now the situation is exasperated as I have decided to try and cobble together a quad of DIY Purifi EVAL4 kits sourcing all of the components and enclosures from abroad. The crazy price/tarriffs is making things extremely difficult and expensive and frustrating, to say the least. Surely hope things are resolved soon.

 

[PristineSound]

Purchased a couple of amplifiers from abroad to try and avoid this malarkey that is currently taking place. I am in the US and the purchase was from Audiophonics in France. They have agreed to accept the amplifiers back and supplied paid shipping back to France. Dropped off with UPS and now they are stuck in UPS warehouse awaiting export documents from me. This should be a simple RMA return as Audiophonics has guaranteed the shipment cost.

Now the situation is exasperated as I have decided to try and cobble together a quad of DIY Purifi EVAL4 kits sourcing all of the components and enclosures from abroad. The crazy price/tarriffs is making things extremely difficult and expensive and frustrating, to say the least. Surely hope things are resolved soon.

Damn, what kind of "export document?"

I wonder if there is a chance that they might charge tariff's on the way back to the seller if there's reciprocal tariff at the seller's country. .what a disastrous debacle.

Screw that, I'm not buying jack squat that's not already in the country and the price is black letters on white paper until this malarkey is sorted out.

 

[Carlton80@0]

Damn, what kind of "export document?"

I wonder if there is a chance that they might charge tariff's on the way back to the seller if there's reciprocal tariff at the seller's country. .what a disastrous debacle.

Screw that, I'm not buying jack squat that's not already in the country and the price is black letters on white paper until this malarkey is sorted out.

Can you please provide additional information for US Export Clearance. Shipment requires an AES filing. To complete this Electronic Export Information filing, UPS will need the following:



Power of Attorney or Shipper Export declaration form allowing UPS to file AES on your behalf. Complete ONE of the attached forms.



- I have attached SED which can also serve as POA for this shipment

-I have attached One Time Only POA form that will serve for this shipment only



Federal Tax ID / EIN number (Contact the IRS at 800-829-4933 to obtain an EIN.)





Please advise if your shipment is being exported pursuit to an License requirement, exception /exemption or if your shipment is No License Required(If unsure of the license requirements, contact the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Exporter Help line at *West Coast office* 949-660-0144,408-998-8806, or *East Coast office* 202-482-4811 or the website https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/export-control-classification-interactive-tool )

 

[Travis]

As for the audio and video market, my expectation is that the tariffs will badly hurt the US audio/video retail industry, given that virtually all goods are imported from Asia. Who is going to pay an extra 50% or so on a new television, unless the one and only television in your home has just died? Nobody knows what, if any, tariffs there will be in a few months time, so why not wait, and with such discretionary goods many people can wait - I certainly would? The same probably applies to an even greater extent to audio gear. As senior economists all warn, it is the current chaos and uncertainty that is killing the market.

Asia isn’t China. Apple and others are moving production and/or “assembly” (final step, like the last screw?) out of China. Vietnam, Indonesia and Taiwan are huge winners in this.

They are going to start having to count the number of parts in made in China in a product, regardless of where it is shipped from, and come up with a % to determine if a product is subject to tariffs.

Next week is about the start of when the economists say US sellers will have to start passing on to the price increases of because the built up inventories from September to December start running out then.

Shortages along the lines during the peak of pandemic are also expected to return. We already got our paper products, for the rest of the year, PPE and other goods for our hospitals, so you all can figure out if you think that is really going to happen or not.

The shipping news, number of ships, percentage of capacity, starting last month are down at least 20% over last year, probably more.

 

[Willem]

Sure, Asia is not just China, but China is a large chunk of it, and other Asian countries are also threatened. Anyway, for now uncertainty is the bigger issue, and that is never good for trade or investments.

 

[iulianm]

I had a miniDSP in my cart for a while as well and yeah, from $225 to $551.

Interesting enough, in February I've got a SMSL DAC from Amazon and it appears to be the same price today; I wouldn't have got it if it would have been $600.

 

[Noske]

Some folks here may wish to check the tariff rates the USA is proposing (or otherwise) on Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia. Probably some other Asian countries as well. Not as high as China, but in the vicinity of 30% or 40%. These numbers will probably change depending on the current version.

I don't quite understand why it is thought that manufacturers may "absorb" the tariffs, that is, sell their goods for less than the cost of production (edit - in fact, that is not allowed under anti-dumping laws).

Retailers/importers can do whatever they like, of course. There may be some game playing.

 

[respice finem]

I know my talk is cheap because I'm in the EU, but the best "strategy" is probably just to wait until it's over.

 

[PristineSound]

Shipping from China to US collapses. Typically you will see inflation due to high demand and low supply. But with the tariff, the question is, is there high demand? Are people willing to pay that tariff tax?

SVS subs are already going up, there is some sign of inflation and economist Kenneth Rogoff predicts worse than COVID inflation.

Very interesting to see if and how inflation will play out.

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/container-shipping-firms-cull-asia-us-service-trump-tariffs-collapse-trade-2025-05-09/

 

[Snoopy]

Im noticing more and more sales here in the EU.. and constant discounts in some shops.

Like Cayin stuff , Audeze Headphones.

I know my talk is cheap because I'm in the EU, but the best "strategy" is probably just to wait until it's over.

Also in the EU and i got some amazing deals since the tariffs thing

 

[Marc v E]

Im noticing more and more sales here in the EU.. and constant discounts in some shops.

Like Cayin stuff , Audeze Headphones.


Also in the EU and i got some amazing deals since the tariffs thing

You're referring to deals on audio of Chinese origin, right?

If so, they're likely trying to find new markets to replace the revenue stream they had from the US.

Edit: Cayin is Chinese, Audeze is American. I don't really understand why Audeze would sell for lower price.

 

[amper42]

Businesses exporting discretionary items to the USA will see a large drop in business. The only customers buying will be those unwilling to wait until sanity returns to international trade. Hifi Audio is fun but you can enjoy music while paying little to nothing using your phone or computer and any streaming service.

Can't imagine ever buying audio gear at a huge premium simply because of a tariff. In fact, I'm more likely to be a seller in an environment where prices just went sky high. My biggest concern is how many great audio companies may go out of business if tariffs stay high for longer than they can afford.

 

[Timcognito]

My biggest concern is how many great audio companies may go out of business if tariffs stay high for longer than they can afford.

Not just audio, small farms, shopping malls, small corporations and a lot of private and commercial real estate, all your competitors assets will be on sale if you are large conglomerate or a developer big enough to weather the storm. Seems like the plan might work.

 

[Groove01]

don't quite understand why it is thought that manufacturers may "absorb" the tariffs, that is, sell their goods for less than the cost of production (edit - in fact, that is not allowed under anti-dumping laws).

That’s actually exactly what many of them did with the previous tariffs, especially China.

There was a lot of concern during his 1st term the cost of appliances would increase significantly. They didn’t, China absorbed the majority of tariffs for steel, etc. There are several valid reasons to do so, maintaining mkt share and dominance and taking a “long game” view being the primary reasons.

China is still a state run economy by and large. It’s a different equation and set of parameters for them vs non communist economies.

Edit: To clarify, I’m not suggesting they will absorb a 150% additional increase mind you - lol. Simply sharing where tariffs were previously absorbed and the rationale. It can make sense to absorb some short term loss to maintain long term dominance.

 

[amper42]

That’s actually exactly what many of them did with the previous tariffs, especially China.

There was a lot of concern during his 1st term the cost of appliances would increase significantly. They didn’t, China absorbed the majority of tariffs for steel, etc. There are several valid reasons to do so, maintaining mkt share and dominance and taking a “long game” view being the primary reasons.

China is still a state run economy by and large. It’s a different equation and set of parameters for them vs non communist economies.

Edit: To clarify, I’m not suggesting they will absorb a 150% additional increase mind you - lol. Simply sharing where tariffs were previously absorbed and the rationale. It can make sense to absorb some short term loss to maintain long term dominance.

Not sure I agree appliances didn't go up during Trump 1.0. I found washer and dryer prices were up several hundred each after tariffs hit and I needed a new washer.

If you think companies can easily cover tariff costs you would be wrong. Even Buckeye raised prices on a simple 10% tariff. Imagine what happens with larger tariffs. The myth is companies can cover the cost. It's BS. They might try to hold the line for a short period but soon all costs are passed on to the customer plus more no matter who the company is.

 

[Chr1]

Bought a second pair of Truthear Crinacle Zero Reds as backups a couple of months back after realising that they're my perfect IEMs. Glad I did as the price is up by more than 30% (Aliexpress). I'm in the UK.
WTF... Who said hoarding gear was a daft policy?!

 

[antcollinet]

Apple and others are moving production and/or “assembly” (final step, like the last screw?) out of China. Vietnam, Indonesia and Taiwan are huge winners in this.

I takes years to set up a new factory capable of producing in volume and quality.

Hell it took us months to set up a new line in an existing factory - and that was for peanuts volumes compared to what apple needs.

 

[JeffS7444]

Pre-tariff prices can still be had from USA sources like Amazon, but I'm being extra-careful to ensure that the goods are actually shipping from USA! Because Amazon caved in to pressure from the regime and is not prominently displaying additional taxes for goods shipped from outside of the USA, and it may take a few extra mouse clicks to determine where the vendor is located. It's a similar situation with eBay.

So while things may look peaceful on the surface, I think the storm is already upon us, though it may take awhile longer before it becomes really obvious to everyone.