Small American Business Owners Are Sharing How Tariffs Are Affecting Them

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a day ago

When tariffs on Chinese goods spiked dramatically — peaking at over 100% in some cases before recent reductions — small business owners across America found themselves facing an impossible math problem. From toy designers to computer repair shops, countless entrepreneurs discovered that products they depend on — and that simply aren't made anywhere else — suddenly became prohibitively expensive. When u/toymakerinchina, a manufacturer of indoor playground equipment, asked how US small businesses were handling these dramatic tariff increases, the responses painted a sobering picture of an economy under strain:
"Honestly, they're not able to cope. I know two people in separate small businesses in this situation who were running the numbers at 104% yesterday. They're already in a place with not-high margins. They also have to get their product out to distributors and on to end consumers, and there is a markup at each step. They're trying to increase direct-to-consumer sales to get a bit more efficient, but that's really hard. It's more likely they'll go bankrupt unless things get fixed fast. There aren't any American alternatives for the imported supply, and there won't be in the future. They're doomed to fail."
"I have a computer repair shop. Literally everything computer-related is made in China, with few exceptions — Taiwan and Mexico, sometimes. New computers are about to get real expensive. This will either surge my business, in which case we'll just lower our margin on parts and maintain labor cost, or people are going to pay out the nose for new computers."
"I've just had to place an order for $80,000 worth of equipment to be produced. Specialized gear only made in China. The budget was around $110,000 total. Now maybe $150,000. It will hurt if this level — or worse — is in place when it's ready to be shipped. It will take about three months to fabricate it all. I don't know if I have any way to mitigate this."
"Our selling prices are going way up. Our sales volume will suffer because our poorest customers won't be able to afford our product. It's an item for people with disabilities. It's sad."
"My sister designs plush toys and runs her own business. She's a small operation, but it's been her full-time gig for almost 10 years. On average, her orders are around 2,000 to 5,000 toys at a time. Her latest order was flat-out cancelled by the supplier. She's completely screwed. There simply isn't a viable alternative company that isn't based in China."
"The previous steel and aluminum tariffs from the pandemic were rough. This is on another level. I don't think most people understand how screwed we are. Currently, my suppliers are trying to raise prices slowly. They're playing chicken with each other. They know they can't raise everything overnight, as they're also competing with other suppliers, and they still need to move product in order to maintain cash flow. I've been hoarding lots of inventory in preparation, but how long will it take to move that product if the economy is slow due to overall inflation? Our costs are just one aspect of being in business. If our customers are squeezed from every direction by tariffs on everything, then they don't have cash to purchase things from us. Then toss in some idiotic DOGE nonsense, where you eliminate millions of people from viable employment."
"I'm about to close shop after doing it as my exclusive job for 10 years. It's screwed."
"I have a $48,000 order that I placed two days ago just before the latest China tariff increase. Haven't paid the deposit yet, and now reassessing the move. Considering 1) reducing the order size just to not have such a large bill come due in two to three months and start seeking other suppliers in lower-tariffed countries or the US — although I would expect that even if we found a US manufacturer, the price would work out to be the same if not higher; 2) keep the order, but start adding a tariff fee to invoices now; 3) do nothing and hope the jerk in charge changes this move before the goods hit customs. We've already negotiated a lower price with our supplier, so not much else to be done there. We just raised our prices for the first time in three years to finally pass along some of the cost increases we've incurred in that time. It looked like we'd finally improve our margins over where they've been the last few years. And now this."
"My family runs a restaurant. If our prices for takeout containers and other small disposables skyrocket, we're going to put some behind a price instead of giving them out for free. Currently, a large takeout foam container is 20 cents. If it hits 40 cents or more, we will tack on a 25-to-50-cent fee depending on just how high it actually goes. Please, everyone, understand that a small mom-and-pop style restaurant only runs 3% to 6% pure profit if that — right now, we are at about 4%."
"My partner had a bunch of inventory on hand pre-tariff so he's just selling that and not ordering anything for now. And he raised prices because he can. He's pointing out that price increases are due to tariffs to educate his red-leaning customers on what they voted for."
"Our wholesale will probably shut down after the last of our inventory is sold. It was a good run of 10 years but the Chinese tariffs will make continuing business impossible."
"I am a small business owner — I create medieval and costume artistic wigs from wig bases made in China. I will pass the tariff on to the customer as I have no other choice. The US will never make what I need, and other countries making wigs don't come even close to the quality of wigs that China makes, not to mention the trust I have with my years-long suppliers and whatnot. I have no solution because I feel like even if we find loopholes, they can be 'plugged' overnight by the Trump administration. I wish I could include the sum of what my customer pays on tariffs in my pricing separately. That's not going to happen, I know. I will have way fewer customers, lose competitiveness on international markets, and will have to start a second business on the side. I see all this as very pessimistic and feel sorry for all of us affected in the US as well as China."
"We're exhausted. We're exhausted from running the numbers, coming up with a barely workable solution, only to have the goal posts moved and that solution obliterated again and again and again. My entire industry is imploding. Yesterday, my company laid off the entire team except for the founder, who is still trying to pivot and find yet another workable solution in hopes he can bring us all back before we find other, more permanent placements."
"I have a couple retail stores, and I've received calls from multiple wholesale companies saying many items will get 20% to 50% price increases. This was before China's retaliatory tariff increase. I just won't stock any items that have increased by 50%, other than extreme cases. Any items that I continue to stock will get price increases slower than how much they got increased by tariffs. It's so that customers won't notice the sudden sharp increase in price and leave my business with a sour taste. I will eventually increase it to match the same profit margin in the end, but I will do it slowly, even if it eats away my profit in the short term, to stay competitive. If this tariff war continues, I would assume many retail stores in my industry, maybe even I, won't be able to stay afloat and will go out of business. My hope is that I can outlast the competition while this tariff craze is going on. I just hope I don't have to let go of my employees."
"The tariffs pose a huge threat to my business. I have an art business in the US, and I print my artwork on various art and stationery products. All of my stationery is manufactured in either Canada or China. I also print on various specialty papers that are only manufactured outside of the US. I have done some preparation by buying a year's worth of supplies to continue printing some of my own products, but I will have to discontinue many of my items for the foreseeable future. I am a small business and can't afford to buy products at such high markups. If these tariffs last long, I will be forced to close my business. I am already preparing by looking for a part-time job to supplement the loss of income this will be for me. Plus, my customer base is not wealthy people. Even if I had the savings to afford 104% tariffs, my customers would not."
"Many of my materials are imported because US manufacturers charge almost 90% more for a similar sheet of material. So now my competitors and I will have to pay more for the product. Then we will mark it up the same percentage. $50 with a 100% markup meant I sold it for $100, and the company earned $50. Now it's $75 per sheet, and I mark it up to $150, and the company makes $75. We're more profitable. Sure, we may lose a few sales here or there because people can no longer afford to buy a sign for their business or housing development, but during COVID when scarcity drove prices up, we never ended up in a worse position, so I doubt we will here since people need our products, just as I'm sure people need your products."
Are you a small business owner dealing with the impact of tariffs, or do you have thoughts on how these policies are affecting the economy? Whether you've witnessed these challenges firsthand, have ideas for solutions, or simply want to share your perspective on what this means for American businesses, drop your thoughts in the comments — or anonymous form — below.
Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.