Latest news with #Made-in-USA
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A business owner tested if customers would pay more for American-made. The results were 'sobering.'
Afina founder Ramon van Meer wanted to see if people would buy a Made-in-USA version of his specialty shower head. He found it would cost three times as much to produce — and raised the sale price by 85%. After several days of testing, a total of zero customers bought the USA model. As a small business owner, Ramon van Meer said he's used to hearing people say they'd be willing to pay more for products made in America. When President Donald Trump ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese imports by an additional 145%, van Meer decided to see if shoppers would put their money where their mouth is. "I wanted to know the answer and then use it for my own company," the Afina founder told Business Insider. So the serial entrepreneur set about finding US suppliers to make his best-selling product: a specialized filtered shower head. Van Meer said his filters are made in the US, some additional materials are sourced in Vietnam, and the final product is made in China with a single supplier. To move everything over to the US, he said he had to find four to six separate suppliers who would handle various aspects of the production process. All told, he found it would cost three times as much to produce — more than the cost of simply paying the tariff. Armed with real numbers, he set out to do a test with two identical products, with the only difference being their origin and, critically, their price: visitors to Afina's website were presented with the option of a Chinese-made item for $129 or a US-made version for $239. "I'm big on just testing it out with real data and real purchases," van Meer said. "Not asking customers, not a survey, not even add-to-carts." "When somebody has to pay for it, that's the actual real data," he added. After several days and more than 25,000 visitors, he said he sold 584 of the lower-priced shower heads and not one single purchase of a US-made version. In a blog post that went viral, van Meer called the results "sobering." "We wanted to believe customers would back American labor with their dollars. But when faced with a real decision — not a survey or a comment section — they didn't," he wrote. Nowadays van Meer said he's spending most of his time trying to shift production out of China to a country with a lower tariff rate. "Staying in China is not sustainable because even if they make a deal, we don't know what's going to happen," he said. "The United States is also not an option, because there's just no facilities that can make it." Van Meer said Afina currently has enough inventory in its US warehouses to last until August, at which point he would have to start charging for the tariff. Asked whether he would roll that cost into the price or apply a surcharge, as other businesses have said they would do, van Meer said he hadn't yet decided. "We'll probably do testing," he said. Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A business owner tested if customers would pay more for American-made. The results were 'sobering.'
Afina founder Ramon van Meer wanted to see if people would buy a Made-in-USA version of his specialty shower head. He found it would cost three times as much to produce — and raised the sale price by 85%. After several days of testing, a total of zero customers bought the USA model. As a small business owner, Ramon van Meer said he's used to hearing people say they'd be willing to pay more for products made in America. When President Donald Trump ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese imports by an additional 145%, van Meer decided to see if shoppers would put their money where their mouth is. "I wanted to know the answer and then use it for my own company," the Afina founder told Business Insider. So the serial entrepreneur set about finding US suppliers to make his best-selling product: a specialized filtered shower head. Van Meer said his filters are made in the US, some additional materials are sourced in Vietnam, and the final product is made in China with a single supplier. To move everything over to the US, he said he had to find four to six separate suppliers who would handle various aspects of the production process. All told, he found it would cost three times as much to produce — more than the cost of simply paying the tariff. Armed with real numbers, he set out to do a test with two identical products, with the only difference being their origin and, critically, their price: visitors to Afina's website were presented with the option of a Chinese-made item for $129 or a US-made version for $239. "I'm big on just testing it out with real data and real purchases," van Meer said. "Not asking customers, not a survey, not even add-to-carts." "When somebody has to pay for it, that's the actual real data," he added. After several days and more than 25,000 visitors, he said he sold 584 of the lower-priced shower heads and not one single purchase of a US-made version. In a blog post that went viral, van Meer called the results "sobering." "We wanted to believe customers would back American labor with their dollars. But when faced with a real decision — not a survey or a comment section — they didn't," he wrote. Nowadays van Meer said he's spending most of his time trying to shift production out of China to a country with a lower tariff rate. "Staying in China is not sustainable because even if they make a deal, we don't know what's going to happen," he said. "The United States is also not an option, because there's just no facilities that can make it." Van Meer said Afina currently has enough inventory in its US warehouses to last until August, at which point he would have to start charging for the tariff. Asked whether he would roll that cost into the price or apply a surcharge, as other businesses have said they would do, van Meer said he hadn't yet decided. "We'll probably do testing," he said. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oil Advances With Focus on US-China Trade Talks After UK Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Oil extended gains as the market turned its attention to trade talks between the US and China this weekend after President Donald Trump announced an agreement with the UK. Is Trump's Plan to Reopen the Notorious Alcatraz Prison Realistic? As Trump Reshapes Housing Policy, Renters Face Rollback of Rights Vail to Borrow Muni Debt to Ease Ski Resort Town Housing Crunch NYC Warns of 17% Drop in Foreign Tourists Due to Trump Policies LA Mayor Credits Trump on Fire Aid, Stays Wary on Immigration Brent climbed above $63 a barrel after advancing 2.8% in the previous session, and West Texas Intermediate was near $60. Trump said negotiations with China would result in tangible progress, although Beijing reiterated on Thursday its call for the US to cancel tariffs ahead of talks. Crude has tumbled since mid-January on concerns Trump's tariffs will dent economic growth, and as OPEC+ moved to revive idled production. While the US president hailed the pact with the UK as historic, specifics of the deal indicated it fell short of the 'full and comprehensive' agreement he had promised. 'It may be premature to assume the UK deal paves the way for progress on more complex negotiations with China,' said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist for Saxo Markets Pte. 'The more pressing driver for oil remains on the supply side — OPEC's decision to accelerate production increases marks a strategic pivot and reinforces downside risks for oil prices.' The US, meanwhile, sanctioned a third so-called teapot refinery in China — along with port terminal operators, vessels and individuals — alleged of facilitating the trade of Iranian crude. Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group Ltd. was the main target of the action. The UK also plans to sanction as many as 100 tankers that it says are part of the shadow fleet helping Russia move its oil. The measures, which target ships carrying more than $24 billion worth of cargo since the start of last year, will be announced later Friday. --With assistance from Yongchang Chin. US Border Towns Are Being Ravaged by Canada's Furious Boycott Maybe AI Slop Is Killing the Internet, After All Pre-Tariff Car Buying Frenzy Leaves Americans With a Big Debt Problem What the US Would Lose If Trump Pushes Out Legal Immigrants Made-in-USA Wheelbarrows Promoted by Trump Are Now Made in China ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gold Edges Higher as Market Weighs Implications of US-UK Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Gold edged higher — after a roller-coaster week in which it jumped almost 6% in the first two sessions before retracing much of those gains — as the market digested the new US-UK trade deal. Is Trump's Plan to Reopen the Notorious Alcatraz Prison Realistic? Vail to Borrow Muni Debt to Ease Ski Resort Town Housing Crunch As Trump Reshapes Housing Policy, Renters Face Rollback of Rights Iceland Plans for a More Volcanic Future NYC Warns of 17% Drop in Foreign Tourists Due to Trump Policies Bullion traded above $3,316 an ounce, and was up more than 2% for the week. The pact gives the US better market access and a faster customs process for exports to Britain, while the UK will see limited relief on autos, steel and aluminum tariffs. However, it fell short of the 'full and comprehensive' agreement that President Donald Trump had promised. Trump also said he believed trade talks this weekend with China would result in tangible progress. The president said he would consider lowering the 145% tariff he has imposed on many Chinese goods if the discussions went well. Beijing, meanwhile, reiterated its calls for the US to cancel unilateral duties on China. US Treasuries sank as investors took healthy job market data and the US-UK trade framework as reasons to embrace riskier assets and pare back their bets on interest-rate cuts. Both higher yields and borrowing costs tend to be negative for non-interest bearing gold. A softer stance on trade from the US would erode haven demand, which has helped gold rise by more than a quarter this year and hit a record above $3,500 last month. However, the limited nature of the US-UK deal and a lack of details, mean it's unlikely to revive confidence in Trump's economic agenda, or allay fears of sharply slowing global growth. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $3,316.46 an ounce as of 7:30 a.m. in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat, and was up 0.5% for the week. Silver, palladium and platinum all edged higher. US Border Towns Are Being Ravaged by Canada's Furious Boycott Maybe AI Slop Is Killing the Internet, After All Pre-Tariff Car Buying Frenzy Leaves Americans With a Big Debt Problem Made-in-USA Wheelbarrows Promoted by Trump Are Now Made in China What the US Would Lose If Trump Pushes Out Legal Immigrants ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
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Bitcoin Miner Partnering With Trump's Sons Posts Revenue Decline
(Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin mining company Hut 8 Corp., which recently partnered with President Donald Trump's sons on a new venture, said its first-quarter earnings swung to a loss and revenue tumbled by more than 50%. Is Trump's Plan to Reopen the Notorious Alcatraz Prison Realistic? Vail to Borrow Muni Debt to Ease Ski Resort Town Housing Crunch Iceland Plans for a More Volcanic Future As Trump Reshapes Housing Policy, Renters Face Rollback of Rights The Miami-based company posted $21.8 million in revenue for the first quarter, a nearly 58% drop year-over-year. It also recorded a quarterly loss of $134.3 million compared to net income of $250.7 million in the first quarter of last year. The declines have been largely driven by a Bitcoin software update called halving that slashed mining revenue as well as operational downtime that was undertaken to upgrade its mining machines, Hut 8's Chief Executive Officer Asher Genoot said Thursday on its earnings call. While the halving took place last April, and happens every four years, it often has a long-lasting impact on miners. Hut 8, in late March, announced that it's launching a mining venture called American Bitcoin Corp. after acquiring a majority interest in American Data Centers Inc., a company formed by investors including Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. This new venture will go public, Genoot reiterated during Thursday's earnings call. Hut 8's shares rose as much as 17% on Thursday as the company reinforced its plan to invest in American Bitcoin and continue strategic accumulation of the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin pushed past $100,000 for the first time since February as of 12:08 p.m. in New York. While carving out its mining operations into this separate entity, Hut 8 will continue to build out its high-performance computing data centers for artificial intelligence firms with land and power assets under development in Louisiana, Genoot said. Doing so has enabled the company to tap into a more diverse source of funding, he added. The venture with Hut 8 further expands the US president's ties to the cryptocurrency sector along with the decentralized finance platform World Liberty Financial, a stablecoin backed by the US dollars and memecoins featuring the president and the first lady Melania Trump. US Border Towns Are Being Ravaged by Canada's Furious Boycott Pre-Tariff Car Buying Frenzy Leaves Americans With a Big Debt Problem Made-in-USA Wheelbarrows Promoted by Trump Are Now Made in China Maybe AI Slop Is Killing the Internet, After All Inside the Dizzying Chaos of Running a Freight Business Under Trump ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
