# Should we be buying anything ahead of the incoming tariffs **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 8, 2024, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-be-buying-anything-ahead-of-the-incoming-tariffs/1009907 "2024-11-08T03:43:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-be-buying-anything-ahead-of-the-incoming-tariffs/1009907/1 "2024-11-08T03:43:04Z")
My understanding is businesses are already considering layoffs and cutting bonuses as a way to deal with the upcoming hardships due to the tariffs. As consumers, is there anything we should buy before January 20th? ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-be-buying-anything-ahead-of-the-incoming-tariffs/1009907/2 "2024-11-08T03:44:37Z")
I need a new laptop so I will probably head out to Best Buy in December to get one. Also a new kindle. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-be-buying-anything-ahead-of-the-incoming-tariffs/1009907/3 "2024-11-08T03:47:14Z")
Anything electronic. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-be-buying-anything-ahead-of-the-incoming-tariffs/1009907/4 "2024-11-08T04:09:40Z")
Yeah, some of the biggest sectors expected to be hit include processor chips and memory which isn’t just computers and game systems but all manner of electronic devices these days from vacuums to refrigerators to doorbell systems. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-be-buying-anything-ahead-of-the-incoming-tariffs/1009907/5 "2024-11-08T04:11:15Z")
It’s worse than that. **All** electronic assemblies are going to be taxed. I’m in the business, and it’s going to raise the price of our product substantially. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-be-buying-anything-ahead-of-the-incoming-tariffs/1009907/6 "2024-11-08T23:29:09Z")
My wife’s car desperately needs to be replaced, but we won’t be able to do it for at least a year. I wish we could do it this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-be-buying-anything-ahead-of-the-incoming-tariffs/1009907/7 "2024-11-08T23:33:34Z")
Niche market, but board games are going to get hit hard by this. All the complicated little plastic bits are made in China, and there’s no real industry for that stuff anywhere else, at least, not at that scale. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-be-buying-anything-ahead-of-the-incoming-tariffs/1009907/8 "2024-11-08T23:42:43Z")
Gift link: - **Companies ready price hikes to offset Trump’s global tariff plans** - The Washington Post > Across the United States, companies that rely on foreign suppliers are preparing to raise prices in response to the massive import tariffs that former president Donald Trump promises if he wins the election Tuesday. > > \< snip \> > > “We’re set to raise prices,” Timothy Boyle, chief executive of Columbia Sportswear, said in an interview. “We’re buying stuff today for delivery next fall. So we’re just going to deal with it and we’ll just raise the prices. … It’s going to be very, very difficult to keep products affordable for Americans.” - Gift link: [https://wapo.st/4epsmwX](https://wapo.st/4epsmwX) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-be-buying-anything-ahead-of-the-incoming-tariffs/1009907/9 "2024-11-08T23:47:19Z")
I was talking to my business partner this afternoon, and he said he had heard some “economists” who maintained that business that import products would just eat the price difference, and not raise prices. He laughed, and said that we will not only have to increase our prices by the amount of the tariffs, but an additional amount to cover the added cost of inventory. I’d love to know the thinking behind people who buy into this idea… ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-be-buying-anything-ahead-of-the-incoming-tariffs/1009907/10 "2024-11-08T23:56:50Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Niche market, but board games are going to get hit hard by this. Computer games too (and that’s not a niche market by a longshot…much bigger than Hollywood movies). > **[Trump's Proposed Tariffs Will Hit Gamers Hard](https://gizmodo.com/trumps-proposed-tariffs-will-hit-gamers-hard-2000521796)** > > A study found that the cost of consoles, monitors, and other gaming goods might jump during Trump's presidency. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2024, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-be-buying-anything-ahead-of-the-incoming-tariffs/1009907/11 "2024-11-09T00:10:15Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Computer games too Yes, but on the hardware side, which was covered by the earlier talk about electronics. The games themselves will mostly be unaffected. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2024, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-be-buying-anything-ahead-of-the-incoming-tariffs/1009907/12 "2024-11-09T03:53:20Z")
Toys, but at least it wont happen until after this Holiday season. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2024, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-be-buying-anything-ahead-of-the-incoming-tariffs/1009907/13 "2024-11-09T13:08:29Z")
At my work, we’re about to buy some refrigeration equipment (coolers/freezers). We won’t have the time or space to bring them in this year, but the place we’re buying them from suggested buy them now and have them delivered in January. He made the suggestion since the prices will likely go up next year. Now, he told us this a month or two ago, so I don’t think it’s election related. But as we get closer to the new year, I can keep nagging TPTB to get this stuff ordered without having to turn it into a political thing since “John said the prices will go up in January” is a good a reason as any.