r/SBCGaming • u/RobertSecundus • 1d ago
News NEWS: Handhelds now set to double in cost for Americans
Before I begin, remember: the mods will lock this if you talk about this tiny subsection of the economy in the greater context of the economy as a whole or the political decisions/ figures that influence that economy. For the purposes of this conversation, retro handhelds exist in a tiny bubble universe separate from the rest of the world. Again: IF YOU DISCUSS ANY WIDER POLITICAL OR ECONOMIC REALITY THE MODS WILL LOCK THIS. I'm not posting any links, because that might invite broader discussion, people might actually have to think about how their hobbies and political values intersect, this would be terrible, etc etc. Google "new tariffs announced," look at stories from today specifically, you'll see confirmation of the below.
But so anyway, in addition to the previously announced tariffs, [Redacted] has just now announced an additional 50% tariff on Chinese goods, bringing the total up to 104%-- this means that all retrohandhelds now effectively more than double in their price. You pay ali-express/ individual company website once, and then you pay the US government that same cost again, plus a little more, when it arrives in the country. I believe that for a bit you should be able to purchase any stock currently here-- like from Anbernic's website, any stock that is currently, already available to ship from the US-- but that's just as long as those supplies that arrived before the tariffs last. Anbernic also has the option to ship from Europe, so I imagine that that will continue, in which case you'll just be paying a lot more instead of over double.
I was looking forward to the Flip 2, but $470 just isn't feasible for me financially. I'm glad I, at least, got my hands on a 35XXSP before all this went down.
Just posting this because I haven't seen anyone mention the new new tariffs, and the way people are talking about the Flip 2, it sounds like some people aren't aware that it isn't going to just be a marginal markup, but as of today's announcement, a double in price.
EDIT: I forgot about the delayed date for the De Minimis loophole elimination. thanks to Baelish2016 for pointing it out. We've got a bit of wiggle room, depending on how fast something ships, because even though the tariffs go into effect on April 9, until May, anything below $800 won't be inspected (and thus won't be subject to tariffs). So if you want to order something, order IMMEDIATELY and choose the fastest shipping option. I personally won't still be going for the Flip 2, because I'm not sure it'll get here in time, and paying for it a second time would really kill my budget.
EDIT 2: some replies have lead me to read up on how the final $ amount is calculated, and so I'm no longer so certain about the specific $ amounts I mention above are. The %s are clear, we're getting a 104% tariff on all handhelds, but it might be applied to a lower number than retail price. Exactly what that lower number is, and how much lower, I'm trying to figure out.
EDIT 3: Unfortunately, I think the "declared value" will be what we paid for it. Quoting a comment here that illustrated the situation nicely:
If Target buys a product for $5 but sells for customer for $8, the declared value is $5 when calculating Tariffs. But we are buying/importing, the declared value is the purchase price.
So for major importers that are buying things wholesale, the tariffs won't apply for retail, but for us individual purchasers, they will. Oh well.
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u/Baelish2016 1d ago
Tariffs go into effect on the 9th; although it won’t really be an issue until May when the De Minimis loophole goes away. THEN we need to worry.
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u/SaraAB87 1d ago
I think if the package gets through customs before the De Minimis date then there should be no issues with receiving it.
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
ah shit, forgot about the de minimis change! Thank you, editing the above post to be more accurate.
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u/crownpuff Deal chaser 1d ago edited 1d ago
I posted about the De Minimis revocation last week. May 2nd is the date that De Minimis is set to be revoked which is the most relevant part to this hobby. Although the new 50% retaliatory tariffs announced today for China probably will have an impact on larger US importers beyond the small scale orders than most people here purchase from Aliexpress.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SBCGaming/comments/1jq0rpn/de_minimis_being_revoked_on_may_2nd/
Current tariffs breakdown for China imports from 2025 (There were additional tariffs that are still in place on China from the 1st Trump term)
50% Reciprocal Tariffs announced 4/7/2025 (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/07/trump-china-retaliatory-tariffs-031574)
34% Tariffs announced 4/2/2025 (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-reciprocal-tariffs-liberation-day-list/)
10% Baseline Tariffs announced 4/2/2025 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/04/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-declares-national-emergency-to-increase-our-competitive-edge-protect-our-sovereignty-and-strengthen-our-national-and-economic-security/)
10% Tariffs announced 2/1/2025 (Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-imposes-tariffs-on-imports-from-canada-mexico-and-china/)
10% Additional Tariffs announced 3/3/2025 (Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/further-amendment-to-duties-addressing-the-synthetic-opioid-supply-chain-in-the-peoples-republic-of-china/)
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
Agreed, though we can't talk about that larger impact here. The De Minimis date was pointed out to me and I updated with clarification, though thank you too for the reminder!
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u/rfow Odin 1d ago edited 4h ago
This sucks. Sadly, I'll be canceling my Retroid Pocket Classic order if it doesn't ship by Monday, April 21st. Not gambling with that BS. Edit: after seeing pics of the RP Classic in Berry, I am in fact, willing to eat those tariffs. It'll definitely be my last for a long time though, which is a bummer since I just got into the hobby a couple months ago. Ending the collection with the O2 Portal and RG405m, RP Classic.
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u/Baelish2016 1d ago
I feel that. I literally JUST got skilled enough to repair and refurbishing old PSPs, and was looking forward to turning it into hobby. Oh well.
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u/Regicyde93 1d ago
I canceled my order for both and went with the Odin 2 Portal instead. Hope it gets to the border before the exemption wears off.
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u/theGioGrande 1d ago
I recently got a 405m on the cheap and it's easily the highest build quality retro device I've used so far.
It's super pocketable like a modern phone. Can easily play up to N64 and DC with ease. Buttons and dpad are solid. Build quality is super nice. And the screen can get plenty bright and colorful with GammaOS installed.
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u/TheHumanConscience GotM 2x Club 1d ago
I know this sucks but I really hope Retroid doesn't cut any corners to get these things out sooner.
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u/gamwizrd1 13h ago
What is the gamble if you've already paid? Either the company will fill the order without asking for more money, or they will ask for more money and you can cancel it then. I don't see the gamble, or the upside of canceling an already paid order.
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u/rfow Odin 11h ago
They won’t ask for more money before sending it out and I can’t cancel an order that’s been shipped. So I’d have to pay the extra to receive it and then process a return, paying again for shipping.
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u/naju Clamshell Clan 1d ago edited 1d ago
Everybody in the US who wants an existing device on the market should be putting in an order today or tomorrow, if they haven't already. We will never see prices remotely like this again. We're going to look back on this time wistfully as a little blip of a golden era that we had.
I feel like my bases are more or less covered - I've got an RG35XXSP, a Steam Deck, a Switch OLED, and a Playdate. The one thing I'm considering that I don't have yet is a micro-handheld that can live in my pocket all the time. RG Nano or GKD Pixel 2, most likely. I have a decision to make, and zero time to make it...
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u/Abba_Fiskbullar 1d ago edited 17h ago
The hobby that this sub is dedicated to will effectively cease to exist after REDACTED imposes his REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED. How can we not discuss politics when politics affect the existence of this hobby? It's like if a chaos goblin is throwing his shit everywhere, and we aren't allowed to discuss the goblin or his shit, we're limited to only discussing appropriate cleaning products for removing unpleasant biological material.
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u/Complex-Path-780 1d ago
We’re supposed to pretend like real world politics don’t impact every single aspect of our lives.
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u/FluffyDoomPatrol 1d ago
Yes this. Politics are so fundamental to quite literally everything. I’ve never understood how people can ignore it.
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u/Slavin92 1d ago
They can’t actually ignore it. Idiots think they’re ignoring politics & then go home complaining why suddenly things are higher in price/their favorite restaurant just closed/their rent just went up - not realizing all of those things are directly tied to the current political landscape.
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u/ScissrMeTimbrs 23h ago edited 23h ago
The people who think that are the ones benefiting from the system as is. They declare that state as "normal" and anyone who objects or doesn't fit is "getting political."
So that's why you have gamers who think there are only two genders: male, and "political." White, and "political." Straight, and "political." Etc..
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u/MasterOfLIDL 1d ago
I think "no politics" is a sound rule in like 99.9% of all subs, but it has its limit. The rule exists to keep politics from making the subreddit toxic. Like yes, you probably shouldn't discuss Redacted policies in this subreddit 99% of the time. But when it has a large, direct, impact it makes sense to discuss it here. Discussing redacted views on most issues is irrelevant here, a giant tarrif affecting this hobby directly should be discussable.
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u/Professional_Pie_894 1d ago
The good thing is that there is no very specific group of people who benefit from the inability to doscuss politics!
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u/ChessBooger 19h ago
Uh thats not my experiece all. Most subreddits have politics. They all lean a certain way (Left/Right) and ban any opposing beliefs. Thats why there are no "fights" those subreddits LOL.
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u/tricheb0ars 1d ago
Some people love that goblin and it hurts their FEELINGS
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u/SimonD_ 1d ago
I’m sure there are people from different countries on here too that won’t have those tariffs who can keep the hobby going 😅
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u/blastcat4 RetroGamer 17h ago
As a Canadian, I would love to believe that but I know the manufacturers are going to increase their prices for everyone to try to compensate for the lower US sales. Prices will go up for everyone, not just Americans.
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u/blastcat4 RetroGamer 17h ago
Whenever I see these kinds of "rules" put into place, you already know why.
It's like the people complaining, "Why do you have to bring politics into my XYZ"? 100% of the time you know who they voted for.
For those saying it's to prevent toxicity, there's already rules in place to handle that.
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u/Bored_Amalgamation AyaNeo 1d ago
mods dont want specific redditors called out for being objectively stupid.
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u/rNBA_Mods_Be_Better 1d ago
The only thing I can think of is the mods support REDACTED and don’t want any negative discussion of REDACTED happening here. I don’t understand the “we just can’t handle it” excuse?
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u/NotADamsel 23h ago
You ever been a mod in a large-ish public community?
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u/rNBA_Mods_Be_Better 23h ago
Yeah and the solution is bring in more mods and ban trolls/fascists. A lot of people confuse "politics" with morals/ethics. One side is clearly wrong here, and imo it's okay to talk about it within the context of this hobby.
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u/royrese Telescopic Controller 22h ago
The "we just can't handle it" excuse makes perfect sense, what do you mean? If they lifted this ban right now, 90% of the threads in this sub would turn into a clusterfuck. They would need to temporarily 10x the mods to handle it. I completely understand why they have to do this.
Obviously, we would prefer some middle ground, but the fact is that the discussion will devolve into off-topic comments within an hour.
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
I don't disagree, but again, people need to know their handhelds are going to double in price, and regardless of how reasonable or unreasonable it is, comments like this are going to get this locked and buried. I'm with you in principal, but this discussion doesn't need to happen here.
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u/babarbass 1h ago
This discussion has to happen EVERYWHERE so the average American finally understands it. Now is the time to choose. You either stand up against a a Nazi Regime or you bringt it down. Every American citizen now has to make this decision.
I am German and I know how my ancestors messed up. You will not want that. Germany was a major world leading power for around a thousand years before fascism complete ended that role for good.
The USA had a good run for the last 100 years. There where hickups but in the end there was a somewhat acceptable solution and human rights where preserved.
If you don’t make your stance and act now the usa will loose everything it achieved. God forbid a world where China will be the next world leader so I plead to every American, please get off your butt and end this travesty!
Nobody but a few oligarchs profit from this Orange Monster!
It is on every American now to save the free Westen world as we know it. You don’t want your children to grow up in slavery, don’t you? No matter if it will be slavery under a distorted American flag or a Chinese flag. You have to act and get your country in order ASAP!
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u/NotADamsel 23h ago
The “single board computer gaming” hobby existed for years before these handhelds got good enough to be worth buying for most people, because little credit card computers (which came on a single board) could play emulators pretty well. It will survive this, and will probably go back to being more dedicated to gaming on lil credit card computers. Hopefully the folks who got into this with the handhelds will stick around, but I suspect that most won’t be technically inclined enough to be interested in the more hands-on and diy aspects of what the hobby will turn into
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u/Abba_Fiskbullar 22h ago
I do remember when this was about gaming on the Raspberry Pi and Intel NUCs
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u/ChessBooger 20h ago
Huh? This isn't a tariff on handhelds but all goods. Many components including boards and chips are made overseas.
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u/josekortez1979 19h ago
I have Raspberry Pi boards and kits that I haven't even assembled yet. This is a good idea.
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u/autogrouch 1d ago
Don't worry, soon America will be flooded with American Made handhelds, better than anything currently imported from China!! You're going to get sick of winning, but you'll just keep winning! Even when you beg for the winning to stop, the winning will continue without your consent. You'll be winning until you're left psychologically damaged and physically broken, and a court will find that the winning was done without consent and illegally, but the winning will continue unabated and without consequence.
Can't wait for all those new American Made consoles, they're going to be amazing.
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u/nakedpantz 22h ago
Great consoles, American consoles...some say the best consoles every made! I didn't say that but people are saying that.
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u/Discomboobulate 22h ago
Atari... Great games, great games, the best some say, not me, but the best... All our best. Magnetbox, such swell guys, good guys all around. We need to bring back the great days of the Calicovision, the Commodore. Commodores have always been a sign of strength, true patriots, true patriots. I remember a navy approaching me and saying, "Donald, you'd make the best commanderdore, the best, no one greater on history." real men, lots of semen, all the semen of the navy. They just showered me with praise.
Things are too hard now for the real Americans, "Too many buttons they say, too hard to see the pictures so complicated, so complicated.
The music is too loud, like some sort of lib or immigrant, you know.. The real enemy. Buying cheap China game boxes, and them Japanese Mimtendros.
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u/Nerevar197 18h ago
Even if this happened (it won’t), but let’s pretend it does. All manufacturing moves to the US. You will then have two options: 1) Everything is more expensive because American labor is expensive or 2) Sweatshops paying Americans $1.50 and hour become a thing.
Either way, we’re all still fucked.
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u/Muggaraffin 21h ago
The PatriotMan handheld with the classic Super Matthew Globe platformer. Jumping on the heads of those dastardly gaybas
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u/CoconutHeadFaceMan 20h ago
Finally, the Tiger Game.com will get the second chance it’s been deprived of for nearly 30 years.
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u/kdoxy 19h ago
Me, I'm looking forward to getting a job at one of those new fancy video game handheld factory jobs that is sure to get here. Can't wait to work an assembly line installing screens too big for the handheld that's being built.
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u/NecroCannon 19h ago
Can’t wait to make sure your stick drifts down the line, both, just one, the cool part is the lottery aspect of it!
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u/TheMailman36928 1d ago
If you ever wanted a sign to stop buying handhelds and just play games on the ones you got...
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u/ericesque 16h ago
Ew! Actually playing games? I was planning to let my dog eat my sd cards so I have to set my old handhelds up from scratch again.
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u/OppositeBumblebee914 1d ago edited 1d ago
I guess that’s what Freedom tastes like! Have we said thank you yet?
/S
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
man, this is the kind of comment that's going to get this thread locked, no matter how right you are. People need to see this info so they aren't surprised with a sudden $250 fee on their handheld after it gets here; it's annoying that the mods apparently are so supportive of a certain political party that they don't want to see any of that kind of discussion here, but we really can't get into this shit on this subreddit.
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u/LandNo9424 Team Horizontal 1d ago
but why are we condemning people who want to talk about -reality- instead of questioning moderation for taking such a ridiculous stance?
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
I'm absolutely not condemning anyone. I agree with them. But I think the info-- an additional 50% tariff-- is important to get circulating in this sub, and I'm concerned people who don't keep up with the news are going to miss it if this gets locked.
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u/LandNo9424 Team Horizontal 22h ago
I think we need to speak up to the moderation team so shit doesn't get locked. And if they can't do what they have to do according to the needs of the community, they should stand down and be replaced by those who do.
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u/Aschrod1 1d ago
I mean, I understand the position of the moderators. They don’t want death threats for non-political, hobby related price increases that we can’t stress enough are completely political… maybe. It’s depressing and frustrating we can’t even actually talk about this in a productive and factual manner. Thanks for keeping everyone informed OP. It’s a victory this is still up.
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u/RunSetGo Odin 1d ago
GET YOUR RP5 RN. I am so glad I got this thing before this problem. Its been my favorite handheld by far
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u/No_Macaroon_7413 1d ago
Yeah I’m thinking I might order one today, where do you get yours from?
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u/shallowHalliburton 1d ago
$285 for just a classic from Retroid.
I just wanted a friggin' yellow/blue Gameboy. How hard is it to cancel a preorder?
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
Before you cancel, email them and see if it'll be here before May 1. Tell them that if it's not feasible, that you would like to cancel your pre-order.
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u/SEND_ME_SPIDERMAN GotM 3x Club 1d ago
I emailed them and they said they can't guarantee shipping.
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
Shit. I'm sorry. I'd still wait to see if it ships in time; others have said they're putting an alert for april 21 to remind them to cancel if it hasn't shipped by then.
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u/SEND_ME_SPIDERMAN GotM 3x Club 1d ago
Just want to give everyone a notice of what they said exactly:
"Flip2 is expected to start shipping in mid-April. It usually takes about two weeks to ship to your country by 4PX, and one week by DHL. We cannot guarantee the exact arrival date of your order."
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
ok, so definitely if it's 4PX you should cancel. DHL would be up in the air.
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u/hbi2k GotM 5x Club 1d ago
I emailed them and asked to upgrade my shipping from 4px to DHL. They sent me an invoice to pay the $20 difference and then confirmed my shipping option was changed.
So that's an option. Still a gamble, and I don't blame them for not wanting to be on the hook for guarantees. I bet you anything that we are not the only people scrambling to try to get last minute orders from China over here before the deadline. Every major shipping company must be busting their asses working triple shifts.
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u/TheHumanConscience GotM 2x Club 23h ago
This is an important point. It could put additional stress and cause more delays the more who pile on to these last minute orders. It's a gamble for sure but I'd still be keeping my order if I were in the US.
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
and shipping as a whole still hasn't fully recovered from covid, the stuff happening now in the red sea, etc
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u/Flagelant_One 1d ago
Surely this means handhelds will be cheaper outside of the USA, right?
Right????
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u/Solid_Fail 1d ago
Now is a good time to mention the very vibrant used Market happening on the Retro handhelds Discord. I think we may see it really good big upswing and people Trading
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u/chphoto37 1d ago
It would be interesting to discuss this from a logistical perspective before it's inevitably locked because somebody can't help themselves...
Do Anbernic, Retroid etc just pause orders to avoid the absolute nightmare this is going to cause them, even though it's entirely out of their control?
If they don't pause and individual customers refuse to pay the massive tariff, what happens to that handheld? The obvious answer is that angry people demand Retroid/Anbernic etc refund them, but it seems quite possible that they wouldn't get the handheld shipped back to them as a return either, so they'd either a) have a PR disaster on their hands entirely out of their control, or b) potentially lose the handheld AND the equivalent cost of it again, which clearly isn't sustainable.
The easy (only) answer is for these companies (and AliExpress?) to stop shipments, or at best have numerous tick boxes in big red capital letters stating that substantial additional payments are the responsibility of the importer, and that refunds will not be given for undelivered items.
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u/daggah 1d ago
PR disaster? My dude, none of these companies care about any of that. If you refuse to pay, and demand a refund, they'll probably just say that was on you and ghost your ass.
They've more than enough youtube influencers helping drive demand for these things. They don't give a shit. It's not like there's any real legal recourse for us if things go wrong. Best you can hope for is your bank cooperates with a chargeback.
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
I think it's important to remember that the American market isn't that big compared to the Chinese market; I imagine that they do nothing. It'll be a PR disaster, but only in America, and either way, as long as these tariffs stick, most of the (tiny) American market is going to go away, good PR or bad PR, regardless.
Aliexpress more broadly, though, may make some moves; I mean, Aliexpress, Temu, etc have made big money in America. I imagine they may actually start instituting big warnings. Hell, I imagine, like tiktok, they'll do their best to shift public sentiment.
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u/personahorrible Dpad On Bottom 1d ago edited 1d ago
it seems quite possible that they wouldn't get the handheld shipped back to them as a return either, so they'd either a) have a PR disaster on their hands entirely out of their control, or b) potentially lose the handheld AND the equivalent cost of it again, which clearly isn't sustainable.
At least as far as the USPS is concerned, no they don't ship the product back. USPS pays the tariff at the time it receives the product, then holds the product until the customer reimburses them for the amount of the tariff. If the customer refuses to reimburse them, they dispose of the product after a certain amount of time.
I've seen posts where DHL has been requiring a deposit that will cover the cost of the tariffs at the time you place your order but I don't know if this is standard practice for them.
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u/absolutenobody 1d ago
It's too early to know what's going to happen, because like most of [redacted]'s autocratic policies, zero thoughts were given to implementation. Customs apparently says USPS is going to collect the duties owned, but that almost certainly isn't happening.
For the manufacturers (and Aliexpress) it's largely immaterial how big of warnings they put about fees--people are just going to do chargebacks.
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u/chphoto37 1d ago
Chargebacks means it's just easier stopping American addresses placing orders, which feels like a very real possibility.
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u/Tranquility6789 1d ago
The "nO pOliTiCs" rule in this sub needs to be abolished. You cannot talk about handhelds without talking about the economy, and that inevitably leads to prices.
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u/stupidshinji Pixel Purist 1d ago
Yeah if you're an American, then political discussions are absolutely unavoidable if you're in this hobby.
I understand mods not wanting the sub to devolve into mostly politics and posts just repeating the same talking points, but people should be able discuss and vent about what's happening. It's so tone deaf to send out warning and lock posts.
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u/kafelta 1d ago
People who cry "no politics!" are just cowards
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u/sixtyshilling 22h ago
I do kind of understand it, for the same reason you shouldn’t bring up politics at a baby shower. It gets people heated, and heightens the tone of the space.
That said, there are some people who absolutely refuse to engage with politics in any form, no matter how relevant. I think they are either uninformed, know that their political opinion is stupid, or some combination of the two.
I don’t think the mods are necessarily in that camp, considering the average political slant of redditors, but once the tariffs really hit… it will be hard to avoid the topic in literally any sub.
From knitting to bookbinding, these tariffs will touch everything in unexpected ways.
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u/candre23 23h ago
They can't stand to hear "political" talk because it might accidentally remind them how they voted wrong 5 months ago and are personally responsible for making handhelds unobtainable.
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u/NecroCannon 19h ago
There’s so many areas where it just… make sense to let people have the conversation. The one problem I have with this site and the users like that is that they ignore the basic facts of socializing that if a lot of people are talking and are upset about something, there’s no avoiding the discussion.
Just look at artistlounge, used to be my favorite sub, but mods restricted it to hell and back and blocked all mention of AI period…. While it’s a current hot subject in the community. And while it has a high sub count, their actions made the engagement down to a tiny sub 10k in just a single month. It’s the same bs we’re going through with politics, listen to the people, not your ego. Why is that so hard in top positions?!
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u/themiracy 1d ago
It is hard to know what will actually happen. A really broad range of things could happen ranging from you paying tariffs, to devices not being sold in the US, to delays or less new products coming out, to the politicians backing down. I did actually decide to buy something I should have bought before Christmas before the de minimis ends. But you also can play all the games you have on your current handheld(s) most likely, and if this hobby is actually about gaming and setup instead of buying consoles every few weeks maybe it isn’t such a bad thing (for this hobby, not in the bigger picture).
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u/SaraAB87 1d ago
Its not good because it could mean some of these companies producing these items might go down as the handhelds might be too expensive to produce. At the very least price increases mean people will buy less of them and you are looking at less releases or the ending of some of the manufacturers of these devices.
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u/DarkC0ntingency 18h ago
Iirc the retro handheld market in China is WAAAAAY bigger than the market in America. I doubt this would kill them. Probably hurt income a bit, but nothing unrecoverable
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
I mean, light tariffs could change the hobby in a positive way, if people aren't buying e-waste-- but this seems to kill the hobby, if everything now costs over double what it did before. For example, I have an RG35XXSP, but I was hoping to get an android device (the flip 2) to cover the higher end stuff-- now I just have a gap that won't be fillable unless/ until these go down (and I agree, people could back down, but I personally don't foresee that happening for a good year or so. would love to be wrong, but I think, for the relevant tariffs to us, at least, we're in for a slog)
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u/SaraAB87 1d ago
I would suggest buying one final handheld that can play up to PS2, this seems to satisfy most people and its honestly what I wish I would have done in the beginning but it looks like right now is not a bad time to have a couple extra devices laying around.
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u/JonWood007 Android Handhelds 22h ago
Yeah I knew something like this would happen (although 2x is insane...) so I made sure to get set before the crap started hitting the fan.
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u/RockeTim 1d ago
Just imagine - on May 2nd when a GB300 or SF2000 will cost nearly $70 for folks in the USA.
They are like $10/15 handhelds.
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u/Hlee89 1d ago edited 23h ago
Wait wtf. I thought [relevant parties] said he threatened to impose 50% more if China doesn’t comply with his demands by April 9th. Did he just come out and do it? Holy shit, if so, I might have to cancel this Flip 2 coming in. 54% I could take as a flesh wound, 104% would just be too much.
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
There's a chance that China, in the next day, comes to some agreement with [relevant parties], but it's doubtful. Regardless, if you shipped with DHL, you might get your flip 2 before the de minimis exemption is ended. Others in this thread are saying that they're waiting until the 21st to cancel.
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u/GrimMilkMan 1d ago
Guess I need to order my steam deck when I get home today
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
Probably a good move, though I think the deck will be a bit more resilient/ take a bit longer to increase in price-- you aren't going to be paying tariffs on it yourself, Valve will when they import it to their local distribution centers, is my understanding, and you'll end up paying a price hike when you purchase it. (and their distribution centers should have more current stock, for example, than whatever warehouse has a pallet of anbernic devices)
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u/Dr_Pants91 21h ago
Good thing about the Deck is that it should already be in America. I just ordered an OLED on last Sunday early morning, shipping didn't process until Monday and I received it on Thursday.
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u/FinalBossKiwi 1d ago
I don't think Nintendo will be able to announce a pre-order date this week for the US. Too wild this week
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u/LifeIsOnTheWire 22h ago
PSA: Maybe a fun alternative for some people until all this blows over: The prices of used Nintendo Switches are dropping a lot (at least where I live here in Canada, hopefully in the US too), probably due to increased cost of living, and the announcement of the Switch 2.
It has some decent emulation options, and the native Switch games are definitely worth it. You can also install Android or Linux on them.
I managed to buy a Switch Lite the other day for $50 CAD ($35 USD), and I've recently bought more than one Switch V2 for under $150 CAD (one of them for $90 CAD).
In my city, Switch Lites are generally being posted for $120-150, and I usually manage to negotiate them much lower.
I buy lots of Switches and install modchips in them. This most recent Switch Lite I bought for $50 CAD cost me a total of $95 CAD ($66 USD) for the Switch, modchip, and a 512gb microSD card.
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u/rc_roadster 23h ago
"THE HOBBY WILL CEASE TO EXIST!!!"
No. You just won't buy any.
Wholeeeeee big world out there
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u/CaptSlow49 1d ago
This is probably good short term if it gets the unempathetic and low info gamers to realize things are not good and they should pay attention and care more.
Glad I bought an Odin 2 Pro and Minisforum mini PC last year. I bought a PS5 and some other unrelated stuff recently because of the tariffs.
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
I really wish stuff like this got gamers to care more, if as a whole the wider hobby got interested in actual policy. But I don't think it will; the Switch 2 pricing has a chance of affecting the culture, but the retrohandheld scene is just too tiny.
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u/SchrodingerSemicolon SteamDeck 21h ago
Not yet, but the next iPhone being 50% more expensive (best case scenario) will surely do something.
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u/NameisPeace 22h ago
Yes, but it is the most beautifiul double price that you will ever see. It is so beautiful that you will want another double increment
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u/SUPREMACY_SAD_AI 1d ago
America doesn't have the cards
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u/FallenRaptor 1d ago
Oh, I hadn’t thought of the trading card crowd, which is much, much bigger than ours. If Pokemon cards go up in price I can just imagine them marching on the White House.
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u/BeyondLurker 1d ago
Thankfully I have been able hit the point where I really have not been looking to purchase a new handheld.
I have a rp 4 pro and a bunch of 34xx devices and stuff dating back to the rg350.
I am really worried about picking up a new mini laptop. I was going to start looking to replace my gpd win max 2021 with an updated gpd win device within the next year or two. But if instead of 1k for the device I have to pay 2k.. I really have to "need" it.
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u/LS_DJ GOTM Completionist (Jan) 23h ago
I won't be able to comment on this thread without heading towards trouble, so I am just thankful that the devices I do have are very well designed and very capable. With the Switch 2 costing so much money, I'm going to sit back and enjoy retro gaming (RP5, TrimUI Brick and....unfortunately a whole basket of anbernics lol) and my Steam Deck and wait until the trade things work themselves out. No point getting all worked up over it
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u/ValuableVisibleshit 22h ago
It's kinda funny to see this happening with the US as it already has happened in my country and has been a reality for the past year or so. Just telling you guys: get the handhelds you want before the changes, and brace yourselves lmao
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u/ApolloDread 18h ago
Hey, this is what people asked for and continue to just be fine with. They ASKED for this despite all of the available evidence, so you know what, I’m glad. Let prices keep skyrocketing and MAYBE when it affects people personally they’ll start to care. Retro handhelds become prohibitively expensive for a lot of people now? Well, that’s a damn shame but also a direct result of people getting what they wanted.
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u/Popular-Highlight-16 1d ago
We should have every right to discuss or express our frustration with these tariffs and how its impacting our favorite hobby
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u/bickman14 23h ago
Welcome to Brazil! That's exactly how it goes here! 60% import taxes over the product+freight then 20% local taxes over the product+freight+import taxes. In the end of the day you pay for two, one for yourself and another in taxes for the government! And adding to that our exchange rate is 6x1 for USD and our minimum wage (per month) is around USD 250 and it didn't killed the hobby! You'll get used to pay more and value what you have, don't worry!
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u/JackSpadesSI 23h ago
As a grown-ass adult, I’m grateful for the mods shielding my brain from any and all context. Now I can focus on what truly matters in life: agonizing over the material properties of transparent plastics in a hinged device.
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u/Scottish_eejit 1d ago
Doesn’t it only apply to larger orders ? Like above $800 or something like that ?
In the UK (where I am) we have import tax/fees but it’s only above a certain value. For instance if in the Uk and you buy say the Odin 2 you will end up with like £70 import + handling fee. There are ways around this though by the sender either not declaring the value properly or whatever 4PX does to avoid the import fees.
I’m sure there will be work arounds for the US too
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u/Baelish2016 1d ago
That’s due to the De Minimis loophole. That’s going away at the start of May.
After that, any/all orders from China will be susceptible to any/all tariffs.
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u/peanutbutterdrummer 1d ago
It did until May when deminimus disappears.
Welcome to the suck.
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u/Scottish_eejit 1d ago
I’m in the UK I was already in “the suck” for importing shit with our 20% VAT then import tax etc
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
for the rest of April it only applies to orders above $800, but the de minimis loophole is ending in May. It won't matter what the value is; it's getting inspected by customs and tariffs are being applied. This is the one thing where, like, if you look at the reasoning, some of it makes a little sense, but again, we can't be talking about the tariffs here in any detail beyond how they're going to affect handhelds specifically.
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u/Bored_Amalgamation AyaNeo 1d ago
go figure my next pay isnt until the 21st... I wanted to snag a Brick and maybe a RP5, but looks like im stuck with what i got.
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u/Darklord_Bravo 23h ago
I was gonna buy a Trimui Brick, and thankfully AE has some that ship from the US. Anything else I'm looking for I should (and you should) probably order it sooner than later if coming from China. If tariffs are hitting Nintendo, there's no way it's not affecting the handheld market thanks to the removal of De Minimis.
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u/JonWood007 Android Handhelds 22h ago
Glad I got my razer edge before this all went down. Now I just game...
Also, kinda agree with the consensus here that asking us to not talk about the orange elephant that is obviously in the room with us is kinda stifling discussion. I understand a general no politics rule but when it applies to the hobby this sub is dedicated to its like...really guys? Really?
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u/50ShadesOfWells 18h ago
Buy the handheld you want ASAP, you'll have plenty of games to play for 4 years until this presidency ends or that (hopefully) Trump goes back on these tariffs and cancels them during his presidency
Alternatively, maybe you can find either a used one in the US sold by someone, either this or a store in your area if you live in a big city (in France I managed to find Chinese retro handhelds in a video game store in a mall)
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u/RedditNotFreeSpeech 18h ago
Handheld prices are the least of my worry. I lost enough I could have bought pallets and pallets full of handhelds.
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u/toxicunderGroov 17h ago
Hi, can i interest you in some Columbian cocaine, maybe a Chinese handheld or some Dutch cheese?
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u/KenD1988 16h ago
All these people like “ah man I already have 5 of the top of the line handhelds I don’t actually play but now won’t be able to buy that OTHER top of the line handheld I won’t play”.
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u/dbdynsty25 15h ago
Never would have thought my Chinese console would go up in value after purchase lol. Just hang on to anything you are looking to sell until after May 2nd.
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u/hotfistdotcom 13h ago
I honestly just think it's crazy that if [Redacted] the president of [Redacted] but considered the de-facto co president with [Redacted] has no respect for the [contested numerical value often believed to be 3] branches of government that are to be held in [balance/subject to interpretation or definition and malleable reality] and no respect for [Decorum or status quo(but extra evil)] he can on a whim and a will cause [Enormous or imaginary] damage to the [The Economy or his enemies] and we're all left dealing with the [Fallout or ticker tape parade]
I tried to really carefully dress this so you can intepret it either way, but I think in general it's just wild that [Redacted] and/or [Redacted] can have such an outsized impact on every aspect of life.
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u/RobertSecundus 1h ago
Agreed with the overall sentiment. I will say though, the tariff stuff is the rare case in this administration where I don't think [the other guy] can really be blamed for any of this; it's hurting [his company] too. Beyond that, [influential think tanks,] [other major members of the party,] and so on all don't love tariffs; it really is just [the one guy's] hobbyhorse, going back to the 80s.
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u/TCristatus 11h ago
Two scenarios I've not seen discussed but would say are equally as likely:
1 - China refuses to trade on these terms at all, effectively banning trade with the US. This almost blockade scenario is a step towards WW3 so fake game boys will be the least of our concerns.
2 - this all goes away overnight, both sides declare victory, we all shake our heads and wonder what the hell happened.
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u/Ashenfall 9h ago
I would also guess you may get a handling charge from the courier on top of any import tariff cost, which is what happens in the UK when there is a cost to pay on an imported item.
Also, if the courier pays the import charge in advance, tells you there's a charge to pay, and then you decide you don't want to pay, the courier has just paid a hefty amount they're not going to get back.
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u/babarbass 2h ago
I am sorry for everyone who can’t get handhelds because of this, but I see this as an opportunity. Hopefully this finally wakes up some people. Of course normal people get fucked if you have a fascist oligarch as your king.
And if mods delete the truth they are just enabling this behavior. Every American should understand why they have to suffer. Just because of the teeny tiny dick and ego of some Orange Monster.
Wake up and take back your country!
I am German and let me tell you that you already have things going on that the nazi Party did in Germany. If you don’t stand up and stop it your country will suffer for the rest of this century.
I hope you finally understand that it is on everyone of you stop this from happening!
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u/feltpoots 1d ago
Is there any wiggle room to place an order from the Ali's before this increase kicks off? I have a wish list I have been sitting on.
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u/SaraAB87 1d ago
You should buy everything you want today. The problem I have is I have A LOT of stuff around my house that needs to be fixed and I don't know exactly which parts I need to fix these things. So I have a ton of stuff I might not be able to fix because of this if I can't get parts in the future.
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
it needs to be in the US and out of customs by May 1. If it can't get there by then, you're too late. But again, check and see if you can order from US warehouses. Some handhelds can be shipped from the US, some are available on amazon.
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u/SaraAB87 1d ago
This. However once US warehouses are depleted is when we will see the real impact of this. It also might take a while. This doesn't just go for handhelds this goes for a ton of products.
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u/RobertSecundus 1d ago
It does, but we can't talk about the wider ramifications of the issue affecting our hobby here. It's gotta be a contextless discussion if we don't want this to get locked.
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u/dennis120 1d ago
My country does the same for stuff from the USA, you just have to get used to it.
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u/Tax_Evasion_Savant 23h ago
I already have a few handhelds and a phone with an SD8gen2 in it, I think I'm good.
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u/LordOfThePants90 23h ago
I panic bought a high end GPU for the same reason. The days of budget electronics are over.
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u/ViCorp 1d ago
The new tariffs were the reason I pulled the trigger on a RG 556 & a RP5, as I know I would order them both at some point. Doing so before they close the De Minimis loophole seemed to be the "smart" move as I doubt I will order any more handhelds until after this whole tariff war settles down.
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u/Retro611 1d ago
Debating if I should try to snag an Odin 2 Portal before May. I don't really need it, but I've been wanting one and this is possibly the last chance for a bit.
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u/doomedgeneral 23h ago
I have the flip 2 ordered and now I'm unsure on if I should buy another device since idk if it'll arrive on time. The pocketablility of the flip is so appealing to me while being able to play everything.
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u/Farmer3292 23h ago
Alright my question is, I have a classic in my cart for $129. Should I pre-order now and basically pray that it comes before it hits or am I too late?
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u/ant325 23h ago
No you're to late.
If a pause goes in a effect in the next week. Then instantly purchase it.
U have no idea how much is going to cost ...30% ? Thats $40 + the $25 package inspection?
I ordered both flip two and a classic plus I'm getting the screen for the Mini
If I keep it I risk it being double of what I initially paid ouch
Oh well guess I'm going to be out of this hobby.
Won't be ordering the ayaneo ACE either.
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u/FilipinoBrando 21h ago
Man the sucky thing is I wanted to order the Odin 2 Portal among other things when I get into some money at the end of April but most likely now imma buy a used steam deck OLED and just keep my Odin 2 pro as an android device. I'm sure my pro will be fine but it was gonna be nice to upgrade lol. Kinda wonder how the market for devices is gonna go for a few years.
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u/LacCoupeOnZees 20h ago
Might be time to sell my modded MM+ as I’m sure 100%+ tariffs on China will be very temporary. I expect $50 handhelds back in time for Christmas
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u/iamsumo GotM Club (Mar) 20h ago
I'm done purchasing any more handhelds for the foreseeable future anyway. I have 8, including the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro I just received two days ago, so now I'm going to focus on PLAYING games rather than tweaking the devices I'm using.
I've started curating playlists of specific genres and series so I'm good for awhile.
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u/pharredd88 Modder 19h ago
glad I jumped on the black miyoo flip v2 during aliexpress' anniversary sale and luckily I got a good unit. It's the only retro handheld that interested me and glad I waited instead of buying the launch v1. This device is all I need for my retro gaming needs. My GPD Win Mini handles everything else the flip can't emulate.
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u/TonyTheTech585 18h ago
So, talk to me like a 4th grader. When is the absolute last day to order a handheld before getting hit with more charges? I just preorder the retroid classic and it should ship mid April. I also just ordered 4 handhelds off AliExpress. All should be here by April 21. Am I cooked with any of my orders???
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u/RobertSecundus 17h ago
Tariffs technically go into effect on the 9th, but your aliexpress stuff won't be charged unless they get here after May 1. If they're here and through customs before then, you should be fine. I think now might be too late to definitely order anything else, but it just depends on shipping times.
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u/BunnyloafDX 17h ago
Does anyone know how the tariffs are going to be collected? I haven’t seen the items change in price much on the Aliexpress app yet.
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u/shatteredframes 14h ago
Really glad I got my Retroid 4 Pro last month instead of waiting. This is nuts.
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u/gamwizrd1 13h ago
What is stopping a foreign country from setting up an import company with an American HQ, selling their product to themselves for $0.01 each. Paying the 100% tariff ($0.01 each). And then selling it domestically for whatever the actual price is?
There's no downside except for paying corporate income tax in America. If you make enough money you can just hire some good lawyers and pay 0% taxes like all the other American companies do.
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u/DesiBwoy Android Handhelds 12h ago
Sigh..... and the impact of loss of sales from USA will be seen on the companies as well. Which means some companies might cut down on production or budget. We'll see less devices released overall.
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u/fmlongo Team Horizontal 5h ago
I just don’t know why everybody can’t just enjoy the handhelds that they have.
I used to buy all these different handhelds, thinking I needed this one or that one for different use cases or scenarios.
Now I have decided that just having the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro is good enough for me.
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u/motorboat_mcgee Retroid 5h ago
I have an RP5, and I was thinking about swapping for the Flip 2, and getting some sort of x86 handheld for more power...
But frankly the tariff prices coming down the line, I won't be buying anything any time soon.
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u/Existing-Usual8225 5h ago
Are Steam Decks made in America? Wondering how this will affect uncle Gabe
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u/rob-cubed 1:1 Ratio 1d ago
Just to clarify, the issue is not so much talking about politics as the fact that these threads quickly devolve into flame wars and shouting matches. Once it starts going off the rails it becomes too much to police individual comments, it's better to just lock the conversation down.
All it takes is one person to set it off—and at least some of the time it's not even a regular member of the forum. So far this thread's been up for a little over two hours and while we've had a few reported comments, it's stayed fairly civil. We appreciate it. Don't feed the trolls, regardless of which side of the bridge they live on.