Hello backers!
Just wanting to touch base with you while the campaign is active about the potential and unexpected Tariff cost from goods imported from China and what that would mean for Bouquet of Dragons enamel pins.
As you may know, 99.9% of enamel pins are manufactured in China from all your favorite creators, either directly or through a middleman company. All of your favorite pin artists will be hit hard with new manufactured products after May 2nd if the tariffs are not stopped. We are expecting at least 54% up to 72% of product cost on delivery (currently is 20%), which will raise the pin cost a minimum of $2 more per pin if we can't find a work around of some sort (up to $4, as we don't know the exact production cost yet, I can only estimate on previous pins I've done). This is an incredibly frustrating situation to be put in with little notice, so here is our contingency plan:
We will be continuing the campaign as expected. At the time of shipping cost collection from backers, which is right as pins come to us from the manufacturer, we will add on the increased tariff cost to shipping amount if the tariffs are still in effect. We will make sure to update you here on Backerkit if it is happening, plus an better estimate of cost as soon as we know. We will absorb as much as we can afford to, and will notify you as clearly as possible as it unfolds.
Here are the options should we need to charge an additional amount due to tariffs:
- Backers pay when pins are ready to be shipped (default)
- Backers can remove some pins and allocate some of their previously spent money on the tariff increase via shipping if they cannot afford the additional second charge amount.
I will not be able to afford refunds for backers who are unable to pay for tariff increases if it happens, as the cost of pins will already be used for production, now in my home for grading, and I will already have paid the tariff out of pocket for them. So if option 1 or 2 does not work for you, I ask you to not risk it and instead cancel or reduce your pledge amount to fit your budget. If you need to cancel your pins, and tariffs do stop by then, I will allow backers to re-pick up their orders based on available stock at a slight discount from my shop.
However you will not be able to obtain any of the cross-collab rewards as those are limited to how many actively back the campaign. Shop cost pins will be approximately $15 per pin (compared to $17 which is my shop typically), without any multi-pin order discounts for previous backers, and those that are continued backers will be able to pick them up at the Backerkit prices based on stock I have if they had to reduce their pledge out of budgeting safety through Backerkit as add-ons.
What can we do in the meantime?
Contact your state's representatives and ask them to push for tariffs being stopped, delayed, or even slower ramp up so it doesn't crush small businesses.
Thank you for your continued support of Bouquet of Dragons, we have our fingers crossed that this will honestly just go away.
-Alstro Arts
