LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For one Kentucky store, President Donald Trump's tariffs on China have increased prices on toys and led to its owner rethinking purchasing products that may not help its bottom line.
“All this stuff is made in China, so all these companies are really hitting us pretty hard with price increases for when we go to buy things from distribution from our suppliers,” said Mason Berry, owner of Card N All Gaming and Repair in Louisville.
Berry, who knows the ins and outs of the gaming industry, has owned the store for a decade.
“Sometimes it's 30%; sometimes it's 35%," Berry said. "It really just kind of seems to be all over the place, and I think it's just them just trying to cover their bases."
This year, though, he said everything has fluctuated.
"They just kind of put a flat rate on it and say, 'Hey, this is just the tariffs on top of what the costs already are,'" Berry said.
Those costs have to go somewhere.
“There are very few cases can we get by and it not be passed on to the consumer," Berry said. "It's just stuff that I would be selling it on our floor for. It's basically what I'm paying for from wholesale at this point, so it makes it really difficult."
Not only are the prices increasing, it’s also affecting products. He said some manufacturers aren’t even selling or making certain products.
“A lot of the stuff is just super hard to get," Berry said. "That's why I have empty pegs everywhere."
Just from April to May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported prices for toys, games and plush toys rose by 2.2%.
“This is the type of stuff that you're going to be starting to see when as I go to stock things and I keep getting hit with more and more price increases, I will have the same types of products on the shelf for three different prices at this point,” Berry said.
According to the Toy Association, China makes nearly 80% of toys.