Tariffs and your game store: how to plan inventory before prices change
By Anthony Economos · · 5 min read
Much of what game stores sell — board games, sleeves, deck boxes, playmats, many sealed products — is manufactured overseas. When an import tariff changes, distributor costs follow, sometimes within weeks. Stores that see it coming can buy ahead at the old cost; stores that don't absorb the increase or raise prices mid-season.
This article doesn't predict any specific tariff. It's a method for reacting when one is announced.
1. Track the right news
- Watch for announcements that name an effective date and the product categories or countries covered.
- Ask your distributor reps; they often know which lines are affected before price sheets change.
- Write each alert down with its start date, rate if known, and which of your categories it touches.
2. Work out the order-by date
Stock needs to arrive before the tariff applies to your distributor's costs. Order-by date = tariff start date − your distributor's lead time. If that date has passed, assume anything you order now may arrive at the new cost.
3. Size the pre-buy from sales, not fear
Buy extra stock equal to a fixed number of days of normal sales — 30 days is a reasonable starting point — rounded up to case packs. Base it on what actually sold in the last month, not on what you hope will sell. Items with no recent sales don't need a pre-buy.
Example: a game that sold 28 copies in 28 days sells about one a day. Thirty extra days is 30 copies; in cases of 12 that's 36.
4. Watch cash and shelf space
- Pre-buying ties up cash. Prioritize your fastest movers and highest-margin lines.
- Skip products with upcoming reprints or new editions.
- Recheck after the tariff starts: if costs didn't change as announced, slow your next orders.
In TCGCORE
TCGCORE's Tariff watch (Enterprise plan) keeps tariff alerts from a news search and from your own notes. Once you approve an alert, the forecast flags affected items, shows the order-by date, and suggests extra quantity from recent sales rounded to case packs.