Most of our manufactures have warned us price increases are imminent over the next 30 to 60 days. Some products have already gone up in price. MOST will follow. We expect some items to have 2 or 3 price increases over the next 6 months.
Believe it or not, our industry is global and YOUR pricing is affected by what goes on in the global market. Plan your purchasing budget sooner than later to avoid increases, or budget in a potential 25% or more change in price. This price increase will be seen at music stores, big or small, online or brick and mortar. This is not a limited increase, it will be felt across all selling channels.
Section 301 tariffs imposed by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on Chinese imports that went into effect on July 6th and additional tariffs that went into effect on August 23rd have already increased product cost pressures. The proposed third round of tariffs on approximately $200B of products imported from China – if it does go into effect – will have a significant cost impact on our industry if implemented.
