Boutique Pedal Manufacturers Are Feeling the Tariff Pinch

I'm looking at getting some custom machined aluminum pieces for a project I'm working on. Apparently Chinese aluminum is still subject to 100% tariffs, meaning my $25 parts cost $50 a piece from China. I told myself surely there was a domestic supplier that could beat that on a simple aluminum panel with a radiused edge and a few holes in it. Lowest quote I got from a US shop was $117 a piece. I could get down to $50 a piece if I order large quantities, but at that same quantity the price from the Chinese shop goes down to $24 a piece.
 
vigilante398 said:
I'm looking at getting some custom machined aluminum pieces for a project I'm working on. Apparently Chinese aluminum is still subject to 100% tariffs, meaning my $25 parts cost $50 a piece from China. I told myself surely there was a domestic supplier that could beat that on a simple aluminum panel with a radiused edge and a few holes in it. Lowest quote I got from a US shop was $117 a piece. I could get down to $50 a piece if I order large quantities, but at that same quantity the price from the Chinese shop goes down to $24 a piece.
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So you’re saying that the tariff should be twice as large in order to bring American manufacturing back?
 
Tariffs should be 487 procent to make a 24 peace equal 117. Am I correct?
Dont know if there is any profit in it for the manufacturer.
 
Feral Feline said:
I've never heard of "Youtubers like Buddy Blues and Sasha Ivantic", and I'll have forgotten them by the time I finish this post.
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The whole post reads a little like “I’ve put all this effort in and expect ppl to want to buy my pedals” - I think it’s a bit mad, like I know there’s a whole pedal scene that I’m not in, but in my mind most “boutique hand built” pedals are either completely derivative, or slightly derivative but with features that fit in a specific genre or setup - your boutique hand built big muff may be the best tuned big muff on the planet - or it might just be another fuzz pedal… and if it’s in the former it’s the brand that will sell it - not the amazingness alone. And if you reduce your costs by using JLCs pcbA … then you have to work even harder with the brand and marketing … but the world doesn’t owe you sales of your fuzz pedal…
 
LukeFRC said:
the world doesn’t owe you sales of your fuzz pedal…
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Much as I sympathize with folks, this. Very much this, notwithstanding the blatantly visible and corrupt cronyism which the tariffs have hypercharged.

It's the tough beans nobody wants to eat (especially if it's lima beans; we are blessed with so many other varietals. We. Don't. Need. Lima. Beans.). that nobody owes you a thing. And yeah, they hurt, those beans. I know the title was a "hey, word to the wise/learn from my mistakes" but maybe "nobody cares/is obliged to buy" is the ultimate point.
 
jessenator said:
Much as I sympathize with folks, this. Very much this, notwithstanding the blatantly visible and corrupt cronyism which the tariffs have hypercharged.

It's the tough beans nobody wants to eat (especially if it's lima beans; we are blessed with so many other varietals. We. Don't. Need. Lima. Beans.). that nobody owes you a thing. And yeah, they hurt, those beans. I know the title was a "hey, word to the wise/learn from my mistakes" but maybe "nobody cares/is obliged to buy" is the ultimate point.
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It's interesting how things have changed...

reading really early "here's how this pedal works" stuff, like RG Keens stuff, and it's all quite technical - and you could learn stuff....
and then came the forums where DIY pedal geeks would trace things and get their own Vero/perfboard copies, or if they were really keen and liked playing around with strong chemicals they would make their own PCB.
And DIY would be very different to professional companies, and boutique would

Now anyone can use KiCad and a Chinese PCB Assembly service and professional looking (if not engineered) boards made with very little knowledge - but just cos you can also means others can and doesn't mean anyone owes you anything ....

It's interesting also in this section of the forum as Chuck's stuff is more like the real old-school "this is how this works, ah we could do a few things to improve this" engineering approach and the ethos that attracted me to soldering pedals together in the first place
 
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