TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — As tariff discussions continue to dominate national and local headlines, small business owners in Tucson say they’re preparing for potential impacts on the video game and toy industries — though it will take time to notice the true potential impacts.
At GameBro on Tucson’s east side, owner Alex Plot turned his passion for games and collectibles into a thriving business over the past seven years. But with tariffs on Chinese imports climbing as high as 125%, Plot says it’s hard to plan for what might happen.
“It’s frightening not knowing what’s going to happen. Is everything going to go up more than double?” he said.
Right now, his shelves are fully stocked, and Plot says he should be good for a few months. But after that, things are less certain.
“[Our distributors] don’t know exactly what’s going to happen,” Plot explained. “They don’t know if they will be able to get their product or if they will, how much it’s going to cost them. And of course they have no idea how much they will sell it to us for.”
Just 15 minutes away at EverChange Video Games, Brian Harris has built his business over the last three years, focusing on retro video games. Harris says his store isn’t as directly impacted by tariffs because most of his business comes from used games, but some new inventory still comes from overseas.
“I started with Pong, Atari, went through them all. Fell back in love with it with my kids,” Harris said.
And when it comes to accessories and controllers he does order overseas, Harris is hoping to keep costs stable.
“Hopefully, we can keep the prices on the third-party controllers and accessories and things of that nature as cost-effective as possible,” he added.
Both shop owners say small businesses like theirs often feel left out when it comes to big government decisions. They’ll continue to stock their shelves and hope to keep prices steady for their customers in the months ahead.
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Kenny Darr is a reporter for KGUN 9. He joined the team in January 2023. Before arriving in Arizona he was an Anchor and Reporter at KADN in Lafayette, LA. Share your story ideas with Kenny by emailing kenny.darr@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
