Talking Tariffs: How We’re Navigating the Unexpected Storm at BlackOpsToys
Tariffs. Not exactly the kind of thing you want to spend your Saturday talking about, right? Us either. But here we are. If you’re a small business owner—or a loyal customer wondering why pre-orders are paused—you’ve probably felt some ripple effects from this. Or maybe you’re like us a month ago and didn’t even know what a tariff actually meant for your business.
We’re Sully and Jennifer from BlackOpsToys, and we’re not experts in trade law or global logistics. We’re collectors turned entrepreneurs trying to run a business that connects people with the coolest 1/6 scale military action figures on the planet. And right now, we’re dealing with something that could change the entire way we operate: newly imposed U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. Some of these tariffs are over 145%. In a few cases, it’s more like 245%. Yeah. You read that right.
The Reality Check: Tariffs Are No Joke
About two months ago, we found out that the toys and action figures we import from China could now be subject to outrageous tariffs—up to 245%. That means a figure we’d normally sell for $150 could cost us over $360 before it even ships to your doorstep. We double-checked with an AI assistant we affectionately named Grock (yep, we’re nerds), and Grock confirmed it: action figures now fall into some of the highest tariff categories on the list.
This isn’t just a small price hike. This is a gut punch to any business that depends on overseas manufacturing—especially ones like ours, where the product isn’t mass-produced or sold at scale. We’re talking about carefully curated figures, built and shipped with care. And suddenly, those figures are double or triple the cost before we even get them on the shelf.
Test Runs and Shipping Experiments
What do you do when your costs double overnight and you don’t have a global logistics department? You start testing. Right now, we’re running small shipments by both sea and air freight to figure out what this actually means for our pricing and timelines.
We’re trying to get a handle on everything: customs delays, added freight fees, warehouse storage costs—you name it. We’ve got a shipment on the water right now and we’re watching it like a hawk, hoping it makes landfall between late May and early June. Until then, we’re holding off on making any massive decisions, because it’s all trial and error at this point.
Pre-Orders on Pause, But Not Forever
One of the hardest decisions we made in this whole mess was to pause pre-orders. We love giving our customers early access, and pre-orders help us forecast what gear and figures to bring in. But with pricing this volatile, it didn’t feel right to take your money for something we might not even be able to afford to ship.
Instead, we’re letting people hold off. If you’ve placed a deposit and want to wait, awesome—we’re holding your spot. If you want to cancel, no hard feelings. We get it. We’d rather be transparent than overpromise and underdeliver. When we know more, you’ll know more. That’s how we’ve always done it.
The Parts Workaround: Unfinished Goods, Unfinished Business
Here’s where it gets kind of interesting. According to Grock and some digging we did ourselves, there’s a huge difference in tariffs for finished versus unfinished goods. Finished action figures might get hit with 145%–245% in tariffs. But parts? Loose gear? That’s more like 70%.
So we’re experimenting with breaking down product kits, shipping the gear as individual components, and letting you build the figure yourself. We’re even considering making build videos to walk you through the process. It’s not ideal, but it’s something—and that’s what we need right now. Something. A creative way to keep our kits moving without blowing up the price.
When AI Is Smarter Than Us (And We’re Okay With That)
We’ve got no shame in saying we turned to AI for help. Grock helped us confirm tariff codes and understand what category our products fall into. It’s a strange new world when you’re having business meetings with a digital assistant—but hey, we’re adapting.
Small businesses don’t have legal teams or policy experts on retainer. But we do have access to tools that can speed up our research, help us verify data, and keep us informed. If you’re in a niche market like we are and haven’t tapped into these resources, now’s the time. Every edge helps.
The Spam Bots Came for Sully’s Thumb
Let’s lighten the mood for a sec. Right in the middle of all this chaos, our social media got hit with some very weird spam. Like, dozens of comments all obsessing over Sully’s thumb. Not even joking. It was clearly some kind of bot thing, but we had a good laugh about it.
We mention it because it’s a reminder that small business life is never just about numbers. It’s about personality. It’s about relationships. And sometimes it’s about brushing off the weird stuff and laughing together with your community. Thanks for rolling with us, even when things get strange.
Looking Ahead: No Panic, Just Plans
Are we stressed? Yes. Are we panicking? No. BlackOpsToys has been around a long time. We’ve weathered economic dips, supply chain issues, and even a global pandemic. This is just one more challenge we’re going to figure out.
We’re actively working on solutions: better shipping methods, lower-tariff product models, and more direct communication with our customers. Once we have clearer answers, we’ll be sending out emails to explain everything—what your options are, what pricing might look like, and how we plan to keep going.
In the meantime, we’re still building, still kitbashing, and still dreaming up future releases. Yes, the pace might slow while we figure this out, but we’re not stopping. We have shipments arriving in the next couple of days and we’re looking forward to learning if we will be charged any extra and if that FedEx guy will hit us up with a debit card machine. Who knows.
Final Thoughts: Built for the Long Haul
The truth is, we didn’t start BlackOpsToys because it was easy. We started it because we loved it. And we’ve kept going because you, our community, have made it worth every hour, every risk, and every roadblock.
These tariffs? They’re a beast. But we’re learning. We’re adapting. And we’re sharing every step along the way because you deserve to know what’s happening behind the curtain.
Thanks for standing with us. Thanks for being patient. And thanks for always believing in what we do—even when it gets complicated.
We’ll see you on the next livestream, video drop, or build breakdown. Until then, stay creative. Stay flexible. And keep kitbashing.
– Sully & Jennifer