Toy Prices Set to Skyrocket as US and Chinese Tariffs Could Double Costs for Hasbro, Mattel and More

Toys might be one of the items skyrocketing in price very soon due to tariffs, and companies like Hasbro are facing a real doomsday scenario.

The word of the day lately is “tariffs”. If you are one of the few who still haven’t heard of them, be aware that they are essentially part of the customs fees you pay whenever you import something from outside of the country, like a tax. The new U.S. administration has recently increased tariffs on products coming in from numerous countries, and the effects of those tariff increases will be far-reaching. Note that as we dive into the impacts on the toy industry, we’re importantly not taking a side when it comes to the political or economic strategies of either company. Rather, we’re simply jumping into the pragmatic effects consumers will see over the next months, at least.

So let’s talk about toys, shall we? Almost the entirety of the goods that major American toy companies manufacture for sale here in the United States are made overseas and will now face additional tariff surcharges once they are delivered to the shores of the U.S.

Transformers Legacy Evolution Core Class Optimus Prime Converting Action Figure – Hasbro

Starting with the big gun, China. As of the writing of this article, a 125% tariff has been levied on all goods being imported from China, including all toys and games that are made there. Coupled with already high shipping costs that were set off during Covid, the net result will be a sudden price spike for many of the goods that are being made there or which are en route to the U.S. This includes almost all toys and games that companies such as Hasbro and Mattel sell to the United States.

Earlier this week, one of the largest U.S.-based online toy stores, Big Bad Toy Store (BBTS), as well as other well-known stores such as TFSource, sent out messages to their customers warning them that their prices will start to spike dramatically, and that they are doing everything they can to mitigate the cost inc

Toymaker Hasbro has been particularly hard hit by the tariffs. They make all their stuff in China. Maybe Elon Musk should buy it now, just for the IPs.

They own Dungeons & Dragons. pic.twitter.com/FI7OA1mywX

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) April 9, 2025

rease due to the tariffs.

In their email, BBTS noted the following:
“For 25 years, we have operated as a family-owned business under a 0% tariff rate. Several months ago a 10% tariff was enacted for goods made in China. It was then doubled to 20%. In April a 34% tariff was added to the total, bringing us to 54%. Last night another 50% was added, and today (April 9th) an additional 21% was added, bringing us to 125% total tariffs on Chinese goods. Vietnam was to be subject to a 46% tariff, but it appears that this has been reduced to 10% for the next 90 days. These two countries manufacture 90% of the goods that we sell.”

And that is the crux of the issue here. The way that the direct-to-consumer toy sales industry works is that upcoming toys are announced months or years ahead of their release date, allowing interested customers to “pre-order” them at their expected retail prices, effectively creating a contract between the store and the customer. With the tariffs taking effect, that pre-ordered price will spike after the fact, which is unfortunate but understandable as most of these retailers are unable to absorb the increased cost themselves.

A screenshot from Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance (2021), Tuque Games

For larger companies like Hasbro, it will be interesting to see what sort of strategy they undertake for the goods they sell directly to their customers. In a prescient decision, Hasbro’s late CEO Brian Goldner decided in 2019 to move the bulk of Hasbro’s production away from China and into Vietnam and India, the latter two being able to produce Hasbro’s products for less cost. Goldner’s decision then may well save the company now, as Vietnam and India will likely be able to negotiate away the brunt of the tariffs against them, whereas the situation between the U.S. and China is escalating into a full-on trade war.

Nevertheless, Hasbro has a number of products being made overseas that it has been taking pre-orders for, particularly its “Haslab” crowd-funded projects, which usually take a year or so after funding to be manufactured. Once finished, the Haslab toys are then shipped from overseas to Hasbro’s distribution centers in the U.S., and then mailed out domestically to their backers. Haslab customers in the past haven’t been charged duties or tariffs on these goods before, but that may change, as the cost Hasbro will need to pay to import these completed Haslabs will still see an increase. The next Haslab that is set to be shipped out soon is their Transformers Omega Prime figure. Reports have come in that places such as New Zealand have already received their allotments, however there has been no word on what will happen in the U.S. It will be interesting to see whether Hasbro decides to eat the cost or to ask for more

Big Bad Toy Store announced they will be adding a Tariff surcharge on pre-orders ranging from 15%-40% of the pre-order price of the item

• If the Tariffs are reduced/removed they will remove the surcharge accordingly

• In-Stock items will not have the surcharge pic.twitter.com/Ta2RbXR3sJ

— 🧭MangaAlerts #uw7s🌊 (@MangaAlerts) April 10, 2025

Toys see 70% price jumps. China crafts 85% of U.S. toys, including Hasbro and Mattel lines. A $50 doll or LEGO set could reach $85, with tariffs hiking costs at Shanghai ports. Holiday gift lists face pressure, as toymakers scramble to absorb or offset fees. pic.twitter.com/kXRcHAbBiY

— Apex Episodes (@ApexEpisodes) April 12, 2025

In all of this doom and gloom however, there may be a silver lining. Hasbro has for decades been bedeviled with the issue of IP theft, namely from Chinese companies that have created unlicensed replicas of its toys (i.e. “Knock-Offs”), as well as original creations based on its IP (think a toy that looks like Optimus Prime and transforms into a truck but with the name “Star Commander”, for example). Any time Hasbro has attempted to stop these companies, they just close up shop and open up under a new name. The Chinese government has thus far been of very little help in enforcing Hasbro’s IP and trademark rights within their country, much to Hasbro’s chagrin. This “3rd Party” industry is quite lucrative, with dozens of companies selling products based on Hasbro IP to all over the world, but mainly drawing their business from U.S. customers. While the new tariffs will cause some hurt for Hasbro on its imports, they may at the same time do the company an enormous favor by crippling these unlicensed companies, who are already operating on razor-thin margins. Time will tell.