Here come the tariff price increase warnings

A short announcement from Videndum-owned SmallHD and Teradek, but a significant one: price rises are on their way. Expect more of this to come.

In some ways the intro is misleading. SmallHD and Teradek have indeed made an announcement about pricing, but they haven't said anything about price rises. Rather the term in use is 'price adjustments', though blaming the forthcoming movement on 'rising tariff costs' gives you an indication of which way they're going to be heading.

"Although our products are designed and assembled in America, the increased import tariffs still heavily impact our supply chain," says a company statement. "Because of this, we have made the difficult decision to adjust pricing on select SmallHD and Teradek products. While we strive to maintain competitive pricing and absorb costs where possible, these adjustments are necessary to continue delivering the high-quality technology and support that our community expects."

Expect to see a fair deal more of this as the Trump administration's enthusiasm for tariffs continues. Many manufacturers will have been hoping to get NAB out of the way before having to raise costs, but supply chains run to their own agenda and Videndum says the increases will take place on April 1. You can insert your own April Fool joke here.

No indication of precisely how much they will be yet, but the company does offer an olive branch. "To help offset the impact of these price changes, we will offer an opportunity to invest in SmallHD and Teradek solutions at a discounted rate. More details on this will be announced soon." 

This is smart and possibly shows the value of getting ahead of a wave of bad news. Reading between the lines that sounds like some form of interest-free (or at least low) credit pay-in-three option offered directly by the manufacturer. And even if we're wrong about that, you suspect it might be a popular move amongst more than one company as they try to navigate come increasingly choppy economic waters.

tl;dr

• SmallHD and Teradek announced upcoming price adjustments due to rising tariff costs impacting their supply chain, despite being designed and assembled in America.
• The company acknowledges that maintaining competitive pricing is challenging and that these adjustments are necessary to continue delivering quality technology and support.
• The price increases are slated to take effect on April 1, prompting speculation about how much the changes will be due to the ongoing tariff environment.
• As a response to the price adjustments, the company plans to offer discounted investment opportunities in their products, potentially including a pay-in-three financing option.