So, we all know about the US tariffs placed by the Trump administration, and how they have significantly impacted trade worldwide. But what about when it comes to tabletop roleplaying games? I know that last spring, the word was that TTRPG books printed outside of the United States would be virtually exempt from these tariffs, but other items like dice, minis, game-master screens and so on might be affected. Also, low-priced items weren’t being hit with tariffs, either, so that was pretty great.
I know early on, that indeed seemed to be the case, and I was optimistic that things would work out for the industry. But I also saw many TTRPG creators outside of the US especially who were still worried about Trump’s rather schizophrenic approach to applying tariffs, and understood their concerns. Let’s be honest here: Regardless of how you fall on the political spectrum, you have to admit that Trump has wielded tariffs like a cudgel against other countries, and only lowers them if they bend over and kiss his ass.
This has hurt everyone, as we have to pay more for foreign products, and everyone else has had a harder time selling their goods due to the confusing market conditions.
Regardless, looking at this as a US citizen, I’m thinking that these tariffs have significantly kneecapped trade in the TTRPG market, printing most of all. If an overseas creator prints in Europe or China, it gets expensive to ship into the US, and printing in the US to avoid those shipping woes is just plain expensive.
… unless you use DriveThruRPG.
No don’t get me wrong, print-on-demand through services like DTRPG isn’t cheap like it used to be, and their gluebound books are generally not as good of quality as stitch bound books can be. But if you are used to the “Dungeons & Dragons” books from Wizards of the Coast, you’ll be okay with the product you receive. So my question is this: Should creators looking to ship into the US rely on POD services like DTRPG, so they can avoid the shipping nightmare tariffs are causing, or stick with the current situation?
Personally, I have significantly reduced the number of books I’m backing on Kickstarter just for this reason, as the shipping costs are completely wonky. I’d frankly rather just buy digital copies at this point, or ones that print and ship through DTRPG, because I know I won’t be paying an arm, leg, and my wife’s foot just for a tabletop roleplaying game. Is that optimal? Of course not! I love my stitch bound hardback TTRPG books as much as the next person, but I’m not going to throw an extra $50-60 or so on shipping and tariffs, for a roughly $60 book, either.
Now I know it isn’t that dire quite yet, but believe me, it is getting there. For example, I backed a deck of cards as a supplement for “Mork Borg” a while ago. When it went to ship, everything was fine, but it got lost in the mail. By the time the creator, who is in Canada, went to send me a replacement copy, the rules for low priced items were changed, and suddenly I was going to have to pay an additional $7-35 for tariffs, depending upon the shipper, and those were just estimates. This was on a $25 deck of cards, mind you.
So I asked for a refund, and will pick up a POD copy of said deck when it comes out on DTRPG instead. Then the shipping will be reasonable, and there won’t be any surprise tariff changes to deal with.
Now I realize this example isn’t exactly the same as with TTRPG books, because in that case, it would have been much worse. While there are of course low-cost TTRPG books, zines and the like out there, most of the TTRPG books I buy are of the full-sized hardcover variety. So we’re talking $50 and up, depending on the product.
If UPS was going to want an extra $35 on a $25 product for shipping costs, on top of what I’d already paid for shipping, what would they have needed to deliver a $60 book? One has to think it would be a lot higher, and frankly, there’s no way I’m paying that. And I doubt I’m the only TTRPG fan here in the US who is no longer willing to put up with this bullshit.
So, where does that leave us? Sure, the US market isn’t the only one for TTRPG creators, but it’s a big one. And if buyers in the US market start to shy away from TTRPG creators outside of the US, or US creators who want to print their books outside of the US, where does that leave the TTRPG industry as a whole?
Kneecapped. That’s where it leaves it.
