54% China tariff

[Rob Levine]

Wondering how Phantom Pilots feels about paying an extra 54% on DJI drones when purchased in the US? I know political speech isn't allowed here - but is this political? Someone arbitrarily raising prices on the drones we use by more than half?

 

[msinger]

I think it only starts to get political when people post things like this that haven’t actually happened. Are you saying a 54% tariff automatically means prices will go up by 54%? If so, I’m not sure that’s accurate, and whoever told you that might have their own agenda.

Besides, if DJI raised the prices of all their drones by 54%, we both know what would likely happen. Most people would stop buying them.

 

[Rob Levine]

Nobody told me that. There is already a 20% tariff - so I assume that is built into present price models. Now there will be an additional 34% starting April 9 (see Wall Street Journal if you don't believe me). You're a vendor so you might know - isn't this gonna be a price increase of another 34%?

 

[msinger]

You're a vendor so you might know

I'm only a "vendor" on this forum. I don't sell DJI drones.

There is already a 20% tariff - so I assume that is built into present price models. Now there will be an additional 34% starting April 9 (see Wall Street Journal if you don't believe me).

I think a bit more context would be helpful here. Are you saying that DJI has already increased their prices by 20% in the US? If so, could you share your sources? I haven’t seen any price increases myself.

Ah, the Wall Street Journal. I’m not sure what you read, but if this is the conclusion you came to, it sounds like there might be some underlying agendas at play.

 

[smuellersd1]

This is just one more life challenge like when gas prices spiked in the 70’s or recent egg prices. You just adjust, if needed, to doing something else as an affordable substitute.

In time technology/competition will drive prices down.

 

[Rob Levine]

No I'm not saying that. I'm trying to get a fix on how these tariffs work. I just spoke to a guy at Florida Drone Supply and he seemed to think that the 20% tariff comes on top of the stated price, and that the additional 34% announced yesterday would be on top of that, but he wasn't sure. He was sure that the agitation in Washington against DJI is making it very difficult to even get product. He mentioned the Matrice 4 as being particularly difficult to get.

 

[Rob Levine]

I'm only a "vendor" on this forum. I don't sell DJI drones.



I think a bit more context would be helpful here. Are you saying that DJI has already increased their prices by 20% in the US? If so, could you share your sources? I haven’t seen any price increases myself.

Ah, the Wall Street Journal. I’m not sure what you read, but if this is the conclusion you came to, it sounds like there might be some underlying agendas at play.

Feels like I'm getting some hostility from you. Why is that? I'm asking questions that I'm sure many DJI fans/pilots are curious about. Oh - and quit putting words in my mouth.

 

[msinger]

Feels like I'm getting some hostility from you. Why is that?

Not at all. I'm simply pointing out that the Wall Street Journal may have a hidden agenda if they're claiming that DJI plans to raise prices by 54%. From what I could find, the previous 20% tariff had no impact on DJI's pricing (as of today anyhow).

Oh - and quit putting words in my mouth.

My apologies. I was just trying to ask for a bit more context. Could you share the direct links to the content so we can read it ourselves?

 

[Rob Levine]

No problem. I'm just lusting after an M4P and wondering if I'm gonna be able to get one and how much it will cost

 

[msinger]

I'm just lusting after an M4P

Same!

So, I suppose the real question is how do DJI, Florida Drone Supply, and others plan to handle this new business expense? Because that’s exactly what it will be for them. I’m not sure any news outlet will be able to uncover the specific strategies each company has in place to manage it.

Will they pass it on? Will they share it? Will they absorb the entire cost? I don't think anybody really knows at this point.

 

[Rob Levine]

DroneXL says they expect DJI to pass the cost directly to the consumer, raising the price of the base M4P to just over 3k

Trump's New Tariffs Set To Increase DJI Drone Prices By 34%

The Trump administration's latest round of 34% tariffs on Chinese goods will significantly impact DJI's products, including the DJI Mavic 4 Pro drone.

dronexl.co

 

[msinger]

DroneXL says they expect DJI to pass the cost directly to the consumer

It looks like they took a table of the leaked Mavic 4 Pro prices and simply added 34% using a calculator. It doesn’t seem like they’re claiming DJI will actually raise prices by that amount, nor do they appear to have any insider knowledge.

Then they go on to say:
"the most likely outcome remains full cost transfer to US consumers, according to industry experts"

Again, no details or sources to support that claim.

That said, DroneXL tends to post a lot of clickbait stories. I’m probably stating the obvious.