With the ever-changing tariffs, there are more questions than answers for local businesses in San Luis Obispo.
“When do we increase prices? How much do we increase prices? How do we make sure that we're covering what we need to,” SLO Chamber of Commerce CEO Jim Dantona said of the different reactions from business owners during this time.
However, Dantona is issuing words of caution to those businesses, advising against taking drastic measures. Some of the decisions that he doesn't want to see are businesses increasing prices or cutting staff.
“This is one where I don't think people really understand how it's going to get paid, who's going to do what, how much do I have to eat, how much is my provider going to have to eat in terms of cost and how much can I even afford to pass along that?” Dantona stated.
The global repair marketplace business, iFixit, began in San Luis Obispo in 2003, making repair guides and selling parts and tools with a majority of their supply chain overseas in areas like Taiwan, and china according to the Director of Sustainability Elizabeth Chamberlain.
And like most businesses that get their resources from overseas, costs will rise with tariffs.
“We'll be able to keep our prices where they are for a little while at least but eventually we expect that unfortunately, as cost of goods go up, our cost of parts is going to have to go up and our prices for parts will have to go up, too," Chamberlain said.
But there’s also a silver lining for iFixit. People will look to repair things rather than buy new things like iPhones.
In partnership with Wall Street Journal and Tech Insights, iFixit found out the cost to make an iPhone for Apple rose from $550 to $850 with tariffs.
“You can expect that the cost of an iPhone is going to go up. Significantly more people are going to see that cost hit their wallets and at that point, buying a new iPhone doesn't look as exciting," Chamberlain said.
With already 1.18 million subscribers on YouTube, the company sees tariffs as an opportunity to convert more people to fixing things that they already own.
“We think that repair makes more sense now than ever," Chamberlain stated.
For Dantona, his message to all local businesses is to communicate that the sky hasn’t fallen just yet.
“Get people comfortable with the idea that they can come back," he said. "I think that's a communication piece between vendor retailers and their customers that would be extremely beneficial.”
