Hallmark falsely blames tariffs for higher prices

[mountaineer]

From X:

Wall Street Apes
@WallStreetApes
Hallmark is handing out new pricing sheets to customers in their stores and telling everyone it’s because of Trump’s tariffs ...

“Everything is made right here in the United States. I said okay so why are you guys raising the prices and not just on some items right like if you had like one or two items that are made and manufactured in other countries and have it shipped here. Okay cool tariffs are probably gonna affect that and you raise the prices, okay whatever, this this is a generic list for everything (Hallmark is handing out to everyone at their stores)... So you see what I'm saying? It doesn't... It's not making sense to me at all.

So she said, listen, They told me, this is what she said, they told me to tell you guys it was... It is because of the climate... Let me get the list. Hold on, let get the word. She calls it an economic climate”  ...
THREAD and video:

https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/1919979618368684376

[Wingnut]

Okay she is wrong. Most of their cards are made in the Kansas plant, however Those ornaments are made in China or other asian countries.  So be certain that the Keepsake Ornaments are manufactured overseas.

[Timber Rattler]

Falsely?

A longtime family toy store next to my wife's establishment just announced that it is closing next month due to those same tariffs.

That's what tariffs do...kill businesses.

[DCPatriot]

Falsely?

A longtime family toy store next to my wife's establishment just announced that it is closing next month due to those same tariffs.

That's what tariffs do...kill businesses.

LOL!  Hallmark cards were already $5.....BEFORE tariffs.

[mountaineer]

Falsely?

A longtime family toy store next to my wife's establishment just announced that it is closing next month due to those same tariffs.

That's what tariffs do...kill businesses.

Toys and greeting cards are different things, though. I think we all know toys are made in China.

[DCPatriot]

Toys and greeting cards are different things, though. I think we all know toys are made in China.

My bad...was thinking about our neighborhood Hallmark store that sells a myriad of gift items such as plush animals, clothing and jewelry.

[berdie]

I'm a little surprised that any greeting card company has survived. Tariff or not. #1. People don't send cards too much these days. If they do, it's an "e-card". #2. There are companies that you can buy cards on the cheap. #3. Postage will phase greeting cards out. It's too darn expensive.

[mountaineer]

Not saying a Hallmark store doesn't sell items made in other countries. The tweeter was talking about cards, I believe.
But you're right, berdie. People don't bother to send cards anymore.

[Wingnut]

Not saying a Hallmark store doesn't sell items made in other countries. The tweeter was talking about cards, I believe.
But you're right, berdie. People don't bother to send cards anymore.

I thought she saw the wishbook  with the 2025 keepsake ornies and it was then when the clerk handed her the tarrif surcharge paper. 

[IsailedawayfromFR]

I'm a little surprised that any greeting card company has survived. Tariff or not. #1. People don't send cards too much these days. If they do, it's an "e-card". #2. There are companies that you can buy cards on the cheap. #3. Postage will phase greeting cards out. It's too darn expensive.

My wife is old school, believing a card in the mail gives the recipient a much better appreciation that the sender is sincere.

Between birthdays, graduations, Easter, Christmas, get well, and thank you cards, am willing to bet she sends out 100 cards per month.

I actually have a line item on my monthly budget for cards and stamps.

And she receives a ton of them too.

[berdie]

My wife is old school, believing a card in the mail gives the recipient a much better appreciation that the sender is sincere.

Between birthdays, graduations, Easter, Christmas, get well, and thank you cards, am willing to bet she sends out 100 cards per month.

I actually have a line item on my monthly budget for cards and stamps.

And she receives a ton of them too.

I have a friend that sends cards for every holiday (including the 4th, Memorial Day and all the other holidays), birthday. I love receiving them but I don't reciprocate. Bad berdie, bad bad bad. The cards are usually very amusing. I can't even begin to imagine what she spends on postage.

[Hoodat]

LOL!  Hallmark cards were already $5.....BEFORE tariffs.

$5?  Try $8.

[Drago]

Where does the paper, ink, envelopes originate? Yeah, and most of the stuff tariff'ed is probably Chinese ornaments, plushies, toys, etc..

[DCPatriot]

$5?  Try $8.

LOL!  You're right!  Now, to think about it, their "off-brand" birthday cards are $5 bucks.

[LMAO]

Falsely?

A longtime family toy store next to my wife's establishment just announced that it is closing next month due to those same tariffs.

That's what tariffs do...kill businesses.

Only two dolls for you!!!

[mountaineer]

If there's a Dollar Tree near you, check out their selection of $2 Hallmark cards.

[jafo2010]

Haven't bought a card in Hallmark in 40 years.

With postage at $0.73 or $0.78, one of those if not mistaken, who can afford sending many cards/letters these days?

I get 2 Christmas cards each year, and we reciprocate to those 2 folks.  Everything is direct communication via phone or email.  Snail mail is all but dead.  I pay zero monthly bills except electronic payments.  Zero snail mail payments.  I write about 2-3 checks a year.  Everything today is electronic.

It is a very different world.

How Hallmark stays in business is a mystery to me.

And a local family toy store, they have gone the route of the dodo bird.  Small businesses have all gone by the wayside with Walmarts being built every where in the USA.  Impossible to compete.

I remember the days when there was a family grocery store on the first floor, the family lived on the 2nd floor just about every other block in neighborhoods.  Remember those little stores, going there as a kid to buy penny candy, or basic needs for meals?  All gone.

The best analogy is fish.  The big fish eats the small fish.  And the bigger yet fish eats the big fish.  That is the USA commercial environment, and has been that for 60 years.

[berdie]

I remember the days when there was a family grocery store on the first floor, the family lived on the 2nd floor just about every other block in neighborhoods.  Remember those little stores, going there as a kid to buy penny candy, or basic needs for meals?  All gone.




My Dad on one his business ventures owned one of those stores. And yes... lived in an apartment above it.

[jmyrlefuller]

Falsely?

A longtime family toy store next to my wife's establishment just announced that it is closing next month due to those same tariffs.

That's what tariffs do...kill businesses.

I call BS because those kinds of businesses disappeared 20 years ago.

[Timber Rattler]

I call BS because those kinds of businesses disappeared 20 years ago.

No they didn't.  This one has been around for years. 

Here's the news story about it...

Gift & toy store closing in Gettysburg citing tariffs, among other reasons

https://www.abc27.com/gettysburg/gift-toy-store-closing-in-gettysburg-citing-tariffs-among-other-reasons/

A locally owned toy and gift shop in Gettysburg will soon be closing down after nearly a decade of operation.

Purple Piggy Toys & Gifts located inside the Gettysburg Outlets at 1863 Gettysburg Village Drive, will soon be closing its doors after nearly 10 years of operating in Adams County.

According to lifelong Pennsylvania owner Keith George, he decided to close down his store for a few reasons. One, he says, is because of the recent tariffs, which have caused his manufacturers to not have what he needs on order.

This is also coupled with what George says is a 25% increase in costs for his merchandise.

So NOT BS.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

$5?  Try $8.

Nope, try DollarTree where my wife buys Hallmark cards for only $1-2 each

[DCPatriot]

1) Gettysburg is not a microcosm of the national retail economy.  It's a unique town whose success is due partially to it's historical popularity.  So, it's not surprising at all to have successful "mom n' pop" shops and boutiques.

2) People in general have a tendency to view the entire country thru the lens of their regional community.

It's why people are surprised that half the country votes for Socialist and Progressive ideologies.

When you ignore multiple generations who are taught by Liberals, you end up proving Stalin correct.

"Give me your children and I'll show you the future!"  (or something to that effect)

[Timber Rattler]

1) Gettysburg is not a microcosm of the national retail economy.  It's a unique town whose success is due partially to it's historical popularity. 

That's not true.  Gettysburg is classic small town America, with all the usual economic, unemployment, homeless, empty storefronts, and small government problems that are afflicting all the others in flyover country.  And plus it's got a gigantic liberal problem with nearby Gettysburg College dominating its politics.  So it's not that successful at all, not in recent years. 

Have you even been to Gettysburg to make such an ignorant judgment?

So, it's not surprising at all to have successful "mom n' pop" shops and boutiques.

They're not that successful.  The Purple Piggy was one of the few that has survived until now, killed by Trump's tariffs.

It's both astounding and appalling at the lengths that some people around here will go to give Trump a pass, even when the evidence of another economic recession is in front of their noses.

It's NEVER his fault though, right?  The buck just keeps getting passed back down the line from the Oval Office.

So how are things going in Rockville and Gaithersburg these days?  How's that car wash doing with all the illegal alien workers?

 

[jmyrlefuller]

That's not true.  Gettysburg is classic small town America, with all the usual economic, unemployment, homeless, empty storefronts, and small government problems that are afflicting all the others in flyover country.  And plus it's got a gigantic liberal problem with nearby Gettysburg College dominating its politics.  So it's not that successful at all, not in recent years. 

Gettysburg is literally a tourist trap. A crucial distinction here that you conveniently cut out from the story you shared:

Additionally, George says that tourism in Gettysburg is not what it used to be. He says tourists used to come visit Gettysburg and stay in the area, resulting in more sales. But now he says tourists are visiting on buses and going back home instead of sticking around.

In other words, changes in tourist patterns drove the loss in customers that led to the shop's closure.

Tourist traps, I can tell you, are very obviously NOT the same as most American small towns.

[Timber Rattler]

Tourist traps, I can tell you, are very obviously NOT the same as most American small towns.

Except that you're now ignoring the fact that Trump's tariff's were the last straw...

 

BTW, Gettysburg is more of a college town than a "tourist trap."  And the federal government owns the surrounding 10 square miles of the military park, taking that land off the county tax rolls.

Regardless...small businesses are now closing again, not only in Gettysburg but across the country, and it's Trump's fault.