News Puget Systems says it will absorb PC tariff costs for now, but will increase prices when it becomes inevitable

[Admin]

Puget Systems expects graphics cards, network controllers, storage controllers, chassis, and coolers to see major price increases in the coming months. Eventually, it will have to pass on the cost to its customers, though in the near term it may absorb some of the added costs.

Puget Systems says it will absorb PC tariff costs for now, but will increase prices when it becomes inevitable : Read more

 

[Lafong]

Considering their prices, I'd guess they are a relatively high margin outfit with quite a bit of room to "absorb" additional costs. Certainly more than your average OEM like Dell, HP, etc.

And I suppose their clientele is not particularly price-sensitive if it comes to that.

 

[baboma]

>Puget Systems says it will absorb PC tariff costs for now, but will increase prices when it becomes inevitable

I expect this will be the standard response for most US vendors. It's basic PR-speak to say "we're on your (the consumer's) side." The escape clause is the "when it becomes inevitable" which I take to mean "probably next week."

The reality is that margins for SIs, VARs, and parts retailers are not high to begin with, and nobody in their right mind would want to eat a 20% tax (up to 50% when Section 301's exclusions expire this May). Most if not all of the tax will be passed onto the consumer.

 

[passivecool]

A high portion of their prices is a service component.
I mean, they write their own MB bios.
I would guess - totally outsider view - that, from a business development perspective, they have a clever revenue blend and are unusually resilient. I have not looked, but i would expect they start offering machines for local LMM hosting... eventually, ai will eat a significant portion of video production, i think, and therefore erode their customer base. 🤔

 

[A Stoner]

This is the way almost every business works. The small ripples are absorbed, but the big waves inevitably force changes.

 

[waltc3]

Keep in mind that although it was "reported" during Trump's first term that Trump tariffs had raised the selling prices, what was not reported was that the products from Taiwan were exempted from those tariffs. Lisa Su was asked in an interview how much the tariffs affected her selling prices, and she was quick to respond that AMD paid no tariffs then. The point is that we will see how much tariffs affect component prices, if any, and projecting doom and gloom about facts not yet in evidence is rather foolish, it seems to me. Do not assume that scalping prices have anything to do with tariffs because it very probably isn't true. We shall see what shakes out soon...😉

 

[Misgar]

I shall watch with interest to see if prices drop on computers from my local system providers, if components destined for the USA are dumped in other countries. A vain hope, no doubt.

I see regular articles on Tom's with special offers on Amazon.com, but when I look on my local Amazon, the same item costs 50% more. Even when my local taxes are subtracted, this still leaves a difference of +30% compared with the USA. Perhaps a 30% tariff will level the playing field? Maybe not.

I've seen reports of high-end CPUs and GPUs entering China despite restrictions. I wonder if people will smuggle components into the USA to avoid tariffs?

 

[P1nky]

This article is outdated. Original Puget Blog was posted on March 28. Yesterday new tariffs were announced and Puget updated their blogpost that they will pause their orders.

 

[Misgar]

PC gaming falls into discretionary spending. There won't be a lot of that when recession looms high, and many people lose their jobs, or know somebody who is.

I feel sorry for people who need a new PC if they're trying to set up a small business, but I suppose they could buy second hand, unless used computer prices go up too.

The international company I worked for went bankrupt after the 2008 down turn. You could see the writing on the wall, 6 months before they let go thousands of employees.

Penguins in Antartica will have to contribute to the US MAWA fund.

Being from "outta town" I had to look up MAWA. Amongst other things, I discovered that mawa is another name for khoa, made from dried whole milk and used in confectionary. I wonder who's currently importing penguins or eggs from Antarctica.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khoa

Australia's Norfold Island has been hit by a 29% tariff, despite the rest of Australia being at 10%.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article...-territories-targeted-by-us-tariffs/scme0dzxt

 

[Cheeno76]

If tariffs were such a bad thing for the country imposing them, why do all these countries have tariffs on US goods? If we moved more manufacturing back to the US, how is this not good?

 

[Misgar]

USA exports to the United Kingdom have been greater than imports from the UK in all the years from 2016 to 2025, but the UK is still targeted with 10% tariifs. Go figure?
https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c4120.html

As an example, in 2024, the USA exported goods worth $79,941.300,000 to the UK and and imported only $68,084,500,000.

With 9 years of "credit", the UK could be justified in returning the favor by raising tariffs. C'mon guys, play fair.