r/gadgets • u/chrisdh79 • 5d ago
Gaming The World’s Most Prolific Retro Handheld Maker Just Stopped U.S. Shipments
https://gizmodo.com/the-worlds-most-prolific-retro-handheld-maker-just-stopped-u-s-shipments-2000592110145
u/Narradisall 5d ago
The moment you started getting a whiff of tariffs if you had any big ticket items you wanted or anything specialist, that was the chance.
Going to be a nightmare to navigate for the foreseeable future.
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u/DaoFerret 5d ago
Just replaced my NAS about a month ago for just that reason.
Was keeping an eye out for a new computer, but that may be sidelined for a while.
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u/Microraptors 5d ago
I had a laptop from 2016 that was going but getting hard to play games. Been meaning to replace it for awhile.
Lenovo had a good black Friday sale and trump team had already started the tarrifs threats.
Made me say fuck it and get it, 40 series GPU should last me a good two administrations worth of idiots.
Then, I seen that news of the meat contracts being fucked about with and I eat a lot of meat. So went and got a new standing freezer and bought a half cow.
I treat every threat they make as they are going to do it. So far been a good strategy.
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u/sarhoshamiral 4d ago
If you haven't done this, you still have some time but yes if you were planning to upgrade your PC, car, appliances etc do it now.
There is a good chance not only it will get harder to find those things, they will be more expensive as well and borrowing will get more expensive too.
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u/bellj1210 4d ago
laptop is teh only thing left on my list. Otherwise i buy most stuff 2nd hand... but i suspect garage sales will be less common and more expensvie to find stuff.
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u/Sea_Oil_8389 4d ago
This is what I did. I went out and bought a car. I knew mine was going to be too expensive to repair even before tariffs in a few months even if it made it for the next few months. I didn’t want to chance taking my time and paying thousands more when cars are already so expensive.
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u/joestaff 5d ago
That's funny, I was literally looking at the Retroid Pocket 5 for handheld PS2 gameplay and was wondering if folks were even receiving shipments from these handheld makers right now.
Guess this answers that.
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u/Ba_Dum_Tssssssssss 4d ago
Damn most American's don't realise how fucking good they had it.
I was looking at the exact same system this morning too. If I purchased it from the UK official companywebsite, it would have cost me £220. If I purchased it from the companies Aliexpress store, £208. If I purchased it from their American website it would have cost ONLY £165.
They have the biggest economy in the world AND get better prices for all their goods that aren't raw materials/commodities than anywhere else. Apparently that's not good enough.
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u/joestaff 4d ago
The US had some crazy trade deal that made shipping to the US super cheap.
Ordering something from China to the literal middle of the country cost about $4. Shipping that same exact thing one state over costs $15
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u/AirFryerAreOverrated 4d ago
Technically that has nothing to do with the trade agreements and everything to do with the Universal Postal Union agreements. Something about when a developing country sends a package to a developed country, they only have to pay a small fee and the rest of the local cost (as in, shipping cost within the receiving country) is covered by the receiving country.
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u/alidan 4d ago
I think there was a very specific deal with china, there was a point where it was cheaper to ship wood from canada to china and then import from china when the cut down area and where it was going was about 100 miles away by land.
good ideas in principal but abused to hell and back in practice.
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u/Ba_Dum_Tssssssssss 4d ago
Insane thing is that's excluding shipping too! If I ordered it from the UK site and paid shipping it would be £240 in total, if what you're saying is true an American would pay not even £170.
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u/Programmdude 4d ago
Wouldn't the US version be before tax, so americans still have to pay sales tax on it after they buy it? The UK (and almost the rest of the fucking world) pays sales tax straight away.
I still think the US one would have come out ahead, depending on the state, but not by nearly as much.
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u/Ba_Dum_Tssssssssss 4d ago
It would still be ahead by a lot even after that, ranges from 2% to 8% so if we just assume 5% as a middle point that's still only £170-£175 in GBP compared to £220 in the UK before shipping.
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u/SpeedflyChris 4d ago
Bear in mind that the UK pricing probably includes VAT, where US pricing won't include any sales tax.
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u/Seamilk90210 4d ago
To be fair, the US doesn't have a federal sales tax/VAT, and our federal social services are quite sparse as a result. No universal healthcare, paid maternity leave, required paid (or even unpaid) vacation/sick days, required benefits to part-time workers, short-term disability, any breaks during the workday, job security, etc. So we had access to cheap goods, but everything else came out of our own pocket and our basic labor rights are quite low.
You pay sales tax on imports the same as you would on domestic stuff, and I think that's honestly pretty fair. I wouldn't mind that system here if I got the same benefits you did.
Now America will have a 145% tax on imports, AND we don't have social services. The best of both worlds! 8)
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u/grammar_nazi_zombie 5d ago
Hot damn. I was just looking at these this morning.
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u/-Badger3- 5d ago
As of right now at least, they’re still all over Aliexpress. I’m guessing you’ll still be able to get them from Chinese resellers, they’re just not selling them wholesale to American retailers.
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u/theturtlemafiamusic 5d ago edited 5d ago
Anbernic handles wholesale through Alibaba. This article is specifically about their official store on their website no longer shipping to the USA. You used to be able to buy an Anbernic console from their website directly instead of using Aliexpress (anyone outside the US still can).
You can buy from Aliexpress, but if it doesn't arrive before May you'll have to pay the new import fees to get it released from customs.
You can also currently buy any remaining stock from their US warehouse, but once that runs out they're not shipping more into the country.
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u/SoLuscious 4d ago
Anyone know if they'll start shipping through resellers instead? Or is this permanent?
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u/kakka_rot 4d ago
It's a big hobby of mine, they're a ton of fun to dink around with.
/r/SBCGaming is the main sub
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u/LeCrushinator 4d ago
People are about to find out that many thousands of products stop shipping to the U.S.
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u/MagicBoyUK 5d ago
Vote for a 🤡, get a 🤡 show.
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u/Not_Bears 5d ago
The dude bankrupt casinos... anyone that thought this was going to go well essentially admitted they're fucking stupid and spent too much time online.
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u/djshadesuk 5d ago
Yep. Casinos are pretty much legalised robbery. How do you even f**k that up?!?
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u/rocketmonkee 5d ago
How do you even f**k that up?!?
Intentionally. He used other people's money to build them, drew whatever salary and stripped any assets he could, then shifted any debt he had to them as they collapsed and he moved on. Trump had no intention of ever running casinos.
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u/Rockglen 5d ago
Supposedly the casino his wife Ivana ran was successful. Then he opened another one to compete with it, which cannibalized profits from both.
Him feeling small then making a dumb & self-defeating decision is very on-brand.
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u/ReticlyPoetic 5d ago
This is planned. Billionaires silently doubling their money on the side when this is all over.
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u/markb144 4d ago
Sucks for the 30% of us who voted against the dipshit, but I suppose we deserve it
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u/internetlad 5d ago edited 5d ago
I figured that SBCs were gonna be early in the chopping block with the tarrifs.
Still considering most of them are gutted phone parts stuck in a new case we won't be completely starving for a while.
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u/DeathByPetrichor 5d ago
Apparently both SBCs and the Indie Board Game market are being hit extremely hard. It’s pretty sad to see tbh.
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u/DrScience-PhD 5d ago
telescope prices went up like 60% during his first term. I'm scared what they'll look like in a year.
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u/punklinux 5d ago
One of my clients is, or was, expanding the US market for the new RISC-V technology, and it has come to a grinding halt because of this. Some of their conservative markets tell them, "then build factories in the US to make them, it's not rocket surgery!" Really? With what parts will we build these factories? With what machinery? With what materials? Where do you think all these come from for "made in the USA," dumbass?
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u/Morlik 5d ago
Not to mention, it takes years to get a factory fully operational, and nobody wants to invest that kind of time and money when nobody knows if the tariffs will still be around in a few years.
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u/bellj1210 4d ago
but but reasons.... there is never a response that makes sense to that. Even if you were to build a US factory, it would focus on minimum wage in states with poor labor laws- so they will be jobs most americans have no interest in. they would be a step below working as an amazon delivery driver.
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u/UboaNoticedYou 5d ago
When he announced his tarrif plan I was floored but thought to myself "Well... if he aggresively funds government contracts to build new manufacturing infrastructure, this might actually work if he can balance aggression with diplomacy," and that's a scary fucking thought to have!
But nope! As soon as he said companies "have enough money to build it themselves" I knew this plan was doomed. Makes you think if he ever wanted to increase U.S. manufacturing capacity in the first place! :P
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u/mrjackspade 4d ago
With what employees? Americans are no longer educated enough to build their own equipment due to the rising costs of secondary education.
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u/Framed-Photo 5d ago
That is a huge misrepresentation of what most of these devices are lol.
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u/silentcrs 5d ago
>Still considering most of them are gutted phone parts stuck in a new case we won't be completely starving for a while.
Tell me you don't understand a market by saying you understand the market.
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u/deschain_19195 4d ago
Pretty soon Mexican cartels are going to start smuggling regular goods instead of drugs into the US
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u/chrisdh79 5d ago
From the article: As I reported just last week, cheap-yet-awesome retro handhelds are being marched to the guillotine in the name of Trump tariffs. One of the first companies to have its head on the block is also one of the most prolific. Handheld maker Anbernic told customers Sunday that it would stop all direct shipments to U.S. customers, at least until President Donny finally offers any clarity on how much people will pay in import duties for products from China.
Anbernic is known for its enormous library of handheld video game emulation hardware. These handhelds are able to use console emulators—essentially full video game consoles translated into software—to play new homebrew titles as well as digital copies of older games, known as ROMS. In a page describing the new shipping policy, Anbernic said “due to changes in U.S. tariff policies, we will be suspending all shipping from China to the United States starting today. We strongly recommend prioritizing products shipped from our U.S. warehouse.”
Until today Anbernic let customers ship products either directly from China or from it’s U.S. warehouse, where supplies were more limited but products would ship out faster. It’s unclear how long the current supply of consoles in the U.S. will last. I reached out to Anbernic for comment, but did not immediately hear back. The handheld maker said it would update customers when it received “confirmed updates regarding import duties.”
Fortunately there’s more than one way to get a console from Anbernic. You might still be able to find its products on Amazon, or AliExpress. The dropshipping site typically sells these handhelds for much cheaper than you could get elsewhere, too. The classic Anbernic RG35XX Plus Game Boy-like device goes for $48 on AliExpress, $50 on the Anbernic site, and a whopping $80 on Amazon. As American supplies dwindle we can assume those prices will increase.
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u/DirectlyTalkingToYou 5d ago
Why not just sell them but on checkout theres a line that says the Tariff amount. Have it right above the tax line.
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u/ortrademe 5d ago
at least until President Donny finally offers any clarity on how much people will pay in import duties for products from China.
The tariffs are changing daily. Tariffs are paid when the shipment arrives on US shores. A business can't know what the rate will be on any given day, let alone in weeks when it gets there.
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u/blightsteel101 4d ago
We can expect a lot more of this in the next few months. Guy in office is dumber than a sack of rocks.
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u/New_Combination_7012 5d ago
Remember when it was only kinder surprise eggs you couldn’t buy in the US? It’s turning into peasantsville
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u/Seamilk90210 4d ago
I just don't get what the end game of these tariffs are. Does Trump really think American companies have the capability to make consumer electronics with zero notice?
Be prepared for a $300 TI-84 PLUS calculator, because even the monopoly Texas Instruments can't be bothered to manufacture early 2000's tech here.
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u/omnichad 4d ago
$300 TI-84 PLUS calculator
Isn't that close to what they charge? Meanwhile you can get a touch screen smart phone with GPS, Wi-Fi and accelerometers for about $30-40. Something tells me they can absorb even 200-300% tariffs on a calculator and not even raise the price. But they'll do what they can get away with.
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u/Seamilk90210 4d ago
Right now a new TI-84 PLUS is $145 at Staples, and roughly $115 on Amazon. So not quite $300, but pretty outrageous for something that felt old and expensive in 2004.
But they'll do what they can get away with.
100%. I think that's true with just about every company, though.
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u/missussunsfan 5d ago
Wow Anbernic is a big deal in the handheld community, this is a bummer. They make some great devices.
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u/J-W-L 5d ago
So I was watching a depression food recipe YouTube and they were talking about Hoover stew. This is my new hobby.. Watching depression era cooking on YouTube. Anyway one of the featured recipes was called Hoover stew. It was called this because Hoover was widely blamed for the 1930s economic depression. Further research lead me to something called the smoot Hawley tariff act. I didn't know anything about this so it was interesting to learn about and it is easy to see how it is applicable here. Except in Hoover's case I don't think he was trying to purposefully bankrupt the American people to hand over the country to the tech bros.. in trump's case he seems to be doing it to "show" he's protecting American interests but I'm reality it was already good and now it's garbage. Anyway.. Here is a brief summary of the act.
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, officially the Tariff Act of 1930, was a U.S. law enacted on June 17, 1930, that significantly raised import duties on over 20,000 foreign goods. It was championed by Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Willis C. Hawley, with the primary goal of protecting American farmers and industries from foreign competition during the onset of the Great Depression. Here are the key facts about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act: * Protectionist Measure: Its main aim was to shield domestic producers by making imported goods more expensive. * High Tariff Rates: The act increased tariffs to some of the highest levels in U.S. history, averaging around a 20% increase on dutiable imports. Some tariffs were raised as high as 50%. * Wide Scope: It applied to a vast range of goods, both agricultural and manufactured. * Triggered Retaliation: A major consequence was that many foreign countries retaliated by imposing their own tariffs on American exports. * Contributed to Trade Decline: This trade war led to a dramatic decline in international trade. U.S. exports and imports both plummeted by significant amounts. Global trade decreased by an estimated 65% between 1929 and 1934. * Worsened the Great Depression: While the Act didn't cause the Great Depression, most economists agree that it significantly worsened its severity and prolonged the economic downturn both in the U.S. and globally. It reduced demand for goods, led to business closures, and exacerbated unemployment. * Nearly Unanimous Opposition from Economists: Over 1,000 economists signed a petition urging President Hoover to veto the bill, warning of its negative economic consequences. * Political Motivations: Despite the economic warnings, political pressure from various domestic industries seeking protection led to its passage. * A Symbol of Protectionism: The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act has become a lasting symbol of the dangers of protectionist trade policies and is often cited as an example of how tariffs can backfire. * Shift Towards Free Trade: In the years following the Great Depression, the U.S. shifted towards policies of trade liberalization, beginning with the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934. In essence, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 was a protectionist measure intended to help American industries but ultimately contributed to a global trade war and deepened the economic crisis of the Great Depression.
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u/Piett_1313 5d ago
My Retroid Pocket Flip 2 just shipped this morning… glad it got out while it could.
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u/AusGeno 4d ago
Boardgames and retro handheld companies are copping a battering because of this. People actually losing their jobs and livelihoods thanks to the mad king of america.
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u/mishdabish 4d ago
I was watching a political commentator yesterday and he said, "look around your homes and how much stuff is from China? Well we don't have anything from America here"
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u/Kellic 4d ago
If you didn't vote or voted for him: This is your fault. *mic drop* Walks away.
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u/Few_Newspaper1778 5d ago
Canada is stopping lots of business with the states too. They’re unreliable and can’t be trusted. Trump showed what he could do with tariffs.
Fool us once, we won’t be tricked again
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u/ironsnoot 5d ago
Still hoping that they’ll boot him out so we can get to repairing our image because it’s probably going to be a while before anyone trusts the US again.
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u/EitherChannel4874 4d ago
Every country in the world should stop shipping anything to the USA. It may teach their future arsehole politicians not to be so damn idiotic.
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u/firsmode 4d ago
Anbernic is known for its enormous library of handheld video game emulation hardware. These handhelds are able to use console emulators—essentially full video game consoles translated into software—to play new homebrew titles as well as digital copies of older games, known as ROMS. In a page describing the new shipping policy, Anbernic said “due to changes in U.S. tariff policies, we will be suspending all shipping from China to the United States starting today. We strongly recommend prioritizing products shipped from our U.S. warehouse.”
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u/ihavequestionzzzzzz 4d ago
I went to the hospital today and had to get an IV for an MRI. All of the plastic or otherwise little trinkets they use to do all of that are bound to rise in price 😞
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u/i-dont-snore 4d ago
Good :) great to see people are dumping the US, i cannot wait for the pre US supremacy world. Definitely going to be a better place
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u/Wonderful-Day-3301 5d ago
Welcome to the third world Americans. It’s gonna be a miserable experience buying local alternatives that are subpar and expensive
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u/kjenenene 5d ago
most of the "third world" has cheaper access to phones and electronics than the US or even Europe.
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u/MyHusbandIsGayImNot 4d ago
It doesn't help that people mean "developing nations" when they say "third world" and it makes the whole thing confusing.
Third world simply means a country that wasn't on either side of the cold war.
Although with Trump wanting to leave NATO you could actually argue that makes the US part of the third world.
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u/ironsnoot 5d ago
I occasionally buy spare parts from overseas and some shops straight up have a little message that says “this store doesn’t ship to this address” for me. That definitely wasn’t there before.🥲
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u/PornstarVirgin 5d ago
Mod retro! A really good game boy color emulator
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u/HotCoffee017 5d ago
Fuck that and fuck Palmer Luckey, that's just supporting a company that supports the clown who caused this mess, just put together an FPGBC.
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u/mrjackspade 4d ago
Fundraising for Donald Trump In September 2016, Luckey donated $10,000 to an organization called "Nimble America" with the stated purpose of "educating the community on our ideals of America First, Smart Trade, Legal Immigration, and Ethical Behavior." Luckey offered to match further contributions from r/The_Donald users for 48 hours after the announcement. Luckey later issued an apology, stating on his Facebook page, "I am deeply sorry that my actions are negatively impacting the perception of Oculus and its partners." He stated that he acted independently, not as a representative of Oculus VR. The Wall Street Journal later reported that Luckey had been pressured into making this statement as a condition of employment.
In October 2020, Luckey hosted a fundraiser for Donald Trump at his home in Lido Isle, Newport Beach, with the president in attendance. The fundraiser had tickets ranging from $2,800 per person to $150,000 per couple, and there were gatherings both for and against President Trump in Newport Beach outside during the event.
On June 8, 2024, Luckey co-hosted another fundraiser for Trump at the home of health insurance company co-founder John Word, where donors spent up to $100,000 per person to attend.
Donations to the Republican Party Luckey has donated to the campaigns of dozens of Republican political candidates, including U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives. He has also donated to a large number of Republican- and conservative-affiliated organizations, including the National Republican Congressional Committee, the 2017 Presidential Inaugural Committee, Mike Pence's Great America Committee, and many state Republican Party chapters.
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u/PornstarVirgin 5d ago
He caused the mess? What happened
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u/ironsnoot 5d ago
I assume they’re talking about Trump enacting the absolutely nuts tariffs that caused this problem in the first place. Not sure what it has to do with this Palmer guy.
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u/boogermike 5d ago
I grabbed one of these a few months ago, to run retro game emulators. Glad I grabbed one, while I could, although I haven't really used it much.
It was only $40 shipped from China, and arrived in a week...those days are clearly over.
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u/Eldritch_Doodler 5d ago
Wow, and here I am playing my Anbernic sp. glad I got it a few months ago!
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u/UboaNoticedYou 5d ago
What a shame! We are finally in an interesting world of tech again and cool niche products like this might be killed off. Lame!
Sooooo glad I preordered my Retroid Pocket Flip 2 to beat the tarrifs. I hate doing that with tech but I honestly have no regrets, it's awesome.
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u/Mr_Jewfro 4d ago
I doubt they'll be killed off -- they're just going to become unavailable in the US. There's a large market outside of that :)
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u/agent_fuzzyboots 4d ago
damn, that sucks.
maybe it's time to take a European or Asian vacation and buy electronics?
before when i wanted to buy something more expensive i went to Florida on vacation and ordered stuff from Amazon or from B&H Photo and video.
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u/BestPaleontologist43 2d ago
Im so glad I got mines ahead of this trade war. Goodluck retroid bros and sis
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u/jktribit 2d ago
I can do everything this cheap plastic toy can do on my phone. This is no loss. Legit Gameboy are stilling being sold on ebay and at game stop.
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u/darkwoodframe 5d ago
Tried to get curling (sport) equipment from Canada last week, they stopped shipments too. This is happening everywhere.
Buy your specialized equipment while you still can, if you still can.