For immediate release: A letter to our customers, fans, retailers, distributors, and anyone interested in the business activities of Van Ryder Games.
I cannot believe I am writing this. The fact of the matter is, that the tariffs – and specifically the ones on goods from China -, that continue to rise and at this point are poised to go up to 104%, have become a real threat to the business that I personally have spent more than 15 years creating and growing. Beyond just me, Evan and the many other employees on our team have contributed years of their lives devoted to our mission to: Be Creative. Have Fun. And Build Relationships.
I am angry, scared, and uncertain about the situation and what to do. But I know we must DO something and cannot let fear paralyze us from taking action.
While most of the talk in the industry is about margin and profits being evaporated by these tariffs (which is true), the MUCH greater near-term risk is to cash flow since manufacturing costs and tariffs at the port must be paid long before we ever get the first sale of such products. Van Ryder Games is in a good position with regard to our cash on hand, however we have several new products in the works and the tariffs will decimate all the reserves we have built. While it might seem like increasing prices NOW is confusing, I am convinced that we must do so to alleviate the future pressures on our cash flow that are coming.
As such, effective immediately, we are increasing the price (somewhat substantially) of every product in the Final Girl line. We HOPE that this increase will be temporary, and we PLEDGE to reduce our prices as the tariff on our products get reduced (by the way if you are still someone out there that thinks the exporter pays the tariff, that’s wrong. I think everyone but the willfully ignorant get this by now, but I guess it is worth stating to be sure), we will reduce our prices accordingly.
As for our other products and our back catalog, most do not see frequent print runs, and we have no print runs planned in the near term for those products. As such we will leave that pricing as it is for now, and this is a great time to explore our back catalog and support us by purchasing our other games as well. New products and releases will be priced to suit and adjustments will be made according to the tariff of the time.
Besides pricing, we continue to navigate how to proceed and strategies to implement beyond just pricing. While it may not be evident to many of you, manufacturing in the USA is not an option for us to produce games at the quality you all have come to appreciate and expect. The notion of doing so is not one we are against, but the infrastructure simply is not there. However, we are a creative and driven team, and we will be evaluating all sorts of ideas to ensure that we not only stay alive but thrive.
Lastly, this situation is highly volatile and continues to change by the moment. We will continue to adjust and make changes accordingly. We apologize in advance, particularly to our retailers and distributors, and sympathize with your situation and the difficulties you face. We know navigating this may be painful, confusing, and many more emotions.
To all of you that support us, our partners in business, and beyond. We appreciate you, and we expect to make it through this, our most difficult business challenge yet, with your love and support.
Thanks,
A.J. Porfirio
President of Van Ryder Games