Why one brand reimbursed $10,000 to customers who paid its 'Trump Tariff Surcharge' last year

"Fine framed the original surcharge as part protest, part education. "I'd like to call it, this advocacy, marketing - let's educate people," she said. Fine added that the surcharge "really killed our conversion rate." Dame isn't alone in rethinking how it handles tariff-related costs. While some companies never added explicit surcharges, several have said they would pass along any government tariff refunds to customers."

"The surcharge appeared as a standalone line item at checkout and applied to all direct-to-consumer orders while it was active. But it was short-lived, running from April to the end of May, when the company removed the fee after the U.S. reached a temporary trade deal with China. In total, Dame sold roughly 2,000 surcharge line items. Fine said the company is preparing to refund about $10,000 to customers."

"Cards Against Humanity said in a recent blog post that it would pass along any tariff refunds it receives from the Trump administration. "As soon as the Trump Administration refunds the illegal tariffs they illegally forced us to pay, we'll give you your money back," the company wrote, adding, "Unfortunately, not even God Himself knows how long that will take.""

Dame Products implemented a standalone tariff surcharge on direct-to-consumer orders from April through May 2019, which appeared as a line item at checkout. The company sold roughly 2,000 surcharge line items totaling about $10,000 in refunds to be processed within 15 business days. The surcharge was removed after the U.S. reached a temporary trade deal with China. Despite the surcharge, Dame paid $100,000 in tariff bills to U.S. Customs and selectively adjusted prices across its catalog. The company framed the surcharge as advocacy and education, though it significantly reduced conversion rates. Other companies like Cards Against Humanity and FedEx have adopted similar approaches, committing to pass tariff refunds to customers when received from the government.

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