As more industries felt the impact of tariffs, sexual wellness company Dame Products saw it as an opportunity to do something unique and even a little fun.
Until recently, Dame customers found something unexpected in their cart — an image of a wig resembling President Donald Trump’s hair, labeled “Trump tariff surcharge,” with a $5.00 fee. According to Dame Products CEO Alexandra Fine, it was the company’s way of being transparent with customers about the challenges posed by the tariffs.
“[For] Dame, most of our hardware products or vibrators are produced in China. We also make a lot of stuff in the US as well, but all of those products have been greatly impacted by the tariffs,” Fine told FOX Business. Fine said the instability and shifting tariff rates eventually forced her to take action.
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The tariffs have impacted Dame’s cash flow, according to Fine, who said it all comes down to inventory. She explained that her planned inventory purchases have been turned upside down since the tariffs went into place, making it so she needs more than double the amount of money she planned on needing this year.
In an effort to maintain transparency, Dame warned customers that prices would increase — a move Fine said triggered some “panic buying” as people tried to get their hands on what they wanted before the change. However, once the tariff surcharge was added, the number of customers actually completing checkout dropped by 30%, according to Fine.
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Although Dame has since removed the surcharge, the move did not go unnoticed. Fine said that the company has seen mixed reactions to its Trump surcharge, some — particularly those on social media — loved it, but others weren’t fans.
“It has been interesting getting some backlash from some Republicans who support the tariffs,” Fine told FOX Business, saying she felt like she threw herself into a political controversy. “It just feels like major government intervention,” Fine said, referring to the tariffs.
Despite the seemingly controversial nature of the imagery used with the surcharge, Fine told FOX Business that Dame was not trying to be political.
“The actions that we’ve taken at Dame weren’t politically motivated. They were motivated by transparency,” Fine said. “It didn’t come from a place of, ‘Oh, we’re on this side and don’t like the other, so we’re doing X.’ It’s because these policies impacted my business in a way that over the past 11 years, I had not experienced before. And I wanted to take action to advocate for this little company that I love.”
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