If you’ve noticed your favorite skate gear getting pricier lately, you’re not imagining it.
Shops across the U.S. are feeling the pressure and talking about it.
Shayna Pigeon Meikle, a shop owner took to social media to lay out what’s really happening behind the shelves.
Bones Reds bearings was once considered a go-to for skaters looking for quality at a decent price, they’ve now become a symbol of a bigger issue.
Tariffs have made it more expensive to import the parts many skate companies rely on, and brands are struggling to find a way forward without collapsing under the weight of rising costs.
Here's what’s changed. A 16-pack of Bones Reds used to cost shops $20 wholesale, which they’d sell for $40.
That meant a clean $20 profit per set. Now, wholesale has jumped to $30, and retail sits at $50.
On paper, it might seem like the shop’s still making $20, but in reality, their margin just shrank. They’re investing more upfront for the same return—and when you multiply that across inventory, it starts to wear thin.
Shayna points out that some brands are even adding a separate “tariff tax” to orders, charging anywhere from 30% to 55% on top of what retailers already pay. For small shops, that’s a tough pill to swallow.
They don’t have the deep pockets of larger chains or distributors. They're the heart of local skate communities, but they’re being priced out of staying open.
At the same time, customers are left wondering why their regular gear now costs more. It’s not greed - it’s survival.
The brands don’t want to go under, so they shift the burden. Retailers try to hang on, passing some of it down the line to the skaters. And in the end, it’s everyone who pays.
The fear is that this situation doesn’t just mean more expensive bearings or decks.
It points to a future where only the biggest players can stay afloat while the independent shops that support local scenes, sponsor kids, and keep skateboarding grounded, fade out.
Meikle Posted:
"I decided to post this onto my feed after getting so many responses to this in my stories. Not only are you watching before your eyes the destruction of small business in the USA but you are seeing how it’s being done. We know the current administration has implemented crippling tariffs that have increased prices of products from outside the US. Many of the skate brands that sell these foreign products have decided that they cannot and will not take on any of the burden, but instead pass it onto the retailer and the customer. This is their move to stay alive, otherwise their doors can close fast like any other business. Consequently us retailers are paying more for a product where we now make less profit. What I mean by that is: wholesale cost for a set of Bones Reds bearings 16 pack vs retail cost. It was $20 wholesale and $40 retail. Now it’s $30 wholesale and $50 retail.
What you see here is that a shop used to make $20 profit after selling something they put a $20 investment in. Now $20 profit is made on a $30 investment. We are still only making $20 on this transaction. But now we must put 33% more down ahead of time, in the form of the increased wholesale price of +$10. (In Biz terms our profit margin dropped 10%) On top of literally making less per dollar, the consumer now must also pay an increased price of +$10. The retailers are making less money and the customers are paying more.
Some skate companies are adding a tariff tax to orders that range from 30-55% of the order price.
The brands have to do this to stay alive but first the customers will suffer and then the small retailers before the brands themselves burn or get bought out by some monopoly that our country is suppose to ban.
Sad time to be an American. We look like idiots.
Luckily you only have to buy a pair of skates once and then you can enjoy it many many times for years and years at +$0."