Small Business Owners Struggle as Tariff Uncertainty Drags On

A comic book store owner in Ohio illustrates the mounting pressures facing Main Street retailers caught in ongoing trade disputes.

By Duabbly Staff

Marc Bowker runs Alter Ego Comics in Lima, Ohio, a shop designed to offer customers an escape from the troubles of the real world. Life-size models of Star Wars characters greet visitors at the entrance, while shelves display hundreds of comic books and collectible action figures. But lately, the reality of tariffs has made it difficult for Bowker to maintain that sense of refuge. The financial strain and uncertainty tied to import taxes have become impossible to ignore, even within the walls of his small business.

More than a year and a half after President Trump announced his initial round of tariffs in what was called "Liberation Day," business owners across the country continue grappling with the cascading effects on their bottom lines. For Bowker, the impact has been substantial and unrelenting. Action figures, which account for roughly 70 percent of his store's revenue, were hit with tariffs as high as 145 percent at their peak. These products, primarily manufactured in China, represent the lifeblood of his business, and the increased costs have forced him into difficult decisions about pricing and sustainability.

Since the tariffs took effect, Bowker has paid his supplier more than $16,000 in additional tariff costs. Initially, he attempted to absorb some of this expense by passing along a three percent tariff fee to his customers. The strategy proved counterproductive, however, as sales began to suffer. Customers balked at the added charges, and Bowker eventually decided to eliminate the fee entirely and bear the full cost himself. Even this sacrifice has not stopped the decline in his action figure business, which dropped by fifty percent last year. Bowker attributes much of that decline directly to the tariff situation.

When the Supreme Court struck down many of the tariffs in February, Bowker hoped for some measure of relief. The court determined that Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose the tariffs was unconstitutional. Although the administration responded by implementing tariffs under different legal authority, the government initiated a process to refund over $160 billion in tariff revenue that had been collected under the now-invalidated IEEPA framework.

For Bowker, however, the Supreme Court decision offered little practical benefit. The tariffs he paid did not flow directly to federal coffers through the normal channels that would qualify him for a refund. Instead, Bowker paid his distributor, Sideshow Collectibles, which in turn paid U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The refund money would go to Sideshow, not directly to Bowker. That distributor has the opportunity to share the refund with retailers like Bowker, but so far, Sideshow has reported that it has not received any refund payments.

Bowker has grown resigned to the likelihood that his $16,000 in tariff expenses will never be recovered. He maintains a professional relationship with Sideshow that has lasted more than two decades and does not want to strain that connection by pressing the matter too aggressively. The reality is that he has already absorbed these costs, and chasing down a refund that may never materialize seems like an exercise in futility at this point.

Beyond the tariffs that remain in place on Chinese goods, Bowker faces yet another looming threat to his business. A growing trade dispute between the United States and Canada threatens to impose new tariffs on goods imported from the north. Comics, which form a significant portion of what Bowker stocks in his store, are predominantly imported from Canada. Unlike some product categories, comics have so far been spared from current tariff regimes, but that exemption is not guaranteed to last.

The possibility of Canadian tariffs represents a fresh source of uncertainty for Bowker and retailers like him who depend on a complex supply chain spanning multiple countries. The escalating trade tensions and the prospect of additional tariff walls threaten to compound the challenges he has already faced. After months of financial strain and the frustration of seeing his action figure sales plummet, the thought of tariffs on another major product category feels almost overwhelming.

Bowker's situation illustrates a broader pattern affecting small business owners throughout the country. These entrepreneurs operate with thin margins and limited ability to absorb sudden cost increases. When tariffs raise their expenses, they face a difficult calculus: raise prices and risk losing customers, or absorb the costs and watch profit margins shrink. Either way, their business suffers.

For Bowker, the challenge extends beyond mere financial calculation. He opened Alter Ego Comics with the intention of creating a space where people could step away from real-world problems and enjoy the fantasy worlds depicted in comics and collectibles. That vision becomes harder to maintain when the real world intrudes in the form of tariff notices and declining sales. The stress and uncertainty have become constant companions in his day-to-day operations.

Bowker continues to operate his store despite these headwinds, serving his loyal customer base and hoping that conditions improve. But his experience demonstrates how tariff policies that may seem abstract at the level of national trade policy translate into concrete challenges for small business owners trying to keep their doors open. As trade tensions continue to escalate and new tariff threats emerge, retailers across America find themselves in an increasingly precarious position, caught between forces largely beyond their control.