More Companies Adding Service Fees, Raising Prices, Citing Tariffs

Last month we reported on Specialized adding a line-item charge on certain bikes, passing direct price increases to consumers. Trek, that same week, increased prices on their bikes across the board, in response to tariffs.

This week, we’ve seen two more companies release price increases or service charges, citing tariff policy as their reasoning.

Blueseventy has announced a price increase that will impact all products in their product line, beginning on Monday, May 12th. In an email to consumers sent last night, the company said that because of “the extreme and unexpected increase in import tariffs under the Trump administration, we are being forced to raise prices on our products.”

Expanding on their reasoning behind the increase, the company wrote:

“The new tariffs introduced recently were implemented without any warning or grace period, leaving us no time to adjust operations. The reality is that there are no domestic manufacturers of swimming-specific wetsuits, and no general wetsuit manufacturers in the USA that can match the level of performance and quality that our wetsuits are known for, which is why for nearly 30 years we’ve run our manufacturing through China.

After weeks of deliberation, analysis and real concern for the future of our company, we’re making the difficult choice to adjust pricing in order to continue providing the level of product and service that you expect from us.”

Current full-price wetsuits available through Blueseventy’s website range from $190 for the Glide bib-john wetsuit, up to $975 for the top-end Helix wetsuit. The company has not announced what the new pricing come Monday will be.

Also now more expensive is Wahoo Fitness’s TRACKR Radar device. Originally coming to market for $199.99, this is now coming in at $249.99 following the addition of a service charge. When checking out for a TRACKR Radar on Wahoo’s website, the device costs $199.99, but when visiting the shopping cart to checkout, consumers are met with a $50 service charge underneath shipping, along with a link to the following description about those charges.

“We appreciate your continued support and trust in our company. We are committed to providing high-quality products and services to the endurance sports community in order to Build the Better Athlete in All of Us. Due to recent changes to our global supply chain, we find it necessary to implement a service charge on orders shipping from our US Warehouses.

With our current sourcing structure, many of our products have become more expensive to procure and deliver.

We understand that price adjustments can be challenging, and we want to assure you that we are exploring ways to optimize costs and minimize the impact to you, our customer, without compromising on the value we deliver.”

The TRACKR Radar is made in China and subject to the current 145% tariff rate. Many of Wahoo’s other devices are made in Taiwan, which is not subject to the same rate.

Some retailers, such as REI, have directly increased pricing to $250 for the device. Others, like Performance Bike, continue to list the TRACKR Radar at $199.99.

Despite the charge, Wahoo is showing the TRACKR as sold out, with additional availability expected in mid-May.

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