Every so often, Central Computers - one of the last remaining dedicated Silicon Valley computer stores - lets subscribers know it's managed to obtain a small shipment of AMD graphics cards. Today, it informed me that I could now purchase a $600 Radeon RX 9070 XT for $850 - a $250 markup.

It's not alone. I just checked every major US retailer and street prices on eBay, and I regret to inform you: the great GPU shortage has returned. Many AMD cards are being marked up $100, $200, $250, even $280. The street price of an Nvidia RTX 5080 is now over $1,500, a full $500 higher than MSRP. And an RTX 5090, the most powerful consumer GPU? You can't even get the $2,000 card for $3,000 today.

Here, I've built tables to show you:

Item	MSRP	Average eBay street price (Mar-Apr)	Best retail price (April 25th)
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT	$599	$957	$880
AMD Radeon RX 9070	$549	$761	$835
Nvidia RTX 5090	$1,999	$3,871	$3,140
Nvidia RTX 5080	$999	$1,533	$1,390
Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti	$749	$1,052	$825
Nvidia RTX 5070	$549	$715	$610

You shouldn't just blame tariffs for these price hikes. In early March, we found retailers were already …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Earlier this year, modular computer company Framework began a quest to fix “entry-level laptops” with the Framework Laptop 12, its first 12-inch laptop and its first 2-in-1 touchscreen PC. And as you might expect, Trump’s new US tariffs are making entry-level pricing difficult for Framework, which has at least briefly delayed US preorders of the new Laptop 12 and paused sales on its other cheapest machines.

But it appears that, tariffs or no, the new Framework Laptop 12 won’t exactly be cheap.

Framework has just opened Laptop 12 pre-orders in the UK, Europe, and Canada starting at €569/£499/$719 CAD. Hours after we published this story, Framework announced it will open US preorders starting at $549 tomorrow, April 10th.

That’s hundreds less than Framework’s other DIY laptops, but a good bit higher than today’s entry-level Windows laptops and Chromebooks even before you consider that price doesn’t include storage, memory, ports, or an operating system. If you want those preinstalled, the machines start at €849, £749, and $1,079 CAD respectively, which is getting closer to what Framework charges for its Laptop 13.

As usual, you pay more for Framework because you believe in repairability and upgrades, ones that might even save you money down the road. To date, Framework is the only company that’s delivered on the promise of a fully upgradable laptop, to the point you can even take its earliest Intel-based model and put a brand-new AMD motherboard and chip inside. We were also impressed with the Laptop 12’s colorful and friendly design!

But with the Framework Laptop 12, you’re also paying for a 2-in-1 backflipping touchscreen rather than the latest chips. At £499, it starts with a six-core 13th Gen Intel Core i3-1315U from 2023, with a 10-core i5-1334U available for £150 more. The £749 prebuilt model starts with the same i3 chip, 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, and you’ll pay £200 more to upgrade to the i5 and 16GB of memory.

While I’m mostly versed in US pricing, my UK colleague Jess Weatherbed assures me that similarly spec’d laptops can be had for anywhere between £400 and £600, and I can see more powerful thin-and-light machines available at the prices that Framework’s asking today. Again, repairability and modularity aren’t free.

(We’ll add US comparisons tomorrow once Framework reveals full US pricing; as of evening April 9th, it’s only revealed the US starting price.)

Framework isn’t yet selling the color-matched stylus with removable battery it showed off as a companion to this Laptop 12; that will go on sale “soon” and you’ll have to buy it separately. But you can also use any USI 2.0 or MPP 2.0-compatible stylus, the company says, with support for both Windows and Linux.

Speaking of colors, it appears that the prebuilt Laptop 12 will only be available in black for now. You’ll have to choose the mostly preassembled “DIY” version to get cute colors like the mint and pink model.

The first batches of DIY and prebuilt models should ship in June and July, respectively.

Update, April 9th: Added that Framework will put the US version on preorder tomorrow starting at $549.

Thanks to Framework, one of the most transparent computer companies out there, we now have a sterling example of just how ridiculous President Donald Trump’s tariffs can make life in the year 2025.

Today, the company made all of its computers more expensive. Then, it almost immediately reversed that to bring its computers back to their original prices, in real time, all because Trump posted to social media that he was instituting a tariff pause less than a day after his new tariffs began. Then, Framework clarified that some price increases will still apply on China-made components.

Here’s the timeline of events:

• At 12:01AM ET Wednesday, Trump’s new tariffs went into effect, including an incredible 104 percent tariff on China and a 32 percent tariff on Taiwan.
• At 12:30PM ET, Framework announced a 10 percent price hike on all its computers, one it never thought it would need to introduce because it doesn’t make computers in China. (It does make them in Taiwan.)
• At 1:18PM ET, just over 12 hours after the new tariffs were officially in place, Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for most countries but an increased 125 percent rate for China.
• At 1:48PM ET, Framework announced that nope, actually, it’s bringing prices back to normal.
• At 3:43PM ET, Framework announced that some prices will still reflect increased tariffs on China.

Live view of the Framework team: pic.twitter.com/AFVqKvhwwA

— Framework (@FrameworkPuter) April 9, 2025

Things are still a bit convoluted, but here’s the general lay of the land: since Trump is still imposing 10 percent tariffs on Taiwan, Framework will continue a pause on selling some of its cheapest laptop configurations “where we’re unable to absorb the remaining 10% tariff.” Additionally, some of Framework’s made-in-China modules now cost more, like $15 for a USB-C port rather than $9, or $49 for an Ethernet card rather than $39 — and Framework says systems that ship with those modules will see those same price increases.

A 10 percent price hike wasn’t the only change Framework made in response to Trump’s tariffs. This very morning, Framework delayed opening preorders for its new entry-level Framework Laptop 12 in the United States even as it put it on sale in other territories. (Here’s my new story about that machine.)

You can read more about Framework’s thought process on the tariffs in its likely-soon-to-be-revised blog post published earlier today, where it initially promised to absorb part of the increased cost. While it builds systems in Taiwan, Framework says that many of its modular components are still manufactured in China where Trump’s tariffs are strongest, and it’s possible that prices for those will continue to go up.

Here is that whole original blog post for posterity, as written by Framework CEO Nirav Patel:

As a result of the new tariffs that were announced last week, we have a series of unfortunate price and availability adjustments we need to make for US customers. We manufacture most of our products in Taiwan, for which we now face a new 32% import tariff into the US. We’re absorbing part of this cost temporarily, and we are increasing prices on in-stock laptops and new system pre-orders by approximately 10% for US customers. For our lowest-priced configurations, where we can’t afford to absorb the tariffs, we’re currently pausing sales to the US. We’re also delaying the pre-order launch of Framework Laptop 12 in the US. We’re continuing to monitor changes to tariffs, and we will make additional adjustments if needed. For non-US customers, there is currently no tariff impact, and we’re keeping the same pricing and availability of our products.

First, I want to acknowledge that this sucks, for you, for us, and for our mission to remake Consumer Electronics. We will get through it. This isn’t the first challenge we’ve faced, and it won’t be the last one. We’ll navigate through and keep focused on delivering great products and fulfilling this mission. We’re going to remain open and transparent throughout and try to bring clarity to a messy situation wherever we can.

Next, let’s go into more detail on the specific changes we’re making. Our Framework Laptops, Mainboards, Framework Desktop, and a subset of our modules are made in Taiwan, which means they are now impacted by a 32% import tariff to the US. Those are the products we’re increasing pricing on by 10% in the US, and we may need to increase this further if tariffs persist. Many of our modules are currently manufactured in China, where we face between 104% and 129% (!!!) tariffs. On those modules, we’re also absorbing part of the tariff and increasing pricing, depending on the category. Our Western Digital storage is manufactured in Malaysia, which now faces a 24% tariff. We’ve also increased storage pricing by up to 10%, but recommend that you purchase it elsewhere for your DIY Edition if possible, like directly from the Western Digital website.

These changes are going into effect now in the US for both in-stock orders and for new pre-orders. We’re enacting tariff absorption along with price increases as a temporary measure while we track the evolving situation around tariffs. In the event tariffs are removed, we’ll reset pre-orders that haven’t yet been fulfilled back to their previous prices. If tariffs persist or increase, we’ll likely need to increase US prices further. For existing US pre-orders of Framework Laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series) and Framework Desktop, we’re still determining how to handle the tariff impact. In the event we need to adjust pricing, we will ask for your confirmation on the new price before finalizing your pre-order. We’ve also temporarily removed the functionality to edit configurations of existing US pre-orders, but you’ll still be able to edit your order at pre-order finalization. As always, pre-orders remain fully refundable. We’ll keep you updated on US pre-order timing for Framework Laptop 12. We’re reserving some manufacturing capacity for US orders to be able to ship alongside orders from other countries.

For US orders of parts and modules that ship from our New Jersey warehouse, we’ve temporarily paused ordering while we implement changes that let us decouple pricing between laptop configuration items and items in the Framework Marketplace. When we open ordering again, we’ll continue to sell items that are already in inventory in the US at the original price, while updating pricing for each item when we import new inventory. Canadian orders that ship from our US warehouse will also remain at the original CAD price at the moment, but we may need to make future price adjustments on items that are made in China, on which we face some tariff impact.

Now, let’s get into more detail about how the tariffs work. We’re keeping this apolitical and sharing more about how this works operationally. When goods are imported into the US, tariffs are assessed based on the country of origin and the HTS (Harmonized Tariff Schedule) code that the goods are classified as. We ship all of our products DDP (Delivered Duty Paid), meaning we pay tariffs as goods clear customs and include the cost inside of our product pricing. The tariff is calculated against the value of the product at import, meaning our cost as the importer, rather than the final price we charge for the product. The country of origin is defined as the last location in which “substantial transformation” occurs. For computers, US Customs has specifically defined substantial transformation as the location at which the main circuit board is assembled.

When starting Framework five years ago, we anticipated increased trade challenges between the US and China, and we chose to build most of our manufacturing and logistics footprint in Taiwan. At the time, imports from China to the US were subject to 7.5-25% Section 301 tariffs, with exceptions that included laptops, but not laptop parts. Because we’ve assembled our Mainboards in Taiwan since 2022 (we also do final system assembly and make magnesium parts and some aluminum parts there), the country of origin for our laptops is Taiwan. While this has largely shielded us from earlier rounds of tariffs on imports from China, all countries with a meaningful electronics manufacturing infrastructure are impacted by the current round. We are actively investigating paths to perform Mainboard assembly in the US, but our current manufacturing partners do not have necessary infrastructure in place. We were also already in the process of moving some module production from China to lower-tariff regions like Thailand and Indonesia. Migrating manufacturing partners or setting up new manufacturing infrastructure is a theoretical long term solution, but is not something we can execute ahead of tariffs coming into place this week.

This brings us back to the price and availability adjustments. Our products are built around longevity, and our business is too. We’ve built excellent Supply Chain and Logistics teams to be ready for this kind of disruption, and they are exploring every possible option to get back to normal US fulfillment. We’ll share changes and solutions as we come up with them, and we’ll remain transparent throughout. Thanks for continuing to follow along the journey.

We’ll let you know if Framework changes its plans further.

Update, 4:31PM ET: Added that Framework will continue to charge more for made-in-China modules, though it will no longer do a global 10 percent price hike on all US systems.

Kevin Bates managed to quit his day job and move to China after his game-playing business card, the Arduboy, went viral in 2014. But a decade later, Trump’s staggering and inexplicable new US tariffs are driving him out of business.

Just as he was about to turn a profit for the first time, just before he was about to bring a new product to retail, he tells The Verge that his company can no longer survive as-is. He says that despite lifetime Arduboy sales of over $1 million, much of it from recent growth in 2023 and 2024, Trump’s new 104 percent China tariffs will be the beginning of the end.

“I just like making circuit boards and helping people learn to code games. This is all too much,” he says.

Even if he wanted to — Bates admits he’s been looking to sunset Arduboy for a while — he says he wouldn’t be able to satisfy Trump’s stated goal of restarting manufacturing in the US.

“There are no manufacturers in the USA who would even answer an email to produce Arduboy, much less give a good price. I could build them myself and end up making about $10 an hour, still paying a crazy amount for components.”

Instead, he says, his options are to dramatically raise prices, find a way around the tariffs, or simply kill off Arduboy for good.

“The fact Arduboy could exist at all was kind of a miracle of global trade. An individual person, producing and distributing an international product with margins that would never work at a larger company. I didn’t need 80 percent markup to survive,” he says, adding that his actual margins ranged from 30 to 50 percent.

Trump’s US tariffs would entirely wipe out those margins, and he says China’s retaliatory tariffs would hurt too, as they would impose a 34 percent tariff on the Arduboy’s US-made processor, which Bates says is the most expensive component in the system.

While he’s hopeful that some larger organization might buy Arduboy and take up the torch, he admits that’s not terribly realistic in this economic climate, and he’s already declaring Arduboy “dead” on his LinkedIn and in the Arduboy forums. He’s already looking for a new day job once again.

But he says Arduboy isn’t quite dead yet. He wants to launch one last Kickstarter for a USB-C version of the Arduboy with “more features like real time clock, IR blaster, and link cable support,” assuming he can figure out how to ship them at a price people will pay. He says he already saw $99 Arduboy FX Special Edition as overpriced for what it is, and he isn’t looking forward to charging $200 for a new version or saddling buyers with customs fees should he choose to drop-ship them.

“The only realistic solution is to warehouse the inventory somewhere that doesn’t have Chinese import taxes, and drop ship everything. I visited my factory last year to talk about this, and they said all their customers are in the same situation so they said they would have a solution. But one has not materialized yet,” he says.

Speaking of drop-shipping and customs fees, that is probably what you should expect if you buy the new banana-shaped Arduboy or the last few remaining units of the Arduboy FX Special Edition. “I am planning to fulfill the orders but they may be drop shipped, so U.S. customers should be aware that import taxes may now apply,” he tells The Verge. But he also may just turn off Banana-Bit preorders, as he says he’s only sold about a dozen so far.

He also warns these packages could get held up at US customs for a time, because Trump has also gotten rid of the de minimis exemption that let low-value packages enter the US duty-free. “That’s going to impact everything from Shein to Temu to AliExpress, and honestly, it’s going to be chaos. U.S. customs isn’t ready for that volume,” he says.

Bates says Trump’s trade war is “an absolute unmitigated disaster for anyone without the ability to dramatically restructure.”

“I guess that’s the point,” he adds.