CEO says his sales tripled when Trump's tariffs hit: Americans have 'a big opportunity' to change how they make big purchases

Many U.S. companies have expressed concern, or even anger, about the wide-ranging tariffs recently announced by President Donald Trump, which economists say threaten to increase their companies' costs and result in higher prices for consumers.

The tariffs, and the back-and-forth nature of their rollout, has spurred "panic-buying" of a wide range of products that could face price surges in the coming months, according to a Reuters report on Wednesday that cited U.S. Commerce Department data.

The CEO of Back Market, an online marketplace for used and refurbished tech devices, says he's witnessed the sales jump firsthand. Back Market saw its sales triple over a single week in the wake of Trump's tariffs announcements, says Thibaud Hug de Larauze.

"Maybe some people rushed into [replacing their smartphones or computers] earlier, because they were afraid it's going to cost so much more weeks from now," Hug de Larauze, who also co-founded the company, says.

Most smartphones and computers are manufactured in China, which currently faces a 145% total tariff rate on goods imported to the United States. Trump issued a temporary exemption for those products on April 11, but subsequently announced plans to introduce specific tariffs targeting electronics that could take effect as soon as May.

Hug de Larauze's takeaway from Back Market's boom week: More Americans could start opting for used or refurbished devices, if Trump's tariffs raise prices on new electronics for the foreseeable future. "This is a big opportunity to change the way American people consume this stuff, because the incentive has never been as high to avoid those tariffs," he says.

Some analysts agree with Hug de Larauze's observation. Prolonged tariffs could cause a "huge uptick" in short-term sales of used and refurbished devices, especially smartphones, says Dan Ives, Wedbush Securities global head of technology research.

Companies like Apple might need to increase their prices by hundreds of dollars per product — if not more — depending on the eventual electronics-specific tariffs, other analysts estimate.

Currently, enough Americans prioritize replacing their devices with brand-new ones that Back Market only sells about one-third of its stock in the U.S., says Hug de Larauze.

That ratio could flip once tariffs are implemented, he says: "What I'm expecting with the tariffs is that this is going to change [to] two-thirds being sold to U.S. customers, because there's incentives, definitely, to save money when you already need a product."

Of course, the timeline is unpredictable. Trump's impending electronics tariffs could last for days, weeks or months — or never take effect at all.

Long-term, Ives suspects that the typical American consumer might settle for a used or refurbished device for now, but return to buying new tech once their wallets allow it.

"We believe 80% to 90% of consumers like buying a new smartphone [and] buying behavior is hard to change," Ives says.

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