Author: Rad Power Bikes via YouTube
https://www.radpowerbikes.com/pricing
In August of 2018, the sudden 25% tariff imposed on electric bikes shook the entire ebike industry. Almost overnight, manufacturing became much more expensive, leaving nearly every ebike company with two options: raise prices or risk going under. We found a way to absorb much of the tariff ourselves, but our customers were still impacted as it caused the prices on all our ebikes to raise by $200. As a company whose mission it is to maximize the accessibility of electric bikes, this absolutely crushed us. We’ve worked so hard to provide our customers with reliable, high-quality, and affordable electric bikes so the notion of needing to increase prices went against everything we stood for.
This tariff proved to be an insurmountable barrier for many of our customers as we received thousands of emails from people who were devastated that our bikes were no longer in their budget. There were some who abandoned the idea of ebikes altogether and there were some who were forced to purchase cheap, low-quality ebikes that ended up not performing as they should have. Either way, many people got a bad first experience with ebikes, which is not just bad for us as a manufacturer, but for the ebike industry as a whole.
Since the tariff was announced 6 months ago, our entire company has been working tirelessly to find a way to make our ebikes as accessible as possible. Our dream has always been to make the price increase temporary, and we’re happy to say that dream has become a reality.
Starting January 31, 2019, we will be absorbing 100% of the tariff on electric bikes and dropping prices on all ebike models by $200 to their original, pre-tariff prices. Any ebike that was $1,699 is once again $1,499 and any ebike that was $1,799 is back to $1,599.
As our continued commitment to supporting our customers, we will also be offering price-matching for anyone who purchased an ebike between January 1, 2019 and January 31, 2019.
We’re incredibly excited to finally be able to lift the burden of the tariff off the backs of our loyal customers as we never felt it was your responsibility to endure.
We want to assure you that NOTHING about our bikes or the way we operate is changing because of this, though we understand that it’s completely normal for people to assume otherwise. A company voluntarily and enthusiastically opting to make less money is an unusual concept, but when you care about your community and your mission as much as we do, sometimes the right thing to do is not the most profitable thing to do.
While prices on our ebikes are changing and going back to our original Rad pricing, there are a few key things that are absolutely NOT changing:
1: Quality. We have been continually optimizing our manufacturing processes for years, so quality currently is and will continue to be better than ever. We did not reduce the quality on any of our products, nor do we ever plan to.
2: Customer Support. We will continue to provide an unprecedented customer experience and our support teams will always be based out of our Seattle headquarters as we know that’s what it takes to provide industry-leading support.
3: Operations. We did not lay off any employees or divert resources away from any department. We’re hiring more team members than ever, check out our open positions if you’re interested!
The big question on everyone’s mind, though, is “How? ” Since the tariff went into effect, we’ve standardized many of the components across all our ebike models to help lower costs, streamlined our business processes, and improved the relationships we have with our vendors. This has enabled us to lower our overall costs, work more efficiently, and limit waste without compromising our commitment to safety, quality, and support.
We are passionate about our mission and believe that electric bikes can truly revolutionize transportation and the communities we live in. We’re here to make sure that happens, no matter the cost.
Stay Rad!
– Mike, Ty, and the Rad Power Bikes Team