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Razer halts direct sales & pre-orders of new laptops & accessories amid US tariffs

Where the upcoming Razer Blade 16 laptops were previously available to configure and pre-order, now buyers can only find a 'Notify Me' button.

TJ Denzer

April 8, 2025 2:36 PM

Image via Razer

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It seems Razer might the latest tech company to shift its sales plans in reaction to Donald Trump’s tariffs. This week, a number of the company’s upcoming laptops and accessories quietly removed pre-order and customization options and replaced them with Notify Me buttons. This action took place immediately following word of the US government’s latest tariffs on numerous countries worldwide.

The removal of configuration and pre-order options could be spotted on various Razer products this week, as seen on the page for the Razer Blade 16 laptop, as reported by The Verge. The page for Razer’s newly announced Adjustable Laptop Stand was also adjusted to a Notify Me button. When contacted for a statement, Razer claimed it had no comment at this time, but would notify fans and customers of these products when news was available. However, the Internet Archive shows that configuration and pre-orders were available as recently as April 1 before Donald Trump’s administration announced the new tariffs.

If Razer’s recent moves are due to the impact of the recent tariffs, then it's another of a few companies to be directly affected by them. The entire market has been flipped upside down over the last week by the volatile effect of the new economic strategy, going as far as to spur protests throughout the United States and across the world. Other direct consequences include Nintendo delaying pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 as the company analyzes impact of the tariffs.

If Razer was, indeed, directly impacted by the tariffs, it likely won’t be the last. Stay tuned as we continue to follow the situation for further news and updates affecting the tech and gaming industries.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on BlueSky @JohnnyChugs.