Lincoln toy store owner working to keep holiday cheer higher than the prices

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — As families gear up for the holiday season, price tags may be a bit steeper.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, toy prices rose 1.8% following President Donald Trump’s tariff enforcement.

“A number of factors have come into play where a lot of our toy prices and a lot of the products have really started to increase in price over the last year,” said Daniel Schmidt, owner of HobbyTown USA. “It’s not just one factor. Tariffs are a big thing that have really affected the pricing.”

Schmidt said they have seen price increases across different products.

The biggest being wooden toys, LEGOs and Barbies.

“A lot of the wood prices have gone up,” he said. “A lot of the metal prices have gone up. That’s affected normal traditional toys. Those are some of the big factors that have made toy prices go up across the board. A lot of stuff has just gone up by a little bit; it’s not bad, but it’s real, it’s definitely happened.”

But their biggest goal is keeping customers happy, so they don’t have to worry about the prices before the holidays.

“I’ve really tried to do my best to time stuff so that I got them in before the price increase,” he said. “Or staged things so I can get them ahead of time, and we weren’t affected as much by it. Then I can pass on those savings to the customer.”

To save money, AARP recommends shopping early, paying attention to end-of-summer sales, and checking secondhand stores.