First Drone Purchase: Current Tariffs Turmoil what would you do?

[1gratedulflyingdawg]

Howdy all
I had settled on the Mini 4 Pro as my first drone until I saw rumors of the Mini Pro 5 possibly in September. Not just the normal issues to deal with when considering a new hobby/obsession. Will all new dji drones be withheld from the US market like the Mavic 4? Isn’t the US like 60%+ of dji’s market. July 9th is the end of the 90 day tariff pause but who knows what happens between now and then and what happens after. I imagine that there could be a Mini 5 Pro with the new flip up screen.
All of you are more knowledgeable than I on the industry and possibly outcomes. What would you do?

Additionally I noticed most of the Mini 4’s (checking daily) that are available on Adorama are also marked as closeout.

 

[mavic3usa]

Unfortunately you can only do what feels right to you since the volatility and uncertainty injected into the drone community basically means no amount of logical thinking will help you reach a solid conclusion. This affects consumers too not just businesses and manufacturers. At this point, I would say get the Mini 4 Pro because you never know if the US will ever see another new DJI drone in the future; you could be waiting "forever." Make your best deal, get it now whether it's marked "closeout" or not (whatever that means these days) and you can use the RC Pro 2 or the flip up screen with the Mini 4 Pro as well.

 

[FLDave]

If I wanted a new drone now I would just purchase one direct from DJI. On the other hand if I were looking for an excuse to not buy one I sure would be able to find an excuse somewhere. So, just do it and start enjoying a new flying experience. It's not likely prices will go down if you wait.

 

[Johnmcl7]

It's such a difficult situation to offer advice on because it's all so unpredictable and it can change so quickly, it may be the situation improves and the costs come back down to what they were and DJI sell the drones as normal...or the 145% tariff could return and DJI choose not to sell drones. It doesn't matter how big the US market is for DJI if they're being hit with a 145% tariff, it's not viable for DJI to pass those costs on since it would make prices too high.

Since you seem keen to get a drone my feeling is to go for a Mini 4 Pro if you can get one for the normal price. It's a very capable and flexible little drone which I hope you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of but if not you'll likely get a better idea of what you want from a drone or maybe drones aren't for you. If you hold off and there are further problems with DJI selling in the US you may regret waiting more whereas buying now, at worst if you don't like the drone you'll just have a slight loss from selling it on.

 

[1gratedulflyingdawg]

Unfortunately you can only do what feels right to you since the volatility and uncertainty injected into the drone community basically means no amount of logical thinking will help you reach a solid conclusion. This affects consumers too not just businesses and manufacturers. At this point, I would say get the Mini 4 Pro because you never know if the US will ever see another new DJI drone in the future; you could be waiting "forever." Make your best deal, get it now whether it's marked "closeout" or not (whatever that means these days) and you can use the RC Pro 2 or the flip up screen with the Mini 4 Pro as well.

All excellent points, I certainly hear these voices in the shopping portion of my brain.

 

[MS Coast]

Howdy all
I had settled on the Mini 4 Pro as my first drone until I saw rumors of the Mini Pro 5 possibly in September.

Buy the Mini 4 now and begin enjoying flying it now. It's a wonderful drone and it will have a high resale value if you decide to upgrade later.

 

[1gratedulflyingdawg]

It's such a difficult situation to offer advice on because it's all so unpredictable and it can change so quickly, it may be the situation improves and the costs come back down to what they were and DJI sell the drones as normal...or the 145% tariff could return and DJI choose not to sell drones. It doesn't matter how big the US market is for DJI if they're being hit with a 145% tariff, it's not viable for DJI to pass those costs on since it would make prices too high.

Since you seem keen to get a drone my feeling is to go for a Mini 4 Pro if you can get one for the normal price. It's a very capable and flexible little drone which I hope you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of but if not you'll likely get a better idea of what you want from a drone or maybe drones aren't for you. If you hold off and there are further problems with DJI selling in the US you may regret waiting more whereas buying now, at worst if you don't like the drone you'll just have a slight loss from selling it on.

Thanks I’m not sure what a good price is, appears $1600 with the rc2 and 3 batteries at Adorama. Current Dji has no mini 4’s for sale.

 

[1gratedulflyingdawg]

I appreciate everyone’s input and I know none of you can make up my mind for me. BUT more information sometimes is better maybe something someone says triggers something I hadn’t thought about.

 

[Starz]

Another choice could be an Air3.
“Mini” has several meanings.

 

[djaggen]

Howdy all
I had settled on the Mini 4 Pro as my first drone until I saw rumors of the Mini Pro 5 possibly in September. Not just the normal issues to deal with when considering a new hobby/obsession. Will all new dji drones be withheld from the US market like the Mavic 4? Isn’t the US like 60%+ of dji’s market. July 9th is the end of the 90 day tariff pause but who knows what happens between now and then and what happens after. I imagine that there could be a Mini 5 Pro with the new flip up screen.
All of you are more knowledgeable than I on the industry and possibly outcomes. What would you do?

Additionally I noticed most of the Mini 4’s (checking daily) that are available on Adorama are also marked as closeout.

I literally received my Mini 4 from DJI three days ago. I received a message from UPS (not a scam... REALLY UPS that I would need to pay $29.50 in additional tariff fees. Paid it on the UPD website and received my drone a couple days later.

 

[MS Coast]

I literally received my Mini 4 from DJI three days ago. I received a message from UPS (not a scam... REALLY UPS that I would need to pay $29.50 in additional tariff fees. Paid it on the UPD website and received my drone a couple days later.

Well, I believe that's the first bit of tangible information on the effects of the Trump tariffs on DJI drones sent to the US. Thanks for passing that along.

Do you mind sharing the basic purchase price, with sales taxes, of the Mini 4 package you chose?