Consumers Reject Higher Prices for American-Made Goods in Real-World Sales Test, Says Afina Founder

Afina founder Ramon van Meer

Afina founder Ramon van Meer has revealed that despite widespread public support for buying American-made products, actual purchasing behavior tells a different story. Following the implementation of a 145% tariff hike on Chinese imports by President Donald Trump, van Meer launched an experiment to determine whether consumers would be willing to pay a premium for goods manufactured in the United States.

As a small business owner specializing in filtered shower heads, van Meer sought out U.S. suppliers to replace his Chinese manufacturing base. His current supply chain includes filters made in the U.S., components from Vietnam, and final assembly in China. To shift full production to the U.S., he discovered he would need to coordinate with four to six different suppliers, driving production costs to nearly three times the current rate — far surpassing the cost of the tariffs alone.

The results from Afina's A/B test, showing 0 purchases for the more expensive Made-in-USA version of its shower head.Afina

To test consumer preferences with real-world data, van Meer listed two nearly identical shower heads on Afina's website. The only differences: the country of origin and the price. One was made in China and priced at $129; the other was made in the U.S. and sold for $239. Over several days, more than 25,000 people visited the site. Of those, 3,560 added the Chinese-made product to their carts compared to only 24 who did so with the U.S.-made version — and 584 ultimately purchased the lower-priced item. Not a single customer purchased the American-made shower head.

The data, van Meer said, was eye-opening. "We wanted to believe customers would back American labor with their dollars. But when faced with a real decision — not a survey or a comment section — they didn't," he wrote in a blog post that later went viral.

Van Meer is now looking to shift manufacturing from China to another low-tariff country, stating that continuing production in China is no longer viable given the unpredictable trade climate. However, he also ruled out U.S. manufacturing, citing a lack of suitable production facilities.

Afina currently has enough inventory in U.S. warehouses to last until August. After that, van Meer anticipates the need to either raise prices or introduce a tariff surcharge. "We'll probably do testing," he said, adding that the final decision will likely depend on customer response.