In early April, Fanatec launched its new website - including new prices that surprised sim racers due to their increases. Now, the brand released a clarification statement on how the new prices came to be.
The new Fanatec website is arguably a big step forward for the sim racing hardware brand's online presence, appearing much more modern and organized than the previous version. It is also intended to offer an improved customer service and ordering process.
However, when the website was switched over in early April, sim racers also noticed an increase in prices for many products, which they naturally did not exactly welcome - more so since products were marked as discounted even though they were still more expensive than before.
By extension, this also affects Canadian customers, as Fanatec supplies North America from its US-based warehouse. "This made price increases an unfortunate necessity for all North American orders from that warehouse", reads the statement posted to Reddit. "These tariffs are effectively a tax on the importing company, in this situation, Fanatec, for any items we import from a tariffed region, like China, into the US. Those cost increases are far larger than anticipated and unfortunately required an increase to the MSRP of the product."
Fanatec and Corsair, which acquired the brand and its original company Endor AG in 2024, are also looking for ways to improve the situation for their North American customers, according to the statement: "If the tariff situation in the US changes, we will act accordingly. We are evaluating all options and methods to reduce the impact of these cost increases in the future, and when we have more information, we will share with you."
Essentially, this means that the costs for the QR2 - which is not exactly cheap as a standalone piece of kit either - and the shipping are now baked into the full price on the website. As a result, the price you see should be the price you pay, without any other costs being added as you head to the online checkout.
If you are interested in purchasing any Fanatec gear and you like what we do here at OverTake, please consider using our Fanatec affiliate link. We make a small commission on each sale made using this link, without any extra costs for you. With that, you can support your favourite sim racing community so that we can keep hosting all the downloads you need and post all the news, reviews, features, and more.
What are your thoughts on Fanatec's explanation of the increased prices? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our hardware forum!
The new Fanatec website is arguably a big step forward for the sim racing hardware brand's online presence, appearing much more modern and organized than the previous version. It is also intended to offer an improved customer service and ordering process.
However, when the website was switched over in early April, sim racers also noticed an increase in prices for many products, which they naturally did not exactly welcome - more so since products were marked as discounted even though they were still more expensive than before.
Tariffs Drive Up Prices In North America
Following this, Fanatec now offers an explanation on how this came to be. Sim racers based in the United States are affected by the recently imposed tariffs that drive up the prices of goods imported from China, which is where Fanatec's gear is built.By extension, this also affects Canadian customers, as Fanatec supplies North America from its US-based warehouse. "This made price increases an unfortunate necessity for all North American orders from that warehouse", reads the statement posted to Reddit. "These tariffs are effectively a tax on the importing company, in this situation, Fanatec, for any items we import from a tariffed region, like China, into the US. Those cost increases are far larger than anticipated and unfortunately required an increase to the MSRP of the product."
Fanatec and Corsair, which acquired the brand and its original company Endor AG in 2024, are also looking for ways to improve the situation for their North American customers, according to the statement: "If the tariff situation in the US changes, we will act accordingly. We are evaluating all options and methods to reduce the impact of these cost increases in the future, and when we have more information, we will share with you."
QR2 & Shipping Now Included In Costs
That does not quite explain why the prices also increased on the other side of the Atlantic in Europe. In this case, both the switch to the QR2 to come as standard with most wheels and wheel bases and the already priced-in shipping costs are the culprit. Previously, shipping was not part of the price displayed on the website, whereas it now is.Essentially, this means that the costs for the QR2 - which is not exactly cheap as a standalone piece of kit either - and the shipping are now baked into the full price on the website. As a result, the price you see should be the price you pay, without any other costs being added as you head to the online checkout.
If you are interested in purchasing any Fanatec gear and you like what we do here at OverTake, please consider using our Fanatec affiliate link. We make a small commission on each sale made using this link, without any extra costs for you. With that, you can support your favourite sim racing community so that we can keep hosting all the downloads you need and post all the news, reviews, features, and more.
What are your thoughts on Fanatec's explanation of the increased prices? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our hardware forum!
