Most companies that collected tariff fees from customers during the Trump administration's trade war are keeping the money. Panic is not.
The Portland-based software publisher and maker of the Playdate handheld console announced it is refunding customers for any US tariff fees they paid when purchasing the device, according to a report by Engadget. The Trump administration's tariff regime was confirmed to be illegal following a Supreme Court decision in February 2026. Panic applied for a refund from the US government, received it, and then built a system to pass that money back to customers.
"When you ordered from us, we charged you for the tariff we were being charged by the US government for every Playdate we manufactured," Panic said in an email to customers. "We treated it like any other tax, and passed it along as a line item at checkout."
The company had been applying a 19 percent tariff fee to orders. It stopped adding that charge to new orders after April 21. The refunds took until August to process because Panic first had to apply for and receive its own refund from the government, then build the infrastructure to issue payments to individual customers.
Panic CEO Cabel Sasser described the decision as straightforward. "It's just not our money to keep, and it felt really good to give it back," Sasser said. "That's an easy way to know you made the right decision."
Few other companies have made the same call. While the tariffs affected the vast majority of companies selling electronics in the United States, most have not announced any plans to refund customers. Some shipping companies, including FedEx, UPS and DHL, are among the few others offering refunds. Major players including Amazon, Sony and Nintendo are each facing class-action lawsuits alleging they are legally required to return tariff fees to customers.
