TL;DR
- Retroid appears to be shipping US Pocket Flip 2 and Classic pre-orders ahead of other countries.
- Retroid has not officially announced this policy, but the evidence is overwhelming.
- Shipments from China to the US will stop on April 25, so only a few days remain to fulfill pre-orders.
The Retroid Pocket Flip 2 and Pocket Classic are two of the most hyped retro gaming handhelds to come out so far this year, but the budding trade war between the US and China has thrown a red shell into the launch cycle. While the company hasn’t confirmed it directly, it appears that pre-orders headed to the US are jumping to the front of the line to beat the coming tariffs and shipment halts.
Pre-orders for the two devices started on March 18, with the Pocket Flip 2 shipments starting on April 13 and Pocket Classic shipments starting on April 16. However, users on Reddit and Discord are finding that many day one pre-orders have yet to ship, with US pre-orders from weeks later taking precedence.
This appears to be the case for standard orders, as well. A user on the Retro Handhelds Discord had their Pocket Flip 2 order ship just a few hours after placing the order. This came after a short conversation with Retroid’s customer service, in which the company assured that “We will arrange shipment within 3 days” to prevent the order from being canceled.
Android Authority contacted Retroid about the delay, but was only told that “We are prioritizing shipments based on order dates and will aim to dispatch this week.” However, it seems that shipments are being sent based on colorway, then the country of destination, then pre-order dates, with US orders jumping to the front of the line.
Retroid has been rushing to get orders shipped before April 25, when all shipments from China to the US will halt. Anbernic has also ceased shipments to the US, encouraging users to buy from its US warehouse while supplies last. Retroid has no US warehouse, so it only has a few days left before the deadline hits.
Customers outside of the US will need to wait a few more days for their handhelds.
Initially, the de minimis exemption for small shipments to the US was set to expire on May 2, but things escalated in the following weeks. Tariff rates were quickly tripled, and Retroid states that shipping companies have responded by halting shipments.
Last week, Retroid informed US customers that three colorways would not arrive in time to beat the deadline. The Teal, Berry, and Kiwi colors will not ship to the US, so anyone ordering those models needs to contact customer service to pick a new color. Regardless, any US orders that don’t ship in the next few days will likely need to be canceled.
Customers outside of the US will likely need to wait a few more days before receiving their handhelds, but at least they can do so without the stress of unpredictable customs fees ruining the fun.
