Justin Ho

Some might be used to stock up on inventory.

And the rest might go to customers, people who've spent big on tariff-impacted goods.

People who spent less, maybe paid a couple bucks in price increases, will get a discount code.

Of course, Robinson doesn't have to do any of this.

Why return any money at all?

But there's something else on her mind.

Consumers have filed class action lawsuits against companies including Costco, Nintendo and Taimou.

The argument is businesses shouldn't profit from tariff refunds.

Christine Bartholomew, a law professor at the University at Buffalo, says these cases are going to be tough cases.

for plaintiffs to win.

In class actions, you have to be able to prove how the harm can be quantified across the class in a similar fashion.

Thing is, the tariffs impacted imports from so many countries and had so many different rates, rates that constantly changed.

Bartholomew says that makes it harder to draw a straight line from tax increases to price increases.

These kinds of trials can be tedious.

Imagine modeling the input costs of every item a company sells, from dish soap to diapers, for a jury.

And that process reveals a lot about how companies price their products, something they really do not want people to know.

It's why Bartholomew thinks a lot of these cases will be settled.

That can take as long as a decade.

It means in the year 2036, you might get a postcard or email saying you're entitled to collect a refund on a set of sheets you bought more than 10 years ago.

It might simply be that they get a credit for a dollar and they would have to spend 51 cents in a stamp to be able to get their dollar.