[simonh]

> why would anyone continue to purchase from that crap manufacturer...

So the people who buy first should just get shafted? That's a license to manufacturers to bring out as crappy products as possible, then just change brand name or do a buyout or something every few years. If you say it's ok to sell rubbish products, then that's what will happen. The Chinese consumer market is a prime example of this, quality control and consumer rights over there are practically nonexistent. The consumer market is a cesspit of scams, fakes, substandard and dangerous products.

Regulation in a democracy is actually a sign of a functioning free market. It's just consumers (voters) getting together and exercising their rights to negotiate terms with suppliers who otherwise would hold all the cards. Markets depend on fair access to information to function. Product standards simply ensure consumers know and understand the quality of the product they are buying, which as individuals we don't all have the ability or resources to determine. That's why commodities markets, one of the cornerstones of the free market economic system, are based on trading highly standardized goods because that's the only way to scale up trading volumes and market efficiencies at the level they operate at.