> In a free market, you should be able to market what you’re selling until the moment it’s officially sold.
That's not what free market means. In a free market (which this is an okayish example of) buyers and sellers are free to set their own terms, rather than having them externally imposed. So you are free to try and negotiate a lack of exclusivity, it's just that likely nobody will take you up on it.
SEC oversite and similar mechanisms, by comparison, is an external imposition on the market.
Ironically, what you seem be suggesting (exclusivity terms "not allowed") could only be enforced by regulation, therefore making the market less free.
What part of that is not fair? If someone else has more ready access to funds, and a seller wishes to prioritize highly for that, they should be able to. It would seem to me to be unfair to a seller to say "you must wait an extra N weeks on all sales because some buyers will need that long to get funds together".
That's not what free market means. In a free market (which this is an okayish example of) buyers and sellers are free to set their own terms, rather than having them externally imposed. So you are free to try and negotiate a lack of exclusivity, it's just that likely nobody will take you up on it.
SEC oversite and similar mechanisms, by comparison, is an external imposition on the market.
Ironically, what you seem be suggesting (exclusivity terms "not allowed") could only be enforced by regulation, therefore making the market less free.