02-18-2009, 11:16 PM
Quote:The only place more over regulated than some parts of the US, would be some parts of the EU. I can't imagine having to manage negotiating EU regulations for the likes of Germany and France, let alone the rest of your European motley crew!
Japan?
Quote:Btw, you could pass as a Canadian any day.
That's because I am a Canadian. I'm just in the UK. Blessings of being a dual citizen.
Quote:Demand will not go down, however supply will go down and prices will have to go up considerably, unless you want the standard "Toys'R'Us" widget where 5 million of the same thing are made to defray the price of testing (an additional $1200 per component). Beyond the testing, there are strict guidelines that the product now has to have a permanent certification label which will add a cost to every toy. So, toys will be a luxury that some kids will not be able to afford.
Adding a few thousand bucks to the production runs of toys will adjust its price by a very small amount. What is more likely than the price going way up is the diversity going down, as larger production runs compensate for fewer distinct products. Given that testing for even the most complex product could not realistically take more than the wages of a single employee for a single year, I really don't think this is going to have much of an effect on medium or large producers. What happens to small producers will depend on how they iron out the issues with small crafts producers during their yearlong break.
-Jester