But they can also sidestep the decades-old systems built to ensure products sold on US store shelves are safe, and which hold their producers accountable for their shortcomings. Regulators of traditional intermediaries such as toy stores are struggling to deal with trending gadgets such as fidget spinners and hoverboards, which are being sold directly from American manufacturers to US consumers, resulting in products reaching dozens of people before anyone knows anything about them, particularly regarding their safety standards. Chinese distributors are flooding the market as soon as a trend emerges – and before big businesses can corner the market – via firms like Facebook and Google , Alibaba , Amazon , sidestepping a system that traditionally ensured products sold in the US are safe and that their producers could be held accountable.
Regulators of traditional intermediaries such as toy stores are struggling to deal with trending gadgets such as fidget spinners and hoverboards, which are being sold directly from American manufacturers to US consumers, resulting in products reaching dozens of people before anyone knows anything about them, particularly regarding their safety standards. Chinese distributors are flooding the market as soon as a trend emerges – and before big businesses can corner the market – via firms like Facebook and Google , Alibaba , Amazon , sidestepping a system that traditionally ensured products sold in the US are safe and that their producers could be held accountable.