Something that was referenced in this thread and/or related threads regarding
@readalot's enhanced testing is the extra costs that consumers would pay if enhanced testing became a thing.
This was an interesting discussion of course but what interested me the most is someone alluding to the fact that it would be an undue burden on smaller UGLs.
This really struct me for several reasons. For one, it is people saying the silent part out loud when it comes to the resistance for additional testing.
Smaller sources/UGLs would stand to lose the most due to economies of scale. So it would clearly be in their best interest if this never came to pass.
At this point in the AAS marketplace, the barriers to entry for AAS dealers and sources have never been lower. The wide availability of inexpensive raws have always helped. But the extremely cheap vials of (semi)finished Chinese products have made it possibly for literally anyone to slap on a label and become a "UGL" source.
And they have. We probably have the largest number of "steroid dealers" at varying levels of participation than at any point in history. By "steroid dealers", I mean those who resell illegal AAS products for a profit, publicly or privately, online or offline, for 100s or 1000s.
The practically non-existent barriers to entry mean a lot of people are profiting even if it is mostly on a small-scale.
So, when more and more analytical testing, which is relatively expensive, increasingly becomes a standard operating procedure in this marketplace, the smaller players will struggle more.
The irony is that the most well-funded and profitable sources with the largest market share who can best absorb the costs of additional testing have the least incentive to do more testing or anything for that matter when it comes to harm reduction for consumers.
The big sources already have market share. So, it usually falls on the up and coming small sources trying to differentiate themselves to take on the mantle of harm reduction initiatives arising from groundswell of consumer pressure.
This is what happened 10 years with the advent of widespread qualitative/quantitative testing.,,
A few smaller sources took it upon themselves to do this - and while clearly a marketing effort on their part - and they expanded to grab a bigger piece of the pie.
Eventually, the larger more established sources saw this and ultimately did more testing too. But not before the smaller early adopters gained a permanent foothold.
I thought maybe this pattern would repeat again in 2025. But maybe not. Maybe instead of groundswell from bottom up consumer pressure, it will come from top-down market pressures. It's too early to tell.
I just know many small sources along with their supporters will continue to resist and hope it doesn't come to pass.
So, to the question of it being an undue burden on small sources. Yes, it is. The pressure for additional testing is clearly a favorable trend for larger, better-funded sources. The larger sources could easily absorb the additional costs without a significant increase in consumer price.
I guess we could debate whether this is good or bad for the marketplace.
Are the ridiculously low barriers to entry something that are worth maintaining? How low/high should they be? And importantly, what are the motives of those fighting to maintain those low barriers to entry? And those wanting to raise the barriers to entry?