It depends. If the company dives in headfirst with anticonsumer practices in the EU, you’re correct; EU institutions will regulate them out. But there’s a much smarter strategy that works more often than I think you’d like to admit:
Start said anticonsumer practice in the USA
USA is slower to enact legislation against it
US customers get used to it
Inch EU customers into said practices
When confronted, point to the USA and say that the Americans are fine with it so it must not be that bad.
50% of the time EU regulators respond with “oh, alright then”. The news of said practice being introduced into the EU appears on The Register for a day and then everyone forgets about it. Most EU consumers don’t realise it happened.
To do this in the EU would mean breaking the law, which mandates 14 days of free returns with no requirement to justify the reason whatsoever, so I’m pretty sure this wouldn’t work ;-).
It depends. If the company dives in headfirst with anticonsumer practices in the EU, you’re correct; EU institutions will regulate them out. But there’s a much smarter strategy that works more often than I think you’d like to admit:
To do this in the EU would mean breaking the law, which mandates 14 days of free returns with no requirement to justify the reason whatsoever, so I’m pretty sure this wouldn’t work ;-).