It's because the market is so fragmented. USB-C and USB power delivery will do a huge amount of good.

The USB smartphone charger market is starting to produce genuinely well made third party products.

Fly-by-nights are going to destroy customer confidence in USB-C - just look at the reviews on Amazon.

Reference: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10508494

I recently bought a VESA monitor conversion kit for an apple display (why Apple can get away with charging $1000 for a 27 inch display is beyond me) that turned out to be a knock off. It looked IDENTICAL to the official apple version on the outside but the screws didn't line up perfectly and it was clearly an inferior product. I'm not planning on skimping again, even for essentially just a hunk of machined metal.

I wouldn't buy one (I've got two Dell UltraSharps and I'm happy as a clam), but an Apple 27" monitor is also a Thunderbolt dock, most of which retail around $200. It's more expensive than its competitors, but I think that it's merely overpriced instead of exorbitant.

Wouldn't the fact that the lower priced stuff is usually junk indicate that what it "should" cost is closer to what Apple charges?

It indicates that both the governments and the industry have dropped the ball on enforcing the law against small companies. When you look at what this guy is doing with the Apple-compatible power supplies and cables, or the Google reviews of USB-C cables on Amazon, it shows the sorry state we're in.

One of the major advantages of EU/US markets is that laws are enforced. This allows you to compete on fair terms. In theory, the products should be recalled, the companies that import them fined, and their principals either fined, barred from directing a company, or criminally prosecuted. But does that ever happen? When laws are not enforced, law-breakers will be able to undercut you, and drive you from the market. Which is exactly what has happened here.