Steve,
Keep on doing what you're doing, you obviously care a lot and that is refreshing to see.
I agree that safety stuff is Big Biz and as soon as something has "OSHA approved" on it the cost gets crazy.
We work in different environments, here where I work I feel the playing field is level (more or less)
I work for a large company so when I have to go back to replace bad devices it is not money from my pocket so I do not feel the pain some of you do. We also can bring a lot of pressure on the supply house to somehow make it right as far as our lost time, better price on whatever we are having them bid on.
Bob