Self-balancing electric scooters, more commonly known as hoverboards, seem to be quite popular these days. All the “cool kids” have them but they are not without their problems, recently there have been multiple reports of hoverboards actually being fire hazards, so much so that Amazon has started questioning makers selling hoverboards through its marketplace about safety of those products and even banning sales of hoverboards it deems to be unsafe.
Swagway, one of the biggest sellers of hoverboards, revealed that Amazon has sent out a notice to hoverboard sellings asking them to provide documentation that demonstrates the products they have listed are compliant with applicable safety standards, “including UN 38.3 (battery), UL 1642 (battery), and UL 60950-1 (charger).”
The company further pointed out that its products already meet those certifications and is “happy” that Amazon is now clamping down on sellers who are hawking cheaper hoverboards that can potentially pose a fire risk.
It also said that it’s working on measures to enable customers to easily ascertain between an authentic Swagway hoverboard and many of the fake boards available online that bear its logo. As an added protection Swagway advises customers to online purchase its products from authorized retailers.
According to several reports Amazon does appear to have banned sales of many hoverboards that it believed weren’t adequately complying with safety standards. It’s a much needed step when we have seen at least ten reports of hoverboard related fires in nine states across the country over the past few weeks.
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