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ESF petition: 'dangerous electricals on online marketplaces'

Nathaniel
https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/stop-the-sale-of-dangerous-electrical-goods-on-online-marketplaces 

"Stop the sale of dangerous electricals on online marketplaces:  In the UK, online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay and Wish are not bound to the same laws as traditional retailers. ..."


I don't usually sign petitions, but this is a subject I've thought of many times when seeing equipment that's imported from far-off sellers with the help and profit of online marketplaces that claim to be UK ones. It may look good and do its main task adequately, but a little time or closer inspection often shows big problems for safety: lack of isolation clearance between the mains and output of chargers, solder joints that break and arc at the input socket, wires that split in weeks, hideous RF emissions, wires with a small proportion of the actual copper area that they state on the sheath, etc, etc.  I feel doubtful whether ESF will reach its 100 000 target anyway, but perhaps some others here can be interested to support them in this attempt. 

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    This is not the fault of EBay. The sale of electrical goods is highly regulated in the UK, so users should only buy from UK suppliers. ESF is misguided, they need to spend their money on publicity suggesting that buying from foreign suppliers has dangers which persons may not understand. A blanket ban on eBay or anything else is simply mad. Can ESF define what should be banned, or will they say anything electrical at all, like electronic components? I have bought many very satisfactory electrical items on eBay, and so far avoided any dangerous, in the domestic sense, products. All Auctions are very much buyer beware places as I expect many of you know to your cost! Can I buy from other EU countries or Australia, or is it just China (Communist) or Taiwan, or Singapore or what? The regulations are in place, it is just the usual human trait of buying cheap! Banning Samsung phones (or Apple ones made in China) would help no-one.


    Edited, I will not sign such a petition for the above reasons, to do so is simply asking for the wrong outcome. Nathaniel: All the retailers such as amazon etc. are bound by these rules. Report sales from them to the correct Authorities (trading standards). You do not buy from eBay, you buy from the seller.
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    This is not the fault of EBay. The sale of electrical goods is highly regulated in the UK, so users should only buy from UK suppliers. ESF is misguided, they need to spend their money on publicity suggesting that buying from foreign suppliers has dangers which persons may not understand. A blanket ban on eBay or anything else is simply mad. Can ESF define what should be banned, or will they say anything electrical at all, like electronic components? I have bought many very satisfactory electrical items on eBay, and so far avoided any dangerous, in the domestic sense, products. All Auctions are very much buyer beware places as I expect many of you know to your cost! Can I buy from other EU countries or Australia, or is it just China (Communist) or Taiwan, or Singapore or what? The regulations are in place, it is just the usual human trait of buying cheap! Banning Samsung phones (or Apple ones made in China) would help no-one.


    Edited, I will not sign such a petition for the above reasons, to do so is simply asking for the wrong outcome. Nathaniel: All the retailers such as amazon etc. are bound by these rules. Report sales from them to the correct Authorities (trading standards). You do not buy from eBay, you buy from the seller.
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