Total recall: Amazon faces legal action from US consumer protection group over hazardous goods

Amazon is facing legal action in the US from a consumer protection group over the sale of allegedly faulty goods including carbon monoxide detectors and hairdryers. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) yesterday filed a complaint against Amazon.com to force the etailer to "accept responsibility for recalling …

[Mark 85]

All the items named were being sold by third-party sellers.

Were all these items made in China? Vietnam? Or another country were "safety of product" isn't a reality?

[katrinab]

Re: All the items named were being sold by third-party sellers.

The good quality stuff tends to also be made in China. You rely on the retailer to do quality control on the stuff they sell. Other retailers manage this, Amazon doesn’t. Amazon isn’t always cheaper than other retailers.

[A. Coatsworth]

Re: All the items named were being sold by third-party sellers.

I wouldn't be surprised if the defective products were "Amazon basics" knock offs. Where they were made is irrelevant.

Of all the nasty business practices Amazon does, these "basics" must be one of the lowest.

[gandalfcn]

Re: All the items named were being sold by third-party sellers.

You mean like British cars?

[katrinab]

Re: All the items named were being sold by third-party sellers.

British cars in the 1970s. They are much better quality now.

[gandalfcn]

Re: All the items named were being sold by third-party sellers.

I know, but the point needs making that the UK has never been as good as some claim. Especialy with a clown as PM.

[The commentard formerly known as Mister_C]

Amazon store content providers

Anybody care to call the odds on Amazon trying to claim that they only publish the adverts and therefore aren't responsible for the goods that _other_ bad, bad people want to sell?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Amazon store content providers

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in court.

It's a bit like suing Google and it's Play Store for being the largest supplier of mobile malware.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Amazon store content providers

"Anybody care to call the odds on Amazon trying to claim that they only publish the adverts and therefore aren't responsible for the goods that _other_ bad, bad people want to sell?"

That is EXACTLY what Amazon says when you try and report a malicious site being hosted on Amazon's Cloudfront.

[Anonymous Coward]

Paging Irwin Mainway

Saturday Night Live skit featuring children's toys of dubious safety -- https://www.youtube.com/embed/veMiNQifZcM

[Bongwater]

Re: Paging Irwin Mainway

Without looking, is it Dan Akroyd with the Johnny Blow Torch set?

The Halloween costumes were awesome, one I think was just a plastic bag you put over your head.

[Sherrie Ludwig]

Expired products also a problem

Ordered sunscreen from Amazon, because the product I had expired in Jan. 2021 (Dermatologist said it drops precipitously in effectiveness, and I need all the SPF I can get). Surprise! The "new" sunscreen expired in OCT. 2020! The third party seller balked at replacing or refunding, (I believed I WAS ordering from Amazon directly) so I emailed Amazon. Got the refund. Not ordering anything foodstuff or medical from those idiots again.

[gandalfcn]

Re: Expired products also a problem

Being disabled I bought two electronic items via Amazon as it was easier for me. Both faulty so I now use. local retailers. This entails help from others but that is no problem, it just means a bit of a wait.

Amazon;s insidious marketing is also disgusting.

[Winkypop]

Amazon said "customer safety is a top priority"

No.

They’d like us to think it is, but the reality may be quite different.

[gandalfcn]

Re: Amazon said "customer safety is a top priority"

Just like governments and other big outfits when the wheels fall off. The sad thing is the punters believe them.

[hoola]

Re: Amazon said "customer safety is a top priority"

Let's just rephrase that...

Amazon said "our profit it the top priority"

They could not care less about the customer as individually we are utterly powerless. For those that do need refunds it will all be charged back to the source anyway. Amazon simply cannot lose.

[Terje]

Asbestos pyamas?

Children's pyjamas that are not fireproof...

Are they advocating for the use of asbestos cloth or possibly impregnating the pyjamas with fire retardant chemicals? I'm not sure either is to be recommended for children's clothing.

Mines the one with asbestos lined pockets.

[David Neil]

Re: Asbestos pyamas?

If you read the actual filing, they say it doesn't confirm with the regulations, the 'fireproof' claim comes from The Register's writeup

https://www.cpsc.gov/Business--Manufacturing/Business-Education/Business-Guidance/Childrens-Sleepwear-Regulations

[Anonymous Coward]

No place for price gouging on Amazon? Seriously?

Unless we're talking mainstream clothing items, Amazon gouges for *everything* now that they have a market lock... my problem is I can't *get* a lot of things I want locally.

[Kevin McMurtrie]

Took immediate action

But Amazon doesn't care if bots keep generating new stores and new brands for the same junk. It's a big reason for me never looking for anything on that site. Amazon shows hundreds of top-rated search results for the same defective products being dumped into the only US store that would dare sell them.

[anothercynic]

This is the problem...

This is the problem with Amazon. They've opened up the Marketplace to everyone and everything and the amount of tat on it is just utterly frustrating. What's worse is when you search for "<brandname> <item>" and despite being clear about what you want, you get a shedload of unrelated rubbish, or 'promoted' items from the tat vendors.

If I ask for 'Sandisk SSD', I want... Sandisk SSDs, not 'Guofawei SDD Rainbow Umbrella' or 'XzzYGHHS SDD Cup' something similar. It does my head in. Limiting the seller to 'Amazon' tends to cut the rubbish down somewhat, but not much.

I think this is going to be Amazon's downfall.