Re the CPSC link,  that appears to be a general safety notice issued as a media release.

There does not appear to be an actual product recall issued for such items in or around the stated release date.

In any event a USA recall would not be valid in Australia and if the product is unbranded then a recall is pretty much useless,

product safety.gov.au

Hi everyone,

This discussion has gotten a bit heated. Please remember that, while it is fine to disagree with others, discussion should always remain friendly and respectful as required by the Community Guidelines .

Thank you for your cooperation.

Based upon identical title wording, the seller is registered in Hong Kong, and the battery is unbranded.

Did you see my post at 3:46pm?

@loustanis

Let's get back on track.

To summarise eBay in general:

"eBay allows potentially dangerous items to be sold"

Yes they do

from the Countess

"Re eBay vetting purchases … I think you may be assuming a level of care and personal involvement that doesn’t exist. eBay use bot-driven processes for almost every aspect of eBay transactions and customer service - and increasingly use AI as well. They’re not vetting the items themselves in any way, other than to have templated emails automatically sent to buyers when the bot-driven processes match up purchase with list of recalled products.

They won’t remove a seller’s items based on that list; that’s been demonstrated by repeated attempts to report items listed by sellers registered on eBay.cn. It just won’t happen - for various reasons"

Very True

From Springy

" don't know how seriously ebay takes product safety. Not very, as far as I can see. They do what they have to do, legally, and that is about it.

 Ebay isn't stopping any of it, every sale is a bit of extra commission to them and it is perfectly legal for them at the moment to allow those ads.

You'll notice they don't take the extra step of checking if your particular product is the specific one under recall"

Very True

Do you know how many fraudulent listings aren't removed after being reported ?

We'd ALL like this to be different but it's getting worse

From your link, the item has been recalled in USA……have you looked to see whether they are recalled here?

Hey Lou, You are quick off the mark to reply with abuse, but for some reason you appear unwilling or unable to provide basic information that has been requested.

As you have been unable to provide the listing number, a link to the recall notice will suffice,

I don't know how seriously ebay takes product safety. Not very, as far as I can see. They do what they have to do, legally, and that is about it.

You say you purchased an item located in Dandenong South. I well believe you as a fair few warehouses are located there. I've had a friend do the same a while back.

The thing is that for a lot of buyers, when they see something as located here, they are going to assume that it is a legal import, the same as they could buy at the shop & that they are just buying from a different retailer.

The fact it may be made in China won't worry most people because, as you say, what isn't made there these days?

I don't blame buyers for thinking this way because before I frequented these forums, I would have assumed anything I picked up from a warehouse in Dandenong was  a legit product too.

But if you read countess's posts, you'll see that a lot of things get into this country under the radar, almost, so to speak. They haven't passed Australian safety tests, they are not being sold here by legal distributors.

Sometimes the stuff people buy is coming direct from China. Ebay isn't stopping any of it, every sale is a bit of extra commission to them and it is perfectly legal for them at the moment to allow those ads.

As far as your warning message goes, from what I have read of the replies, it seems to be just a generic message to alert you to the fact that there has been a recall of the type of product you bought. May not be the same brand, may have nothing to do with what you bought, but I'd guess it is their legal responsibility to do it, so they do it. You'll notice they don't take the extra step of checking if your particular product is the specific one under recall.

What I have taken from all this is that ebay, as a huge business enterprise, will stick strictly to the law, but it will rarely (that I can see) go above and beyond. There are just some items it is not worth buying on ebay, full stop. Not unless the seller is a licenced distributor and in that case, the price point isn't going to be much different anyway, you're better off to just go to the actual store. Anything electrical comes into that category. Plus phones and what have you.

As for buying direct from China, don't do it at all unless it is for non electrical incidentals that can't void your home insurance etc

You as buyer need to be the one doing the investigations, don't rely on ebay at all.

Yes; if I were more gracious, I would have pointed out their data flaws was well, but I was cruel enough to let them stew in their errors. I’m ashamed of myself…

davewil, you’re more gracious than I…

So again,   What is the item number, or don't you want the listing scrutinized

I just did a lazy search of 42v battery chargers in Australia.

Out of the first three, (in the list of about 250), two of the stores have product located in Dandenong.

Of course, they are registered in Hong Kong.

I only looked at the first 5 listings.

I am now curious to know the item number of the 42v charger purchased.

The difference between China as country of manufacture to a company, under contract, required to meet product specifications subject to quality control as per the Australian standards (a rigorous and expensive process), with product under warranty (fully enforceable under ACL) … and China as in a factory dodgily churning out cheapest possible unbranded items copying the look and the minimum function of the original item but not even bothering with composition of the components (making them of raw materials that are the cheapest possible and not as required for safe and effective function), the stated capacity or function or the quality or type of components “under the hood”…? Life and death.

There are regulations that apply to the supply of electrical equipment and appliances. The requirements set out in the regulations must be followed. A failure to do so is a criminal offence.”

“Regulations and Standards apply to all electrical equipment sold or offered for supply in Australia.    Certain types of equipment are classified as prescribed. These pieces of equipment must go through a certification process which ensures the equipment is compliant to the relevant safety standards before being offered for supply in Australia.”

“Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM)

Prescribed electrical products must have an RCM on the appliance or an Australian approval number to show that the product has been certified.
This mark is currently recognised by all States and Territories of Australia.”

Don’t buy from Chinese sellers if you need a warranty, or if a flaw in the product could kill you. Buy only from the manufacturer or local distributor or approved Australian reseller - no grey imports, no unbranded rubbish, no cutting corners. If part of the reason why you’re buying a particular electronic item or battery etc is its cheaper price, stop and think and investigate and be suspicious lest you are being lured like a gormless garfish.

What is the item number.

To LEZNED - you responded too quickly and without any diligence.  If you'd checked, you would have discovered that the seller has been the subject of and eBay black mark in the last day or so for breach of ebay policy.  As far as "may have" - ebay actually posted a link to their email to me that provides far more information.  

As far as Sandypebbles  - I challenge you to buy anything on ebay not made in china.  As far as "before the fact".  What does that even mean?  My suggestion was that ebay should alter their product vetting processes so that they set a warning on the purchase prior to completion.  If the item is on a recall list, as the item I purchased was, the warning should appear prior to buyers committing to the purchase. 

Which part of "may have" are you having difficulties with comprehending in the stock, system generated email you have posted?

If eBay had confirmed the battery charger model you purchased has been recalled, they would remove the listings for that particular model.

If the item hasn't been removed, the email you received is simply a warning advising you to check if the item is/isn't among the battery charger models that have been recalled. The recommendation to stop using it until you do the research is also a standard comment, although it is basic common sense.

They send such emails to all buyers of a particular product - whether the one they purchased is on the list or not. I've had a few such messages over the years... a baby monitor and an electric kettle as a couple of examples. Neither of which was actually on the recall list, but other brands/models were.

Ask eBay

Or don't buy items which are a potential safety hazard at the best of times from some random seller on eBay

Plus, eBay do not vet/check listings 'before the fact' 

You will notice the 'seller assumes all responsibility for' on every listing

Plus, if this battery charger was from the seller in China you bought from that is 100% on you

Batteries/battery chargers etc from random sellers in China are not to Australian safety standards to start with

You really can't choose to buy such items from sellers registered in China and then try to say eBay does not care about safety