Selling Electronics in Australia: Do Ebay care about Australian standards (C-Tick, A-Tick, RCM)

[dealbytimmy]

Pretty much what the subject line says...

I sell quite a few electronic goods on Ebay which all adhere with ACMA guidelines re: safety. 

It's disheartening to see so many imported items being listed which (I'm assuming) don't carry the C-Tick or equivalent marks to prove they've been approved for sale in Australia.

I could easily set up an account with Chinese manufacturers and drop ship items or buy in bulk from them to sell in Australia, but I don't want to pay fines (or have the guilt) if my items burn someone's house down or kill someone.

I know Ebay says that if you sell electronics in Australia they must comply with Australian standards, but in reality ,it seems like they don't give a hoot who sells what - as long as they make money.

Does the ACMA check Ebay and request listings to be removed? 

It would be easy enough for electronics listings to require you to tick a box stating that the goods comply with Australian standards.

Any thoughts?

[phorum_junkie*]

Ebay could check every listing for electrical goods but who is going to pay the enormous number of staff hours and the infrastructure needed? By the time they applied that cost across the board in extra fees then nobody would be able to sell anything.

Why should ebay be any different to any other venue which allows others to sell? Much of the cheap Chinese stuff that can electrocute people or set their houses on fire is sold in the 'cheapie' stores but Westfield or whoever else owns the shopping centre are not going to check the products individual stores sell.

Having the correct markings is no guarantee anyway, I saw a documentary in the UK where a reporter with a hidden camera was shown round a factory where they sold dangerous plugs, sockets, lights, leads etc. and you could pick out whichever safety marks like C-Ticks, Kite Marks or whatever was wanted from a catalogue.

Buyers should use common sense and wonder why the item they are buying is a tiny proportion of the real retail cost. If they don't then it is not ebay or Westfield's fault.

[dealbytimmy]

I agree that a lot of people do it. I guess if prosecutions for selling el-cheapo stuff which caused damage were more public then people might think twice about selling stuff which hasn't been vetted for safe use in Australia.

[station254]

I have a device here which would never pass Australian Standards. It has no EMI filtering at all on the mains side. Naturally it came from China. I bought it knowing this however, and am technically able to upgrade it.

I would never assume items directly from China do meet safety standards, it's not uncommon for them to have worthless standards marks. Even then some of those hoverboards that caught fire did meet standards, it's just the standards didn't cover battery safety issues.