C E marking

[bernardgreen]

Could C E marking on some equipment stand for Caveat Emptor ?

 

[phatboy]

It is possible the Chinese are using this as the meaning on the tat they are manufacturing.

Or simply Chinese Export.

Something should really be done to prevent the import of this junk, but I can;t think how?

 

[bernardgreen]

Or simply Chinese Export.

Chinese Excrement

Unfortunately the demand by the general public for cheap items means the profits from importing sub-standard, fake and often dangerous equipment are very high. High enough to pay for the development of methods to avoid the stuff being detected at import and cover losses when a consignment is seized.

Maybe more severe penalties on the shops that sell the stuff to make it no longer profitable for them to sell the stuff.

 

[phatboy]

Please elaborate!? What is being done to 'hide' these consignments?

I thought it was just crossing borders without question.

I previously bought a few Chinese pieces of electrical junk, power supplies etc. Was amazed at a UK plug with no fuse, and a partially insulated earth terminal. At that point I doubted the whole product, and returned it for a refund.

Also they seem to have got very clever, and made Apple phone chargers that are absolutely identical to the real ones.... very worrying.

 

[JohnW2]

Unfortunately the demand by the general public for cheap items means the profits from importing sub-standard, fake and often dangerous equipment are very high. High enough to pay for the development of methods to avoid the stuff being detected at import and cover losses when a consignment is seized.

True - but that's a general truth which applies across the board to most types of product, certainly not only electrical, or CE marked' ones.

Maybe more severe penalties on the shops that sell the stuff to make it no longer profitable for them to sell the stuff.

Have you married BAS? As so often discussed (and not worth any significant 'repeat discussion' yet again!), it is really (IMO) unfair to expect retailers (particularly small ones) to be able to identify the 'dodgy' imports, especially when they have been bought "in good faith". Mere 'cheapness' does not prove that there is anything wrong with a product. IMO, they have a right to assume that anything which has been 'allowed in' to the UK has been subject to scrutiny by the relevant authorities (so that is where, IMO, the 'improvement' is required). If you don't agree with that, at a very least they should 'go after' (and apply severe penalties to) the importers, not retailers or 'facilitators' (BAS appears to live in some sort of Utopia {sometimes called 'Cloud 9'} in which the likes of Amazon Marketplace and eBay could reasonably be expected to verify independently the legitimacy/safety/etc. of every item which is sold with their assistance).

Kind Regards, John

 

[SimonH2]

Agreed, it's the importers who need to be held to account. But the chain starts with finding it on sale - then it should be an acceptable defence on the part of the retailer to show that it was bought in good faith from a wholesaler who told them it was "legal".

 

[ericmark]

I have and I am sure many other have also accepted sub-standard goods as I know the way I use them is not going to cause a problem and it was super cheap.

I bought a charger for my camera battery it came with an adaptor USA plug to UK unfused and has a swing USA connector which does not comply with the IP rating.

Caveat emptor (CE) works well for me not only does this item do what I wanted it also has the added feature that it will also charge my battery from a 12 volt car supply and is smaller than the original charger which I misplaced and the non complainant bit I am not worried about I can allow for it.

Why should I be forced to pay more for items because some people can't use some common sense and realise Chinese Export (CE) stuff needs a little extra care when using it.

 

[bernardgreen]

it is really (IMO) unfair to expect retailers (particularly small ones) to be able to identify the 'dodgy' imports~~snip~~ If you don't agree with that, at a very least they should 'go after' (and apply severe penalties to) the importers, not retailers or 'facilitators'

If there were no retailers to move the illegal imports then there would be less incentive ( less profit ) for the importers to continue importing the stuff.

I will accept that some retailers and wholesalers will not be able to detect illegally imported items from the appearance of the item and/or packaging but the low price should be at least a warning that the items may not be genuine. That should lead them to ask more questions.

Unfortunately there are retailers who do not care enough about the well being of their customers but care only about more profit and criminal "wholesalers" who will push illegal items onto the market.

 

[ericmark]

To import and sell goods in a retail outlet is very different to importing and selling as distance sellers.

I fully support the idea that if I go into my local Super Market the goods should comply.

But if I use distance shopping and buy from paper or internet or magazine then it's let the buyer beware (Caveat emptor).

We should be at liberty to decide whether to play safe and buy from local Super Market or take a chance and use the internet.

OK I like many others have been caught out. I bought a 3kVA inverter with 6kVA peak which was a load of rubbish but if I balance this against the many items which may not fully comply with UK regulations but never the less do what they say they should do at a fraction of the high street store price I think on the whole I have done well.

If I take one example in a Radio Rally I bought a two meter transceiver handy for around £40 and with it came one of the USA to UK socket converters without any fuse. To use the Item requires me to hold a Amateur Radio Licence and to get that licence one has to pass the RAE or similar exam which means one should be well aware of the dangers of an un-fused adaptor. I just can't see the problem! Anyone who bought that radio should have been well aware of the dangers.

I use those un-fused converters every day plugged into a 4 socket extension lead knowing there is a 13A fuse in the plug of the extension lead so there is no danger of overload.

Give me a good reason why I should be prevented buying cheap items because some other fool can't get it into his head cheap means danger and Caveat emptor?

 

[bernardgreen]

We should be at liberty to decide whether to play safe and buy from local Super Market or take a chance and use the internet.

I agree, but as you say you are aware of the hazards of buying via the internet.

Those without your knowledge cannot protect themselves from the criminals selling dangerous items via the internet.

If a supermarket sells dangerous food by accident or ignorance of a deceptive supplier the supermarket takes the blame. A shop selling dangerous electrical equipment seems to escape the blame and only losses what is left of the dangerous stock.

 

[JohnW2]

If there were no retailers to move the illegal imports then there would be less incentive ( less profit ) for the importers to continue importing the stuff.

Of course, but that doesn't make it any easier, any more practical (or, IMO, any more reasonable/fair) to expect a retailer to be able to identify dodgy goods.

I will accept that some retailers and wholesalers will not be able to detect illegally imported items from the appearance of the item and/or packaging ...

Exactly - that's what I said.

... but the low price should be at least a warning that the items may not be genuine. That should lead them to ask more questions.

... and you believe that the answer they got 'if they asked more questions' would be an admission that it was an illegal import?

Kind Regards, John

 

[ericmark]

I go around high street shops and I see

these for sale with no BS1363 on them clearly therefore not complying with British regulations.

I have seen them in public places from dentist to doctor and found my daughter was told to buy them by the council inspector.

The rest becomes rather minor in comparison.

 

[securespark]

Have you married BAS?

 

[SimonH2]

Give me a good reason why I should be prevented buying cheap items because some other fool can't get it into his head cheap means danger and Caveat emptor?

Because :
a) Cheap does not automatically == dangerous; and conversely "not cheap" does not automatically mean safe.
b) More importantly, most people have no way of knowing if something is safe or not. Lets face it, if a professional electrician probably cannot tell if a sealed plug in power supply is safe AND complies with other requirements such as not making his neighbours radio stop working. Yes he can probably spot some "gross" issues such as incorrect pin design - but can he look at the circuitry from the outside and see if it's been properly designed ?

Lets take an analogy. To many people, tyres are expensive round black things<period>. For a given size, there is usually a selection of makes/models/prices. Only a few experts would be able to look at the cheap option and work out if it's OK, or if it's likely to blow out if they do 70 on the motorway. So we have to expect that any tyre on sale is safe, and that the supply chain is policed at least enough that we can be reasonably confident of that.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Something should really be done to prevent the import of this junk, but I can;t think how?

Oh, I can.