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This Deal Is On Fire!

Keep buying the knock-offs and they’ll keep burning up.

3/27/2017 | Jeff Jacobs, The Brand Protector

Earlier this month two young girls, ages three and 10, were killed in a hoverboard accident in Pennsylvania. Neither girl was riding it – it was just plugged in and charging. The hoverboard apparently overheated and created a fire that destroyed the sisters’ home, killing them both, and critically injuring another young girl. An adult jumped from the second floor of the house to safety, while three other occupants had to be rescued with ladders. A veteran firefighter also lost his life in a car accident on the way to the firehouse to help fight the fire. “They heard some sizzling and crackling in the hoverboard and shortly thereafter, it exploded in flames,” the local fire chief told ABC News after talking to the family. The chief continued, “We’ve seen too many fires and too many fire fatalities as a result of these hoverboards.” This house fire is like an earlier fire in Nashville, TN, where the family is suing Amazon for $1 million, and another previous home loss in Alabama. The only difference is, nobody died in those two house fires.

Half a million hoverboards were recalled last July by the CPSC, that list is here. But, the fact is that only a small percentage of those hoverboards have been returned to date, and the counterfeits with dangerous batteries continue to find their way into the country. Why? Because they are a DEAL, and who can resist a HOT DEAL? If you insist on owning, or selling one of these things into the promotional products market, UL introduced a new voluntary safety standard (UL2272) that addresses the charging issues. There is an online directory to find UL certified devices, and you can check an updated list here. Just enter “FKIS” into the category code field to find all currently certified manufacturers. Whatever you do, before you sell, or use, a hoverboard, please take the time to make sure it has not been recalled, and is on the current UL-certified list.

Electronics and their accessories, footwear, handbags, outerwear, home entertainment – the fake list goes on. The manufacture and sale of counterfeit goods is a global problem, and one that damages the businesses of legitimate suppliers. The International Trade Association is estimating the worldwide impact to be $4 trillion by 2022 – and yes, that’s trillion, with a “t.” So, even buying that seemingly harmless knockoff phone charger to complete a program for your client can contribute to the bigger problem.

It isn’t just taking money away from the legit suppliers of product, there is genuine risk to your end-user clients. A genuine Apple adapter safely takes input voltage ranging from 100 to 240V AC and converts it to 5V DC. The idea is wherever in the world it is used, the adapter will convert high-voltage electricity from an outlet into low-voltage to safely charge the phone. But, in published research from IP Watchdog, 400 counterfeit iPhone adapters with unauthorized certification marks were subjected to two product certification tests – an electric strength test and a touch current test. The counterfeit adapters were obtained from multiple sources in eight different countries from around the world, including the United States, Canada, Colombia, China, Thailand, and Australia. Only three of the 400 samples passed the electric strength test – a 99 percent failure rate – and 12 of them were so poorly designed and constructed that they posed a risk of lethal electrocution.

Based on the number of phone chargers that I’ve seen given away as promotional items at events and conferences, it’s safe to say that a fair number of readers have sourced these products for customers, likely at their request. But how do you feel now about the ”deal” you have, or are, putting together for your best clients? Is it worth the risk to save a few bucks? Do your clients even understand the risk they are taking? If not, is it incumbent upon you to tell them about those risks before they decide to make a purchase? Hopefully, that’s food for thought for you moving forward.

Jeff Jacobs has been an expert in building brands and brand stewardship for more than 35 years, working in commercial television, Hollywood film and home video, publishing, and promotional brand merchandise. He’s a staunch advocate of consumer product safety and has a deep passion and belief regarding the issues surrounding compliance and corporate social responsibility. He recently retired as executive director of Quality Certification Alliance, the only non-profit dedicated to helping suppliers provide safe and compliant promotional products. Before that, he was director of brand merchandise for Michelin. As a recovering end-user client, he can’t help but continue to consult Fortune 500 consumer brands on promo product safety when asked. You can also find him working as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem, traveling the world with his lovely wife, or enjoying a cigar at his favorite local cigar shop. Follow Jeff on Twitter, or reach out to him at jacobs.jeffreyp@gmail.com.

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