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Amazon Recalls 260,000 Portable Power Banks For Fire Hazard (cnbc.com)
Amazon is recalling 260,000 AmazonBasics portable power banks that can "overheat and ignite," according to a release by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The company has received more than 50 reports of the power banks overheating in the U.S., causing chemical burns and property damage. CNBC reports: "Consumers should immediately unplug and stop using the recalled power banks and contact Amazon for instructions on how to return the unit and receive a full refund," the release says. Amazon is contacting everyone who purchased one of the affected devices. The recall covers six versions of the AmazonBasics portable battery: 16,100 mAh; 10,000 mAh; 5,600 mAh; 2,000 mAh with micro USB cable; 3,000 mAh; and 3,000 mAh with USB micro cable.
How else will I be able to recharge my Chinese knock-off hoverboard from Amazon?
Amazon Basics came about because Amazon got jealous of all the fly by night companies that were creating storefronts on Amazon and eBay for dropshipping from aliexpress. The bigger players in this space actually get the Chinese manufacturers to slap their logo on the product / box. Other than that, the item you get from any of the dozen companies (including Amazon) is identical.
It's true for everything from portable battery packs, to USB power adapters, to primary cell batteries, to "hover" boards, to solar lights, to RGB light strips, to mandolin slicers, to slow cookers, to beard trimmers, to everything else made in China.
The only reason to buy the Amazon Basics brand is if it is somehow cheaper after considering tax and shipping (occasionally even Amazon needs to clear stock), or if you expect it to fail soon and want the more generous return/refund policy of a "shipped and sold by Amazon" item.
I'm sure most people buy Amazon Basics because Amazon would've vetted their suppliers. You can go to Ali Express, but you're taking a crapshoot on stuff like power banks that are so shoddily made they are time bombs.
Basically it's Ali Express with the dodginess removed. And a modicum of support, because US company after all.
Except Amazon doesn't vet the suppliers for shit, just like they don't vet the 3rd parties they allow onto their storefront and take stock from. (The "Fulfilled by Amazon" program allows a 3rd party seller to dump fake/bad/whatever stock of an item into Amazon's warehouse so Amazon can handle the logistics of picking, packaging, and shipping the item. Amazon commingles stock though, so even if your item is "shipped and sold by Amazon.com", it could in fact come from the pile of fakes/defectives from a shady 3rd party.)
And even if Amazon did strongly vet the suppliers, that's not enough. Chinese manufacturing is such that you have to sample and check from every single shipment, lest they try to pull some bullshit on you 3 months down the line. Or you can just ship it all and have a generous return policy, but that doesn't prevent battery packs from exploding on people, does it Jeff?