When you buy a bike helmet or child car seat, one thing matters most: will it protect you or a loved one in a crash? We trust that these products are tested to be safe. But that’s not always the case.
In a new investigation, Consumer Reports found bike helmets that don’t meet basic safety standards sold on major websites, and that’s not the only potentially phony safety gear you might find online.
Child car seats protect our most precious cargo. While scrolling on websites with third-party sellers, like Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, Walmart, or eBay, you might think you found a deal, but it might be a dud.
If you end up with a knockoff child car seat, you don’t have the guarantee that it was tested to meet the minimum safety standards. If you can’t find the mandatory safety language, model numbers, date of manufacture, or manufacturer contact info, that’s a red flag.
For car seats, there are a few telltale signs. Some copycats have narrow straps like those on a stroller or a high chair. Knockoffs may lack a chest clip. Before you click buy, make sure the seller is the manufacturer or a major retailer. You can also buy it in person to ensure you get the real McCoy.
Bike helmets are another thing you should not buy from third-party sellers. Consumer Reports’ product safety experts recently bought 21 helmets from third-party sellers on Amazon, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Shein, Temu, and Walmart. Eight of the helmets lacked the required sticker or label declaring compliance with Consumer Product Safety Commission standards, meaning they didn’t meet the legal requirements for bike helmets sold in the U.S.
Consumer Reports policy experts say this is unacceptable. U.S. liability laws are outdated, and online marketplaces often use them to shield themselves from taking responsibility for the safety of goods sold by third parties on their platforms. That needs to change.
When contacted about these noncompliant helmets, Shein, Temu, and Walmart took down the listings. The listing for the helmet CR bought from eBay was already down, and the company removed a listing for an identical helmet from a different seller.
While CR did not find a noncompliant helmet on Amazon in the investigation, a bike helmet sold on Amazon was recalled soon after the study for not meeting CPSC standards.
Meta, the owner of Facebook Marketplace, didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.
If you discover you’ve bought a counterfeit, return it immediately and report it to the online retailer. That alert could help stop the sale of more fakes and keep others from unknowingly buying unsafe products.
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