Dangerous eBay listings can be removed by regulators

Obvious common sense stuff not an issue, but what about the dodgy wiring Drummond I got last week?

What about the power shaper I got a couple of years ago which is totally banned by Elf and safety for business use

As long as they stay sensible...

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Dangerous eBay listings can be removed by regulators

Online seller eBay says it is handing regulators the power to take down dangerous listings without consulting the company.

Officials will be able to remove items "where they have evidence of a risk to consumer safety", eBay said.

In the UK, that will include the Office for Product Safety and Standards and internet regulator Ofcom.

**LINK**

The problem with that is while rightly protecting the unwitting buying in all innocence, items sold commercially but potentially dangerous as new, would it stop genuine sales of things like second-hand machine-tools?

We as model-engineers know very well that if we buy an elderly lathe or shaper that its motor and switch could be dangerous. We know that its mechanical parts won't have interlocked guards and the like. We take the risk and can put the faults right - when I bought my ex-university jig-borer I did not even try using its owner-built inverter but replaced it and the motor with a brand new, matched set from Newton-Tesla.

Agents like e-Bay have to cover their backs and cannot fairly be expected to know the safety or otherwise of goods sold via it, even if legally considered responsible. What worries me is if it makes it harder to buy or sell machines or tools privately; blocked by officials constrained to rule-book absolutism.

We as model-engineers know very well that if we buy an elderly lathe or shaper that its motor and switch could be dangerous.

But what about the newbies (and a lot of other model-engineers who are not electrically minded/competent)? I expect that, legally, any second hand electrical items should either be sold with a current PAT test or without a plug attached.🙂

If I was trying to sell an item that I knew to be dangerous on eBay then I aught to know better and shouldn't be surprised if the advert was taken down. If I was selling a Myford for example that had a Drummond switch I would remove it and just sell the lathe.

In practice I suspect that aBay are being compliant by taking reasonable steps to ensure personal safety. I doubt actually if this will make any difference to us as Model Engineers.

regards Martin

I have a notice prominently displayed in my workshop which states that as a condition of entry to the premises persons do so entirely at their own risk! There is also a notice which states the use of any machinery is only to be undertaken by technically competent persons with accredited authorisation. Probably means nothing in a Court of Law but as it is private property its a good shout as far as I'm concerned!

This Fleabay ruling will/can have quite serious implications, apart from unguarded, non interlocked machinery using dangerous 'sharp' cutting edges - for instance, does the sale of brake components for vehicles, where the fitting of such parts in 'unregulated', breach Elfin Safety laws? Does the sale of engine components potentially encourage modifications to vehicles which breach emissions laws? Does the sale of any electrical item of greater than 60Volt potentially breach electrical safety issues? This looks like a bottomless pit of litigation coming to a court room nearby.

Why does everybody want to be a 'victim' of their own stupidity? The world is going bonkers!!

Martin

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A very clever move on ebay’s part, I think

With great power comes great responsibility [Voltaire]

Teflon-coated, Guiness-bottle-shaped shoulders spring to mind.

MichaelG.

Hi, I guess it can cause many restrictions of what one can sell or buy. For instance, the Hobbymat lathe that I bought many years ago now from a well known trader, may well have been taken down, as the on/off switch was busted and the guard over the Vee belts was missing, yet it still had the flex and plug-top with a fuse fitted. It was clearly stated that it needed repairing and of course I wasn't stupid enough to plug it in before at least doing something with it first.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 10/05/2021 16:03:48

There is no legal authority within the UK legal system for any regulator to prevent the sale of second hand machinery, no-one has any power to prevent the sale of such items including on a marketplace such as ebay.

There is the power to restrict the sale of new items that don't comply to standards, which is what the linked news story is about.

You can all calm down now.

It must be welcome that brand new substandard electrical fitting can be taken down but if the net get gets spread wider it may become a nuisance.