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Any daredevils still interested in buying a hoverboard will find it harder to get one now.
On Tuesday, Amazon.com pulled all its hoverboards from its website, leaving only accessories such as decals and wheels still available. An advertisement for the Razor Hovertrax hoverboard leads to a nearly empty page on the website.
Amazon’s decision comes days after the US Consumer Product Safety Commission deemed all hoverboards unsafe, saying they “pose an unreasonable risk of fire” if they don’t meet voluntary safety standards. No hoverboards currently on the market meet those standards.
Hoverboard troubles
- Here’s how UL tests hoverboards to see if they explode
- Here are the reasons why so many hoverboards are catching fire
- Before you even think of buying a hoverboard, read this
Amazon declined to comment on its move, which follows similar decisions by Target and Toys “R” Us to pull the self-balancing scooters from their websites.
The moves by retailers will likely brake the explosive popularity of hoverboards, which was already slowing. The devices became a hugely popular — if misnamed — mode of transportation during the holiday season, but then were found to be major safety hazards. Reports of the motorized boards catching fire started appearing in December.
No more hoverboards here, but these decals are still for sale.
Amazon
The CPSC said last month that any customer who bought a hoverboard on Amazon.com could return the scooter for a refund by contacting Amazon. That policy is likely to continue.
Amazon’s UK arm already emailed some customers in December to tell them to throw out their hoverboards, and Amazon started removing some hoverboards from its US site the same month.
Mashable earlier reported on Amazon’s decision to remove all hoverboards from its site.
The CPSC said last week that hoverboards should be certified safe by Underwriters Laboratories, a widely used independent testing firm, and meet United Nations requirements for lithium-ion battery products.
UL began accepting hoverboards for testing in February, but has not certified any boards yet.
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