Recall message on eclipse glasses

[als88]

Hello als88,

We take product safety very seriously. We’re reaching out to you because an item you purchased may have been recalled or pose a safety hazard. We recommend that you stop using this product. If you have questions about the item(s), please reach out to the seller or the manufacturer. Item details are listed below. 

More specific details are provided below.

If you have any problems, we recommend that you contact your payment provider to dispute the charge.

Item details: 114838129732 - 3-Pack Eclipse Glasses! Total Solar Eclipse! Safe New USA NASA ISO CE Authentic


If you have questions, please go to "Help & Contact" at the top of most eBay pages.

Thanks,
eBay

Please don't reply to this message. It was sent from an address that doesn't accept incoming email.

eBay Document ID: 139863155000

Anyone else get this message? The seller claims the glasses are legit. Why would ebay send out this message?

[airsheep]

You actually don't need the full welding mask -- #14 welder's glass (which you can buy on its own to replace the glass in a mask) is sufficient.  Just make sure you look THROUGH it when looking at the eclipse.

ETA:  We use eclipse viewing binoculars from one of the AAS approved manufacturers.

[home_mobile]

I'm a seller of similar eclipse glasses. They are ISO certified and their manufacturer is listed on the American Astronomical Association’s website as an approved supplier. The glasses were purchased directly from the manufacturer, and the bill of lading and return address shows that it was the manufacturer I purchased from. Everything lines up.

I have a feeling eBay's legal team got panicky because there are likely a few bad actors out there, and instructed the operations team to take down the vast majority of eclipse glasses listings. Apparenlty, eBay wants the ISO certification to be approved by a US-based testing company, and has seem to forgotten that ISO (international standards organization), which is Swiss based, is an international standard, not a US standard. The testing company my mfg used is ISO certified, publically traded, and backed by JP Morgan. So what really is happening, they're mostly protecting their own hides in a sloppy manner. They will believe their action of removing all will have fewer consequences (slightly lowered buyer/seller sentiment) than if just 2 or 3 out of 1 million customers damage their eyes with fake eclipse glasses and sue the company.

[home_mobile]

It looks like most sellers of eclipse glasses listings were removed last weekend. The eclipse glasses I offered were  ISO certified and approved by the American Astronomical Association. 99% of these glasses are made in China - regardless if you purchase from eBay, a convenience store, or Wal-mart, almost all come from China. 

eBay's legal team got worried because in all likelihood, there are probably a few sellers selling non-ISO glasses, and therefore ordered the majority of eclipse glasses listings to be removed. They aren't going to analyze each sellers' listings (way too much work) to verify compliance,  so they instead take the easy way out and remove most eclipse glasses and scare the heck out of its customers. That is the safer path for them to protect themselves from legal risk versus risking a lawsuit from a handful of people (out of hundreds of thousands) who purchases these on eBay.  This is about eBay protecting itself more than it is eBay protecting buyers. 

[denise0006]

Yes, I got that notice for solar glasses I had ordered from eBay. I'm not going to use them due to also reading warnings about ones that aren't sufficient to block the solar rays. I don't want to risk that. I got a refund, then bought a different brand from Lowe's.