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Hoverboards are a hot holiday gift, but they might not be for sale
Drones, bluetooth headphones and hoverboards,
oh my! These are a few of the gadgets and gizmos topping holiday wish
lists for kids and adults this year. Hoverboards, in particular, have
become ubiquitous -- even getting featured in a “Saturday Night Live” parody this weekend -- but in the process have landed at the center of some controversy.
The self-balancing motorized scooter was banned from New York City streets and sidewalks in November because they are classified as motorized vehicles that can’t be registered with the DMV.
But the more immediate concern for consumers is their
potential risk: Hoverboards have have been causing falling accidents
and fires. The boards are banned entirely in the U.K. and most major
airlines like Delta (DAL), American (AAL), United (UAL), JetBlue (JBLU), Alaska Airlines, and Singapore Airlines have banned them from being brought onto flights
because of the fire hazard risk their lithium ion batteries present.
The restrictions stem from evidence that hoverboards are causing serious
physical harm.
Some big retailers have responded too: Last week Amazon (AMZN)’s U.K. site offered refunds to customers and told them to throw out their hoverboards. “We
regret the inconvenience this may cause you but trust you will
understand that your safety and satisfaction is our highest priority,”
Amazon wrote in an email to customers. And this month Overstock (OSTK) announced it would stop selling hoverboards.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s deputy
director Patty Davis told Yahoo Finance that there have been 12 reports
of hoverboard fires
in 10 states in 2015. There have also been 39 hoverboard fall- and
collision-related emergency room visits this year. The injuries range
from minor fractures and abrasions to concussions.
“Hospitals report to us directly,” Davis says. “And
we hear from consumers directly as well as through news reports. We’re
opening new investigations as soon as we hear of an incident.”
CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye released a statement
last week responding to hoverboard safety concerns. He noted that
“there is no safety standard in place for hoverboards.” He also provided
several suggestions to minimize risk of an accident: make sure not to
charge a hoverboard overnight or directly after riding, and avoid buying
the product at a location (like a mall kiosk) or from a website that
doesn’t have information about the seller.
Scooter maker Razor USA clinched an exclusive licensing deal with Hovertrax last month. Currently, Razor Hovertrax is the only hoverboard brand available at Target (TGT). Swagway, another popular hoverboard brand, has products listed
on Target’s site but they’re not available for purchase. (Target
removed the listings last week to ensure they had battery and charger
safety documentation. The retailer said they could repost listings as
soon as Tuesday if they deemed the hoverboards safe.)
Carlton Calvin, founder and president of Razor USA,
told Yahoo Finance that despite the controversy, he has confidence
retailers will continue to carry the Hovertrax (it’s still being sold on Amazon.com). Hoverboards range from $200 to $1800; Razor’s retails for $600.
“We are in conversation with Amazon all the time
because they’re a good customer of ours. We’re talking with them about
compliance and providing them with information all the time,” Calvin
says.
When asked what kinds of manufacturing intricacies differentiate Hovertrax from its competitors like PhunkeeDuck, Jetson Electric and IO Hawk,
Calvin was not able to share specifics. Instead, he highlighted Razor’s
decade-long history as a manufacturer. “We sell more electric scooters
than anybody else in the world. So that involves really working hard on
the supply chain and making sure the suppliers are qualified in making
high quality components,” he says.
Calvin noted that Razor scooters were received with
the same kind of resistance when they were first introduced in 2000.
“Razor is used to controversy. When we first came out with the scooter,
there were a lot of safety concerns… People are going to have to become
comfortable with the product to understand that, like anything, it takes
a little while to learn how to use, but once you do, I think you can be
really solid and secure on it,” he says.
And Calvin claims that being the original
handlebar-less scooter gives the company a certain level of credibility.
Hovertrax was created by Inventist founder Shane Chen and holds a
patent, which he filed for in 2012. “This is actually the original
invention that was done by Shane Chen. So we are the only licensee of
Shane Chen making the original hoverboard,” says Calvin.
Whether people will value the concept of the original
product, especially with other established brand heavyweights like
Segway entering the market, remains to be seen.
Segway’s chief executive Rod Keller told The Wall Street Journal that the company will unveil a product aimed at the consumer market at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
It’s nothing short of perplexing that there are new entrants
during such a precarious time for these gizmos. But perhaps the only
thing that will give any manufacturer a leg up will be having a squeaky
clean safety record.http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hoverboards-are-a-hot-holiday-gift--but-they-might-not-be-for-sale-201428846.html
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