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Amazon stops selling most "hoverboard" scooters

8 years 4 months 1 week ago Monday, December 14 2015 Dec 14, 2015 December 14, 2015 4:23 PM December 14, 2015 in News
Source: WBRZ / CNN
By: Russell Jones

SEATTLE, Wa. - One of the most talked-about gift items this holiday season has hovered off the digital shelves of Amazon.com.

The company removed nearly all models of the popular "hoverboard" self-balancing scooters over the weekend, according to CNN Money. This comes after months of reports some models of the scooters can catch fire, which happened to an Ascension Parish family earlier this month.

CNNMoney said self-balancing scooters from IO Hawk, PhunkeeDuck and others had been removed. Brands including Razor, Jetson, and Hover X still had their products listed for sale.

One scooter manufacturer, Swagway, said Amazon sent out notices asking sellers to prove their scooters "are compliant with applicable safety standards, including UN 38.3 (battery), UL 1642 (battery), and UL 60950-1 (charger)." Swagway's model was one which Amazon pulled from sale, and the company said they have sent the required information to Amazon.

Some major airlines banned them from flights last week because of the fire risk. Authorities in Britain declared in October the devices were illegal to ride in public, and a month later New York City authorities also banned them.

Overstock also removed scooters from sale, though retailers including Walmart, Toys R Us, Sharper Image and eBay still had them available as of Monday.

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