Amazon has pulled most hoverboards from its US and UK websites

Anyone looking to buy a two-wheeled personal transportation device known as a “hoverboard” for a Christmas gift is about to find it a lot harder—Amazon has suspended sales of most devices on its websites in the US and the UK.

Following a rash of explosions and house fires connected to hoverboards, Amazon has asked all hoverboard manufacturers to provide documentation they are following all applicable safety standards, as first reported by gadget site BestReviews, and laterconfirmed by the Verge.

Hoverboard’s sudden surge in popularity came in the midst of a patent war, opening the door to dozens of importers who are purchasing shoddy products from manufactures in China, as Quartz has recently reported.

A look at Amazon’s US and UK websites confirms there’s been a swift cleanup.

Last week, searching “hoverboard” on Amazon in the US yielded hundreds of listings for vehicles:

Now, Amazon’s US website only lists hoverboards made by Razor or Jetson—all other listings are for accessories. Razor recently purchased the US patents for a self-balancing, handle-free scooter from engineer Shane Chen and investor Mark Cuban.

Amazon’s UK site has undergone a similar cleanup—the only hoverboard now available is from a company called Smartrax. The safety concerns don’t seem to have extended to Amazon’s India site, though, where dozens of brands are still available:

Amazon has told its US hoverboard sellers that they must prove their products have passed certain tests from UL, a private company that tests chargers and batteries (among other things) for safety in the US. Swagway, one of the better-known importers, provided the following statement to the Verge:

Amazon just sent out a notice to all “hoverboard” sellers to “provide documentation demonstrating that all hoverboards you list are compliant with applicable safety standards, including UN 38.3 (battery), UL 1642 (battery), and UL 60950-1 (charger).”

Swagway already meets all those certifications and is happy that Amazon has decided to take steps to weed out the low quality boards. As safety is always on the forefront for Swagway, we’re glad that this is taking place, especially in light of recent concerns with the fires with the poor quality batteries.

On that note, we’re also in the process of working on measures, to help consumers identify between an authentic Swagway and the many imitation boards that are adding our branded logo to their unauthorized boards. Meanwhile, we ask that consumers only purchase from authorized retailers as an added precaution.

Swagway claims its boards have been UL certified, but a Swagway board caught fire in Westchester, New York. The company did not respond to Quartz’s earlier requests for comment after the incident.

A representative for UL told Quartz earlier this month that no hoverboard brand had ever passed its tests.

Amazon isn’t the only major retailer to stop stocking the faddish product. Walmart stopped selling hoverboards in its brick-and-mortar outlets earlier this month, although it does sell Razor products online.

Hoverboard fallout: Amazon pulling some of the popular gadgets from its site after fires

Amazon is pulling some hoverboards from its site after numerous reports of fires caused by the popular gadget caused a safety concern.

Links to Swagway, a major hoverboard retailer and other companies have been removed from Amazon’s site, Best Reviews first reported.

“Amazon just sent out a notice to all ‘hoverboard’ sellers to ‘provide documentation demonstrating that all hoverboards you list are compliant with applicable safety standards, including UN 38.3 (battery), UL 1642 (battery), and UL 60950-1 (charger),'” a spokesperson for Swagway said in a statement toThe Verge.

This comes after a number of hoverboard-related fires were reported in recent weeks.

In early December, a hoverboard burst into flames while it was charging inside a New York home. Swagway was identified as the brand.

“As safety is always on the forefront for Swagway, we’re glad that this is taking place, especially in light of recent concerns with the fires with the poor quality batteries,” Swagway said in the statement.

Customers can still purchase a hoverboard made by Razor and Jetson.

Amazon isn’t the first online retailer removing the popular tech gadget.

Overstock.com announced earlier this week that it will stop selling hoverboards on its site effective immediately. The online retailer said it is removing them as a safety precaution.

“Customer safety is always our top priority,” Overstock.com General Counsel and Senior Vice President Mitch Edwards said.

Hoverboards have also been prohibited on multiple airlines and cities.

Delta, American, and United airlines banned hoverboards on planes this past week because they pose as a fire danger.

The NYPD said in November that anyone caught using one of these self-balancing scooters in the streets of New York can receive a $200 fine.

The Consumer Electronics Show has also banned the self-balancing scooters from being used at any of the convention’s venues.

The Consumer Technology Association, which hosts CES, posted a note on its website that said:

“Wheeled transport devices (with or without motors) are not permitted at any CES venue. This includes hoverboards, skateboards, uniwheels and all similar products.”

The devices were projected to be one of the top items on holiday wish lists. But now they’re being banned all over the place.

Hoverboard: What you need to know before you buy

Ever since Marty McFly zipped around on one in Back to the FuturePart II,peoplehave looked forward to the day they could own a hoverboard.

Here we are at the end of 2015 (the year in which that 1989 film was set), and though technicallynot a hoverboard, self-balancing boards are all the rage this holiday season and give the rider some sense of “hovering” above the ground.

If only, it actually worked like this:

The product, available from several manufacturers, is powered by a lithium batteryand operated by leaning in and balancing. Butwith reports of injuries and a price tag that isnt friendly for all budgets, the major question this holiday season isto buy or not to buy?

Heres a guide to help you navigate the pros and cons, the safety risks and whythe hoverboard has become the hottest gift of the holiday season.

Pros

Ease on down, ease on down the road:With a little practice and a lot of balance, thesehoverboards are fairly easy to use. With a little effort (seriously, lean forward, go forward) you are on your way. As you get more comfortable on your board, it becomes easier to maneuver itjust takes a little practice. (Not to mention this has to be a great core workout!)

You can get one: Though the hoverboard is the hot gift to get, it is also the expensive gift to buy, with most costing $300 to $500, from various manufactuers.So while demand may behigh, the price has kept thesepretty easy to obtain either via online retailers or through mall kiosks.

Not smaller than a breadbox, but smaller than a Segway: Self-balancing boards are much more compact than their handle-barred counterpart, the Segway, and they weigh much less. The average weight for these boards is 20 to 25 pounds, and they are small enough to stow away in a locker or a duffle bag for easy transportation.

No bus fare, no problem: Short on bus change? Not going far enough for an Uber? Feeling too lazy to walk? No problem. Grab your hoverboard and go. The self-balancing board can range in speed of up to 10 mph and travel10 to 15 miles on a charge.

Cons

It’s all about the money, money, money: Today’s hoverboards do not come cheap. You are looking at spending upwards of $300 and some can cost as much as $2,000.

Ride over a crack … : If you are not careful, serious injury can occur while riding on your hoverboard. Scroll on down to our safety section for more.

I am smoking! No really, my board is en fuego: Several reviews show some brands of hoverboards have issues with overheating some even to the point of catching fire. So if you are in warmer climates, you might want to wait until the temps are mild before going out on a long, leisurely ride. An Alabama man recently recorded his board catching fire after riding it a short distance, and inLafitte, La., afamily’s home was destroyed after a charging hoverboard caught fire.

You can’t ride that here: Many businesses and towns are putting limits on where hoverboards can be used. So though you may think it is cool to zip through the mall, mall security may not agree.

Is there a safe way to ride a hoverboard?

Hoverboards may look like a cool way to glide around the mall or neighborhood, but learning to ride the board isnt as easy as it looks.

Riding the board successfully requires a person to balance, which requires a lot of core abdominal strength, according to RobertGlatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.

He says the devices are problematic for several reasons.

If you have a weak core or weak set of abdominal muscles, there is an increased risk of falling forward or backward, which can cause elbow fractures, ankle injuries, wrist fractures and there is a risk for traumatic brain injury or concussion, Glatter told USA TODAY Network.

So even ifthings start out smoothly when riding the board, it just takes a moment to end up like this:

California recently passed legislation allowing hoverboards in areas where bicycles are allowed, but other cities, such asNew York, have banned the use of the boards on city streets.

The electric boards require ridersto steer with their feet and can also cause harm to others if the person isnt in control of the board.

While celebrities and advertisements for the hoverboards may not show people wearing protection, Glatter said people should protect themselves if they chose to use the boards.

Tips to safely ride a hoverboard:

Wear protection, and not just a helmet. That means you have to wear a helmet, pad around the knees, elbows and wrists. People have broken their tailbones from falling backward off of the hoverboards, so padding the lower back is also a good idea, according to Glatter.

Hoverboards probably arent a good idea for everyone. When it comes to riding a hoverboard, not all ages are equal. The elderly should be cautious because of the amount of balance and core abdominal strength required to balance on these devices, Glatter said.

If you are using a hoverboard, avoid crowds unless you feel completely comfortable with the board.

When using the board, avoid using cell phones or listening to music. Focus on using the board, so you avoid collisions with cars or people.

Parents should use caution when buying the boards for children, especially because of the control needed to operate the board.

So how did the hoverboard become so popular?

Google searches for IO Hawk and PhunkeeDuck the two biggest players in the hoverboard market remained relatively stagnant until earlier this summer when the hoverboard trend started to explode.

Search queries for the two-wheeled machines spiked in May and June, which correlate with a handful of viral social media posts from celebrities and athletes.

IO Hawk saw a surge in searches after pop singer Justin Bieber posted this video of him not-so-gracefully trying out his new toy:

Just two weeks prior, Kendall Jenner posted this tumble to her Instagram account:

Both have since garnered more than 1 million views on the social platform.

Another video, featuring Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith rolling into the lockerroom during Junes NBA Finals, correlated with a spike in searches for PhunkeeDuck.

Since late spring, scores of celebrities and athletes have taken to social media to show off their new toys, including John Legend, Jamie Foxxand Sean Kingston.

Rapper Wiz Khalifa was restrained in late August at Los Angeles International Airport for reportedly riding his hoverboard and refusing to ditch the technology everyone will be using in the next 6 months.”

Pop star Joe Jonas was videoed riding his IO Hawk into a pool as early as April during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this spring.

Searches within Google Shopping seem to correlate with the machines popularity among celebrities and athletes

Terms for the industries leading products also saw a spike in mid-May, with relative search volume peaking in late July, but dipping again before another uptick a week out from Black Friday.

So, are you in or are you out?

Hoverboards may not hover, but they’re a uniquely 21st-century toy

“Watch out for false confidence,” Darren Pereira warns me as I step onto a hoverboard.

Pereira, who started selling hoverboards earlier this year through his company, Hüüver, knows the device can be tricky, at least at first.

Unlike so many of the celebrities, including Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj, whose easy-gliding ways have helped make hoverboards the hot plaything of the moment, I am far from a graceful rider. Like everything else designed for teenagers, using it feels awkward and unnatural.

How to ride a 'hoverboard' and not crash and crack your head open ( Globe and Mail Update )

And no, hoverboards don’t actually hover. The technology that makes them so eye-catching – and makes a first-time user so unstable – is a battery, two gyroscopes and a logic board, among other parts, which contributes to the price tag ranging from $300 to $1,800, even though there is little difference between the actual products. They weigh 22 lbs and have a top speed of 10 kilometres an hour, which will get you to the mall that much faster. The battery takes slightly more than two hours to charge, and can power a board for nine hours.

They move with the slightest adjustment – lean forward and you’ll go forward, turn your head and look to your right and that’s where it will go. It looks like magic, without the clunky image of its technological cousin, the Segway. Unlike that decidedly uncool foray into mechanized personal transportation, if you have a teenager or a twentysomething in your life, this is the holiday gift they actually want.

Today’s hoverboards aren’t the same devices Marty McFly rode in Back to the Future Part II, but they are a uniquely 21st-century toy.

“There’s irrational excitement to step on to the future,” says Mark Payne, president of Fahrenheit 212, an innovation consultancy based in New York and London. “It’s going to be the go-to gift for a while.”

Payne’s 14-year-old son has been begging for one, even though he can’t explain why he wants one so badly.

Perhaps it’s the star power.

Kendall Jenner, Lily Allen and Jamie Foxx have all been seen riding hoverboards in recent months. The rapper Wiz Khalifa helped make hoverboards international news earlier this year when he was tackled by police while riding one through Los Angeles International Airport.

“I stand for our generation and our generation is gonna be riding hoverboards,” he said.

Everyone older than 30 probably shook their heads at the ridiculousness of that statement. Everyone younger probably nodded in agreement.

“Celebrities are the main driving factor for any kind of interest in these,” says Armida Ascano, vice-president of research strategy at Trend Hunter, a Toronto-based website dedicated to identifying everything at the forefront of what’s cool.

The first hoverboard, produced by Chic Robotics, a company in China, debuted in 2014. Ever since, other manufacturers have taken the basic idea – two wheels and a pair of gyroscopes – and churned out their own versions.

Pereira, who has worked in marketing for more than a decade, first saw a hoverboard at an electronics trade show in Las Vegas last year.

“I was like, ‘This is going to change the way we move,’” Pereira says.

He contacted the manufacturer and was told the minimum order was five.

“I ordered five and started in the hoverboard business,” Pereira says.

People always stop him as he rides his hoverboard around Toronto. He estimates he’s let up to 700 people try it, and then waits for their reactions.

“It’s always surprise and wonder,” he says.

But this isn’t just some plaything, Pereira says. It is the beginning of a sea change.

“We’re entering a robotics transportation revolution,” he says.

Aquiles Santana began selling hoverboards in Toronto this summer.

“The market I’m targeting is commuters,” he says. “You can get off the bus, the train or the subway and then continue riding that short distance [to work],” he says.

The optimistic hype is much like the early buzz that surrounded the Segway PT (personal transporter) when it was introduced in 2001. But the vehicle that was going to replace the automobile fizzled because of its high cost, impracticality and in no small part because of how ridiculous everyone looked while riding it.

Riding a hoverboard comes with plenty of self-consciousness, mostly because everyone you pass is looking at you like an animal they’ve never seen before and needing to decide: “Are you a threat? Are you adorable? Or are you just plain weird?”

If more people “hover,” the less strange it will become, of course. But that’s a big “if.”

A better name might help it be embraced by a large audience, says David Placek, chief executive officer of Lexicon Branding, a California-based company that has helped christen multiple products, from BlackBerry to Febreze.

“This is a truly new innovation, and it should have a new name,” Placek says.

The name “hoverboard” sets up expectations the actual product can’t fulfill: “For some it’s confusing, and I think for most of us it just underdelivers,” he says.

I wasn’t thinking about its name the first time I stepped onto a hoverboard.

My legs wobbled like a baby deer on ice.

“Those are hover legs,” Pereira told me.

It took me about 10 minutes to get comfortable. Then I began zipping around, testing what it could do. I stopped and stood on the thing. Then I lost my balance and fell off. I hit my butt hard on the pavement and nearly cracked my skull open.

As I would find out later, I am not alone. There’s a large and growing number of online videos of similar #hoverfails. The videos are all part of our fascination.

Once that wears off, however, hoverboards will have to find a way to become useful to us if they are going to last, Payne says.

“The need it’s serving right now is to be a little piece of the future and a cool new thing to try,” he says.

Beyond that, will they have a practical use? Just as we now see millennials and Gen-Y’ers hopping on and off skateboards as part of their commute, will we see the hoverboard gain traction and become part of the future routine of first adopters? That’s anyone’s guess. But while they’re here, enjoy the ride.

And if you plan on buying one as a holiday gift, don’t forget a helmet to go along with it.

How it works

The technology that makes a hoverboard work is designed to make it feel intuitive. The key to it all is gyroscopes, of which there are two.

Gyroscopes have a spinning wheel that is mounted so that its axis can turn in any direction, while the orientation of the wheel is totally unaffected by the tilting or spinning of the mountings. When you step onto the board, each gyroscope calibrates, basically establishing what is “flat.”

As you tilt your feet forward or back, switches activate battery-powered motors inside each wheel. Sensors inside the board tell the gyroscopes how far you are leaning, and that information is sent to the logic board – essentially the hoverboard’s brain.

The logic board then knows how fast to spin the motors in order to adjust to your centre of gravity. The more you tilt, the faster the wheels spin. If you tilt more with your right foot than your left, the right wheel will spin faster, allowing you to turn.

Would you buy a hoverboard for your child?

THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. -
We have made it back to the future...sort of. After calling for scientists to invent Marty McFly's hoverboard from the movie Back to the Future 2 by the year 2015, they have answered the call, in some sense

Although many hovercraft vehicles have been marketed as hoverboards, they haven't been shown to do exactly what's depicted in the movie.

But all the same, reports indicate that starting January 1, it will be legal to ride a hoverboard in California on bike lanes and pathways only.

Just as millions buy gifts for their children this holiday season, one Alabama family is saying the hoverboard they bought for their son burst into flames and the lithium ion batteries shot out of the board.



Alexandra Pierce is looking into the potential dangers and technology of hoverboards, and she'll even be riding one herself in the near future. Check back for her full report soon.

Hoverboard: What you need to know

They're called hoverboards, or electric scooters. New York City just banned them for safety reasons and they can cost anywhere from $350 to $2,000, so what do you need to know before buying one?

Ever since Marty McFly zipped around on one inBack to the Future Part II, people have looked forward to the day they could own a hoverboard.

Here we are at the end of 2015 (the year in which that 1989 film was set), and though technically not a hoverboard, self-balancing boards are all the rage this holiday season and give the rider some sense of "hovering" above the ground.

If only, it actually worked like this:

The product, available from several manufacturers, is powered by a lithium battery and operated by leaning in and balancing. But with reports of injuries and a price tag that isn’t friendly for all budgets, the major question this holiday season is — to buy or not to buy?

Here’s a guide to help you navigate the pros and cons, the safety risks and why the hoverboard has become the hottest gift of the holiday season.

Pros
Ease on down, ease on down the road: With a little practice and a lot of balance, these hoverboards are fairly easy to use. With a little effort (seriously, lean forward, go forward) you are on your way. As you get more comfortable on your board, it becomes easier to maneuver — it just takes a little practice. (Not to mention this has to be a great core workout!)

You can get one: Though the hoverboard is the hot gift to get, it is also the expensive gift to buy, with most costing $300 to $500, from various manufactuers. So while demand may be high, the price has kept these pretty easy to obtain — either via online retailers or through mall kiosks.

Not smaller than a breadbox, but smaller than a Segway: Self-balancing boards are much more compact than their handle-barred counterpart, the Segway, and they weigh much less. The average weight for these boards is 20 to 25 pounds, and they are small enough to stow away in a locker or a duffle bag for easy transportation.


No bus fare, no problem: Short on bus change? Not going far enough for an Uber? Feeling too lazy to walk? No problem. Grab your hoverboard and go. The self-balancing board can range in speed of up to 10 mph and travel 10 to 15 miles on a charge.

Cons
It's all about the money, money, money: Today's hoverboards do not come cheap. You are looking at spending upwards of $300 and some can cost as much as $2,000.


Ride over a crack ... : If you are not careful, serious injury can occur while riding on your hoverboard. Scroll on down to our safety section for more.

I am smoking! No really, my board is en fuego: Several reviews show some brands of hoverboards have issues with overheating — some even to the point of catching fire. So if you are in warmer climates, you might want to wait until the temps are mild before going out on a long, leisurely ride. An Alabama man recently recorded his board catching fire after riding it a short distance, and in Lafitte, La., a family's home was destroyed after a charging hoverboard caught fire.

You can't ride that here: Many businesses and towns are putting limits on where hoverboards can be used. So though you may think it is cool to zip through the mall, mall security may not agree.


Is there a safe way to ride a hoverboard?

Hoverboards may look like a cool way to glide around the mall or neighborhood, but learning to ride the board isn’t as easy as it looks.

Riding the board successfully requires a person to balance, which requires a lot of core abdominal strength, according to Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.

He says the devices are problematic for several reasons.

“If you have a weak core or weak set of abdominal muscles, there is an increased risk of falling forward or backward, which can cause elbow fractures, ankle injuries, wrist fractures and there is a risk for traumatic brain injury or concussion,” Glatter told USA TODAY Network.

So even if things start out smoothly when riding the board, it just takes a moment to end up like this:


California recently passed legislation allowing hoverboards in areas where bicycles are allowed, but other cities, such as New York, have banned the use of the boards on city streets.

The electric boards require riders to steer with their feet and can also cause harm to others if the person isn’t in control of the board.

While celebrities and advertisements for the hoverboards may not show people wearing protection, Glatter said people should protect themselves if they chose to use the boards.

Tips to safely ride a hoverboard:

• Wear protection, and not just a helmet. That means you “have” to wear a helmet, pad around the knees, elbows and wrists. People have broken their tailbones from falling backward off of the hoverboards, so padding the lower back is also a good idea, according to Glatter.

• Hoverboards probably aren’t a good idea for everyone. When it comes to riding a hoverboard, not all ages are equal. “The elderly should be cautious because of the amount of balance and core abdominal strength required to balance on these devices,” Glatter said.

• If you are using a hoverboard, avoid crowds unless you feel completely comfortable with the board.

• When using the board, avoid using cell phones or listening to music. Focus on using the board, so you avoid collisions with cars or people.

• Parents should use caution when buying the boards for children, especially because of the control needed to operate the board.

So how did the hoverboard become so popular?

Google searches for “IO Hawk” and “pleasedin” –– the two biggest players in the hoverboard market –– remained relatively stagnant until earlier this summer when the hoverboard trend started to explode.

Search queries for the two-wheeled machines spiked in May and June, which correlate with a handful of viral social media posts from celebrities and athletes.

Looking Into a Hoverboard for the Holidays? Slow Your Roll

NBC News- Hoverboards: They're the tech trend that no one quite knows what to make of, though everyone wants to give them a try. Of course, hoverboards don't actually hover — they're more like Segways without the handlebars.

But before you drop a few hundred bucks on one for you or an enthusiastic loved one, there are a couple things you should know.

"Hoverboard" is the term that has come to encompass these two-wheeled, electric, semi-self-balancing scooters. You stand on them, and by pressing forward or back with one or both feet, you can cruise forward at a fast walking pace, turn corners or spin in a circle. Their weirdness — and a few well-placed celebrity endorsements — propelled the devices from virtual unknown to coveted curiosity over the course of 2015.

"We started by selling a couple a week, now we're selling a few a day," Andreas Rodriguez, of Miami Hoverboard Rental, told NBC News. "We thought our main market would be kids, but we've got teens, people in the 40s, even 50s. It's definitely a hot item for Christmas."

It's not quite at Beanie Baby or Furby levels of hype, but there should be plenty of kids hoping to unwrap a hoverboard this year.

If you look online right now, you can find hoverboards for as little as $300 or as much as $1,500. There's a reason for that!

"A lot of people buy some from China and just put a sticker on it," said Rodriguez. "All customers see is a plastic shell and some wheels. But the quality definitely isn't there."

Among the first devices to make it to market (at least in the U.S.) were the Hovertrax and IOHawk, which happen to be the most expensive and claim to have the highest quality. Over 2015, dozens of other brands have appeared — but many are cheap knock-offs with lower-quality motors, smaller batteries or less sturdy construction. Resellers are buying these in bulk and selling them for cheap, and you get what you pay for.

"I get emails all the time where I could buy a thousand of these for a hundred bucks each," IOHawk's Kelly Morales told NBC News. "Even the cover itself and the wheels, it's just the cheapest stuff out there. On the straightaways you want to go straight, but the knockoffs kind of swerve."

Some super-cheap ones are even using batteries so bad that they're spontaneously combusting — a serious risk the London Fire Brigade felt the need to warn people about.