Amazon Is Refunding Purchases of Dodgy Eclipse Glasses

Megalith

Megalith

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Amazon is reaching out to customers who may have bought fake solar eclipse glasses that do not comply with industry standards. One woman, whom Amazon recently refunded, bought 500 eclipse glasses in bulk from a Chinese manufacturer but later learned they had purposely misled her with fake safety labeling.

“Safety is among our highest priorities,” an Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch about the matter. “Out of an abundance of caution, we have proactively reached out to customers and provided refunds for eclipse glasses that may not comply with industry standards. We want customers to buy with confidence anytime they make a purchase on Amazon.com and eclipse glasses sold on Amazon.com are required to comply with the relevant ISO standard.”
 
odditory said:
Smelled the stink of China on this before even opening the thread.
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Of course. It's way too tempting for the shady factories there to just start punching out cardboard glasses and put some old car window tint film in the holes or whatever.
 
They have the glasses at Lowe's here in Las Vegas for $2. I tried a pair, couldn't even see through them in the store, nothing was bright enough .. so I'm assuming they're legit. I didn't try to look at the sun with them.
 
That is good because I bought these from Woot an Amazon affiliate. I received a refund with no explanation as to why and now I find out that I cannot use them. Now the prices on Amazon have skyrocketed. I sure hope Lowes has them here in the ATL.
 
Amazon told me about it a couple of days ago. Had they waited any longer, I would have been pissed. I got others, but paid a bit more (6x more). But hey, that's "supply and demand" for you - the American Way!
 
odditory said:
Smelled the stink of China on this before even opening the thread.
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I read the first sentence and I was already thinking "China". When the fuck are we going to wake up and stop buying shit from that country that sees even their own citizens as things that can be replaced? For God's sake man, they don't even give a shit about their own damn people and we keep buying shit from them. Quit buying from China!
 
I got some of these, they seems to perform as expected (can't see anything except the sun). My understanding is that after they went on sale Amazon asked for their certificate of compliance with ISO whatever from the supplier of the tint. China being china hadn't supplied it in a timely manner and Amazon yanked the listing.

If you look at space.com or nasa.com they list 7-11 as valid ISO compliant eclipse glasses. The ones I got are identical.

Also your library has some to give out, kids got some from there, again I can see no difference.

Toss them if your worried. I'm gonna use em.
 
One woman, whom Amazon recently refunded, bought 500 eclipse glasses in bulk from a Chinese manufacturer but later learned they had purposely misled her with fake safety labeling.
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While yes the whole Chinese thing is dodgy, something also tells me she tried to make a quick buck off things and when she couldn't got a refund (probably didn't even need to return the glasses)

Seriously, one of the approved companies (Rainbow Symphony), sent me a couple pair like 2 years ago or so because I teach astronomy classes I guess, and their whole shitict is that I could have bought them for 45 cents each in quantity of 1000 and sell them for $2 each and making nearly $1500 in profit. Luckily I kept the package they sent so my wife and I are good to go.
 
Spidey329 said:
They have the glasses at Lowe's here in Las Vegas for $2. I tried a pair, couldn't even see through them in the store, nothing was bright enough .. so I'm assuming they're legit. I didn't try to look at the sun with them.
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It's not just the visible spectrum, but the UV spectrum that causes damage. So even if the glasses block what you can see, they may not block other injurious wavelengths.
 
It's funny that there will be thousands of videos of the eclipse on YT and countless other sites after it happens yet people are more than willing to spend as little as possible on questionable Chinese glasses just to look directly at it.
 
I bought 7 pairs a 3 pack and 4 pack my 3 pack was refunded all 7 are identical and I have checked them only a few of my flashlights can pierce them and the sun of course looks kinda like an orange in the sky...
 
I'm just going to aim my camera at the sky and watch it later. My eyes have probably been damaged enough.
 
Living with someone who is totally blind and knowing how ******* difficult life is without eyesight I really don't see how someone would be willing to risk it just to save a few bucks while looking at something they'll see a million times on TV and the internet anyway.
 
LOL to those who think looking at a video is the same, or better, than seeing it yourself. Probably the same folks who stare at their phone through a whole concert as they record it.

Have you run with the bulls in Pamplona?
Why, yes, I have. On youtube just yesterday.


Take safety precautions and watch the eclipse.
 
I'm a victim as well. I got the email Saturday morning. Checked...yup FAKE. I went to the legitimate manufacturer's web site and they had a page that showed how to determine authenticity. https://www.eclipseglasses.com/pages/safety The wife didn't really like the paper glasses anyway, and they had enough higher-end sunglasses type so we ordered some and they'll be here in plenty of time. I called everyone I had provided glasses to and told them to tear them up and throw them away. Luckily, one of my astronomy friends had plenty of legit extras to replace the ones I had given away. I really hope we don't see stories over the days following the eclipse about thousands of people having permanently-damaged eyesight.

Tips:
1) The front of the lenses should have a silver look.
2) You shouldn't be able to see ANYTHING through them other than the sun, a welding arc, or perhaps a camera flash. (I could see fluorescent bubs through mine)
3) Mine had completely legitimate standards logos, information, names and address on them...so you can't go by that.

real_vs_fake_1024x1024.jpg
 
We purchased some of the solar viewer cards made by Thousand Oaks (which is one of the NASA-approved American Companies) through a reseller on Amazon that was listed as one of the approved sellers by Thousand Oaks. However, Amazon refunded all the money and pulled them from the site. I tested them last weekend, before the notice, and the sun just looked like an orange ball. I couldn't see anything else through them. We have also bought some others directly from Rainbow Symphony, another NASA approved manufacturer. We have some that look like regular sunglasses and some that are paper. Thanks for the pictures above, I'll have to do a comparison to see if ours are the fakes. I also have some #14 welding glass.
 
PrincessDie said:
I'm a victim as well. I got the email Saturday morning. Checked...yup FAKE. I went to the legitimate manufacturer's web site and they had a page that showed how to determine authenticity. https://www.eclipseglasses.com/pages/safety The wife didn't really like the paper glasses anyway, and they had enough higher-end sunglasses type so we ordered some and they'll be here in plenty of time. I called everyone I had provided glasses to and told them to tear them up and throw them away. Luckily, one of my astronomy friends had plenty of legit extras to replace the ones I had given away. I really hope we don't see stories over the days following the eclipse about thousands of people having permanently-damaged eyesight.

Tips:
1) The front of the lenses should have a silver look.
2) You shouldn't be able to see ANYTHING through them other than the sun, a welding arc, or perhaps a camera flash. (I could see fluorescent bubs through mine)
3) Mine had completely legitimate standards logos, information, names and address on them...so you can't go by that.

real_vs_fake_1024x1024.jpg
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i could not see florescent lights only the sun and some of my high powered led flashlights.... i suppose welding would work too.. and my 3 pack was the one that got refunded the 4 pack of the same brand did not and i checked those and they are virtually identical cheap injection plastic with mirror finish mylar on one side black on the other...
 
well f**k my 4 pack just got emailed for... I still think they are fine... they are super super dark and mirrored and i think they do pass requirements... i have to hold a 1000+ lumen light directly up to it and i can just barely make out the faintest glow of the cob... cant see florescent lights or anything else really my thoughts were they were a bit too dark but imho i want to see...
 
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Probably won't have to worry about it. Middle of August which is normally hot dry season here in OK. Up to our butts in rain and cool weather. On the off chance the sun is visible, will use my welding helmet.
 
caddys83 said:
how do you know they are the real thing? o_O:eek:
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Well they have the ISO Rating printed on temple arm, with a paragraph confirming that they meet the transmission requirements of ISO 12312-2, and can be used for direct observation of the sun. They were also made in Bartlett, TN.
 
McDork said:
Well they have the ISO Rating printed on temple arm, with a paragraph confirming that they meet the transmission requirements of ISO 12312-2, and can be used for direct observation of the sun. They were also made in Bartlett, TN.
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yeah my refunded ones have similar...
 
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