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Amazon recalls eclipse glasses

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Re: Amazon recalls eclipse glasses

#111
post #78

What kind of piece of shit makes these things? It's one thing to make a crappy knockoff phone charger. It may be less efficient and even less safe, but you can probably rationalize it away since they mostly work OK. But this is a piece of safety equipment with a single function, and people only buy it to use it in one way, which will cause direct and immediate harm if the product fails. How can someone live with them…

>What kind of piece of shit makes these things?

People like my ex's dad. Not involved with this in particular, but lots of fake/knockoff/cheap Chinese shit. Dude is rich as fuck. Rich enough to have bought her a $750k house with cash a few years ago, like it was nothing. Don't know if anything he was involved with ever actually harmed anybody, but from what I've heard he'd have no qualms about it. I'm sure whoever is responsible for this is similar. No rules in China if you're fucking over foreigners. At least none that you can't just bribe your way out of.

Re: Amazon recalls eclipse glasses

#112
post #30

I ordered the top-rated eclipse glasses on Amazon a few months ago and they were counterfeit. If you put them on during daytime you can see indirect sunlight and even my kitchen light. They were shipped from China despite having "Made in the USA" markings and all the proper ISO certification fine print. I haven't received any communication from Amazon, so people who haven't heard from them should not assume their gla…

I too made this mistake and can see my kitchen light with these glasses. They didn't send me an email about the recall. Amazon will refund the money if you chat with them, but this in no way absolves them. I blame them fully. This counterfeit problem has been going on for years and they haven't addressed it, other than banning accounts of people who return too many of their shitty, counterfeit products. If people do get injured, I hope there are extreme punitive damages. Unfortunately, people will have to get hurt before anything changes. Fuck Amazon.

Re: Amazon recalls eclipse glasses

#113
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems incredibly careless of them to tell people if they did not get an email they're OK. There's no way the impact from refunding everyone that bought any such product outweighs the coming lawsuits. I feel bad for people about to be injured. But hopefully this will screw Amazon hard and make them change their ways.

Isn't it somewhat on the sellers who are willing to blind people for a buck? That's not ok even in China.

They put some sort of deadly chemical in baby milk to make it more frothy, because that's a sign of more protein... they don't give a shit ("they" being some turbo-capitalists...).

Re: Amazon recalls eclipse glasses

#114

Is there anything particularly dangerous about viewing the sun directly? When I was dumb and young I'd look at the sun for seconds at a time without any problems developing so far. Is the danger that an eclipse encourages you to stare at the sun without encountering any pain?

You can give yourself arc eye: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photokeratitis

I haven't gotten it from the sun, but I got a minor case of it from welding with the incorrect lenses (it may seem fine to use gas welding goggles for MIG welding, but it's really not). It's really not pleasant, your eyes feel all scratchy and too large for their sockets.

Re: Amazon recalls eclipse glasses

#115
post #28
post #9

Does anyone have good recommendations for getting a pair as of today (before next weekend)? I'm in the bay area, if that helps.

My local Lowe's stocks them. I guess not many people know this because I wouldn't have guessed a "home improvement store" to sell eclipse glasses.

Kroger and McDonald's in Oregon as well.

Re: Amazon recalls eclipse glasses

#116
post #23
post #9

Does anyone have good recommendations for getting a pair as of today (before next weekend)? I'm in the bay area, if that helps.

I bought some for $2 in a Fred Meyer (Kroger grocery store) that are certified safe. Those kinds of stores may not stock them further from the eclipse path, though.

They sold like crazy here. It's insane to think people order these online when they're right in the grocery stores.

Re: Amazon recalls eclipse glasses

#117
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it somewhat on the sellers who are willing to blind people for a buck? That's not ok even in China.

They put some sort of deadly chemical in baby milk to make it more frothy, because that's a sign of more protein... they don't give a shit ("they" being some turbo-capitalists...).

No, "they" are not "turbo-capitalists." "They" are criminals. Or were, in any case. At least some of the executives responsible for that incident were executed.

Re: Amazon recalls eclipse glasses

#118

Buying any PPE from Amazon is probably a bad idea. Counterfeit or not, the barrier to entry is just too low. eg, there are specialized climbing harnesses on Amazon which confuse the CE EN standard and the concept of notified bodies. (Which certify conformity.) Leads to hilarity like a climbing harness claiming conformity with the standards for intubation tubes. Or, climbing equipment which is mislabeled as to its cou…

> It's barely one step above ebay for a lot of items.

Is it, though? At least with eBay I know who the product I ordered came from and whom to blame if something goes wrong. If I'm ordering from the manufacturer's official account on eBay I know I'm not getting sent a cheap Chinese knock-off by some other random eBay seller.

With Amazon I apparently don't have that luxury.

Re: Amazon recalls eclipse glasses

#119
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly why I purchased my eclipse glasses directly from the manufacturer (American Paper Optical) even though shipping from them was very expensive (relative to the cost of the glasses). Even if I'd bought a reputable brand directly from Amazon (instead of a reseller) I had no trust that I wouldn't get a counterfeit commingled from an untrustworthy reseller inside Amazon's warehouse.

This is so frustrating to me. I want to buy makeup from amazon but there is no way to verify you're not getting fake products.

Wasn't a problem in the 80's

Re: Amazon recalls eclipse glasses

#120

Use an old floppy disk to see the eclipse. I'm serious It seems opaque, but it is transparent enough to see the sun

That is horrific and likely dangerous "advice". The mylar composite used in floppy disks seems opaque... to visible light. 54% of the Sun's energy output is in other wavelengths. There is no certification that a floppy disk cookie will block those. Plus it has a big hole in the middle, danger of inadvertent viewing. This is like the argument I have with other photographers every eclipse when they try to use their 'su…

> Unless it's designed and certifed as a Solar viewing material just don't even contemplate it.

People have been using dark pieces of photographic film to see eclipses since ever. I wonder if there has been studies on its UV transmissibility

Thought you're right about the super-dark film and I don't think those are dark enough even on the visible range

Though I do agree if you want to stare at it directly your best choice is to get solar viewing glasses (preferably not a fake one)

This page has some tests: astronexus.com/gatfaq/solar-filters besides poor optical quality floppy disks allow wavelenghts > 800nm to pass (this is IR range)

A good suggestion that seems easy to obtain: welder's glass

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