Working with sellers and buyers to make sure goods sold on eBay are safe is one of our highest priorities. It’s why we’re proud to be an inaugural signatory of the Australian Product Safety Pledge.
The pledge developed by the ACCC in partnership with e-commerce signatories looks to address challenges associated with managing product safety when shopping online. Modeled after a similar initiative in the European Union (which eBay helped develop), the Pledge will help safety regulators and online marketplaces work together to identify product safety risks and trends as well as help keep consumers and businesses informed about safety.
The Pledge requires signatories to go above and beyond statutory requirements by acting quickly on removing unsafe products from sale, sharing data about goods sold online as well as investing in new technologies to improve the monitoring of products listed for sale. For eBay, the pledge further solidifies the practices, commitment and cooperation that has been in place for many years with safety regulators. In addition to our support of the Australian Product Safety Pledge, in the lead up to Christmas, eBay is working closely with the ACCC and safety regulators around the world, in promoting and reminding consumers of the safety risks presented by children’s toys.
It’s important for both sellers and buyers to be careful when either offering toys for sale or looking to buy toys themselves that they ensure they are safe and not subject to recall. Young children, under the age of 3, are particularly vulnerable to choking hazards. When buying for young children we encourage consumers to watch out for, or avoid altogether, toys that may contain button batteries.
For more information on buying safely this Christmas please visit Product Safety Australia.