Jeff Bezos company, Amazon and its offshoot Amazon Prime have become the dominant player in the e commerce industry. In fact, Amazon is presently valued at nearly $200 billion dollars. As Amazon continues to grow, so too do the products and services offered. Amazon Basics, which was launched in 2009 has grown substantially. The product line has over 5,000 types of products and is continuing to grow. Despite Amazon Basics market success, however, the product line has recently come under fire due to safety concerns.

            A wide variety of Amazon Basics products have exploded, caught on fire, and created fires over the last eleven years. There are countless incidences of Amazon Basics devices malfunctioning. One such experience happened to Austin Parra. The then 20-year-old awoke to his office chair consumed with flames. The cause of the fire soon became clear: his Amazon basics phone charging cord had experienced a short circuit and started a fire, leading his office chair igniting. Fortunately, Parra experienced only minimal injuries and the house itself remained intact. However, for the Parra family this was surely a traumatizing incident.

            The Parra family is not the only family to experience dangerous events because of Amazon Basics products. Since 2016, nearly 1500 reviews detailed negative experiences. Among these experiences include products that exploded, caught on fire, smoked, melted, experienced electrical malfunctions, etc.

            However, individuals should not rush to throw away their Amazon basics gear. The negative experiences only reflect a fraction of the purchases that have occurred. CNN reports that many of the dangerous events could have been precipitated due to user error, faulty or old home wiring, or using a defective advice with the Amazon Basics product.

            Despite the low number of bad cases, Amazon has launched an investigation into the situation. The company has stated that safety is their top priority and will not permit faulty products to be sold. In a statement they released they concluded that “the outcome of the investigation varies on a case by case basis and may include removing the product from the store, adjusting the design of the product, notifying customers to stop using the product, or other appropriate action. We want customers to shop with confidence and if ever a customer has a concern, they can contact customer service and we will investigate.”

            It is clear that Amazon is dedicated to ensuring their products are safe, but in the meantime, it is likely prudent to exercise caution when purchasing and using Amazon Basics equipment.