Amazon Pulls Out 'Exploding' Hoverboards; 3 Tips On Buying Safe Hoverboards

Amid reports of safety concerns regarding some cases of hoverboards catching fire and exploding, giant Internet-based retailer Amazon is not slacking off on the issue and decided to make some stringent safety measures.

According to one major hoverboard seller, the Swagway, Amazon has started taking out some of the devices from its store and has also put up a sterner standards when it comes to the safety of these self-balancing e-scooters.

"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 Swagway spokesperson told The Verge in a statement.

"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."

Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman Scott Wolfson told NBC News Thursday that they already got about 10 reports of hoverboard fires and the number is just increasing every day. And, because these devices are very popular nowadays, the agency is conducting a high-priority investigation.

One of the possible angles the federal safety regulators are looking at is the combustion due to the lithium-ion batteries, which could be overheating. They have already collected samples of these hoverboards and sent them to their Washington, D.C. lab for investigation.

Tony Le, CEO and founder of Glitek, a leading provider in self-balancing boards, gave some tips on buying a safe hoverboard, ZDNet wrote. "Obviously, I want everyone to buy a Glide, but beyond that I want them to purchase from a reputable dealer for their family's safety," he said. Here are his tips you might want to consider before buying one.

1. Hoverboards that are catching fire have the cheapest batteries on the market. It's imperative for consumers to inquire about the quality of the batteries before making a purchase.

2. Be sure to check customer reviews and the social profiles of the vendor you purchase from. Those who have had poor experiences are voicing their opinions loud and clear.

3. See who has been mentioned in the media. If your distributor hasn't been getting much media attention, it's doubtful that it's reputable.

Le also added that it would be advisable not to leave a device while charging and to use the right chargers as cheap chargers could also cause some problem.