Product Safety

What counts as an unsafe product

The categories below are the ones most often involved in product safety reports. An item may fall into more than one.

• Recalled - the manufacturer or a safety authority has announced a recall, safety warning, stop-use notice, or stop-sale notice covering the item;
• Counterfeit - the item imitates a brand, model, certification mark, or safety label it does not legitimately carry;
• Tampered - a safety device, guard, seal, limiter, interlock, or warning label has been removed, bypassed, or defeated;
• Contaminated or spoiled - a consumable, cosmetic, or similar item has been exposed to contamination, unsafe storage, or unsafe handling;
• Expired or degraded - the item is past a date, service life, or inspection interval that exists for safety reasons, such as a car seat, helmet, respirator, extinguisher, or medication;
• Damaged in a way that creates risk - exposed wiring, cracked housings, swollen or punctured batteries, compromised structure, or missing required parts; and
• Prohibited or restricted - the item is not permitted for sale, or is permitted only under conditions the listing does not meet.

For the full list of what may and may not be listed, use Prohibited and Restricted Items under Policies.

Before you buy

• Search the brand, model, and model year against an official recall source before you commit. Recalls apply to specific model, batch, lot, or serial ranges, so match the identifiers rather than the product name alone.
• Ask the seller for the model number, lot or batch code, manufacture date, and clear photographs of the rating plate, safety labels, and any seals.
• Treat missing or removed labels, ground pins, guards, or serial numbers as a reason to stop rather than a cosmetic flaw.
• For an item with a safety service life, ask for the manufacture date and confirm it is still within that life.
• For a used item with a recall history, ask whether the recall remedy was actually performed and what evidence exists that it was.
• Be cautious when a price, a claimed brand, or a claimed certification does not match the rest of the listing.

If you already have the item

Stop using the item as soon as you have reason to believe it is unsafe. Do not wait for a report to be reviewed before protecting yourself and the people around you.

• Remove the item from use and keep it away from children, pets, and heat or ignition sources.
• Follow the remedy published by the manufacturer or safety authority, which may be a repair, a replacement part, a refund, or safe disposal. Follow the published instructions rather than improvising a fix.
• Do not resell, trade, donate, or pass on a recalled or unsafe item, and do not part it out where the hazardous component would remain in use.
• Keep the item, its packaging, and any labels if it is safe to do so. Photographs of the rating plate and lot code are often what identify the affected batch.
• Dispose of batteries, chemicals, fuels, aerosols, and medications through a facility that accepts them rather than in household waste.

If someone was injured, seek medical attention first and keep a factual record of what happened, when, and what the item was.

Seller obligations

Anyone who lists an item on PeppermintProfile is responsible for that item being lawful to sell and safe to hand to another person. These are requirements, not suggestions.

• You must not list an item that is subject to an active recall, stop-use notice, or stop-sale notice.
• You must check recall status before listing when you know or reasonably should know the category is recall-prone, including electrical goods, batteries, heaters, child and infant products, vehicle parts, safety equipment, food, cosmetics, supplements, and medications.
• You must not remove, obscure, alter, or misrepresent a safety label, warning, certification mark, model number, lot code, or serial number.
• You must not sell an item with a defeated or missing safety device, guard, seal, or interlock.
• You must disclose known damage, prior repair, missing parts, modification, and remaining service life where those affect safe use.
• You must not describe an item as certified, tested, compliant, or authentic unless that is accurate for the specific item you are shipping or handing over.
• You must stop sales and remove the listing as soon as you learn an item you are offering has been recalled, and you must not relist it.
• You must follow the applicable restrictions for age-restricted, licensed, hazardous, or shipping-restricted goods.

Removing a listing does not by itself resolve a product safety report. If you have already sold affected units, contact those buyers with the manufacturer or safety authority instructions.

Report a product safety concern

Use Report a Concern under Support to report an unsafe item, an unsafe listing, or a seller who continues to offer a recalled product. State clearly that the report is about product safety, because those reports are handled differently from ordinary transaction disputes.

Include what you can:

• the listing, profile, or business address, and the order or transaction reference if there is one;
• the brand, model, model year, lot or batch code, and serial number;
• photographs of the item, its rating plate, labels, seals, packaging, and any damage;
• the recall notice, safety alert, or manufacturer notice you are relying on, if one exists;
• what the hazard is, in plain terms, and whether anyone was injured or property was damaged; and
• the dates and a short factual account of what happened.

Do not include passwords, verification codes, recovery links, or full payment credentials in a report. Do not create a hazard, dismantle an item, or continue using it in order to gather better evidence.

Reporting outside PeppermintProfile

A report to PeppermintProfile addresses the listing, the seller, and the account. It does not reach the manufacturer, and it does not put the item on any public recall record. Where a product may be dangerous to people beyond this transaction, report it to the appropriate safety authority as well.

In the United States, consumer product hazards go to the Consumer Product Safety Commission through SaferProducts.gov; food, drug, cosmetic, supplement, and medical device problems go to the Food and Drug Administration; vehicle, tire, and car seat problems go to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The links above open those sources directly.

Outside the United States, report to the product safety regulator or consumer protection authority for your country or region. Recall notices are usually issued per market, so an item cleared in one country may still be recalled in another.

How product safety reports are handled

Product safety reports are reviewed under the applicable rules and the available evidence. A listing may be removed or restricted while a report is reviewed, and that action is not a finding against the seller.

A report does not by itself establish that an item is unsafe, and a seller is not presumed at fault because a report was filed. A seller whose listing is actioned is told what the concern is and may respond with evidence, including recall remedy records, model or lot identifiers, or documentation that the specific item is not within an affected range.

Submit a report only when you honestly believe an item presents a safety problem. Knowingly false or retaliatory product safety reports are prohibited and are treated as a serious violation, because they can cause a legitimate seller real harm.

No response time, listing removal, refund, reimbursement, or enforcement outcome is guaranteed before review. This page is general guidance. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace the instructions of a manufacturer or a safety authority.