Online marketplaces make it easy to buy electrical goods cheaply, but the cheapest listing is not always the safest. Electrical products should be chosen for safety, traceability and build quality — not price alone.
This TESC guidance page is designed to help households, landlords, agents and property managers recognise avoidable electrical risks before they become incidents.
Product safety is separate from an Electrical Installation Condition Report. An EICR assesses the fixed electrical installation, while plug-in equipment, chargers, extension leads and portable products can introduce additional risks after the installation itself has been inspected.
Key issues, warning signs and safer practice.
Stop using an electrical product if it shows signs of overheating, melting, burning smells, loose connections, damaged cables, exposed parts, buzzing, cracking, smoke or repeated tripping. Do not keep testing a suspect product to see whether it happens again.
Where the concern relates to fixed wiring, sockets, consumer units, earthing, RCD protection or repeated circuit faults, the matter should be checked by a competent electrical contractor rather than treated as only a product issue.
Use this page as part of the wider TESC safety and compliance resource centre.
Unsafe, fake or misleading electrical goods.
Small plug-in devices with serious risks.
Avoid overloads, daisy chaining and heat build-up.
What to do when a product is recalled.
E-bikes, scooters, power banks and chargers.
No. A large marketplace can include third-party sellers. The platform name alone does not guarantee the product has been properly tested or supplied by a reliable seller.
Not on its own. Marks can be misused or copied. Packaging, manufacturer details, build quality and traceability matter too.
Use reputable retailers, avoid suspiciously cheap electrical goods and stop using anything that overheats, smells, buzzes or shows signs of damage.
Product safety, fixed wiring safety and compliance records all work together. Use TESC resources to understand electrical risks, check EICR records and find registered providers where inspection or remedial work is needed.