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joshua stein via @jcs@jcs.org - Feb 08 2024 14:23:37

I bought a clothes steamer on Amazon twelve years ago and have only used it a few times since then, but I just got an e-mail that it was recalled for a safety issue. The US manufacturer instructed me to sever its electrical cord and upload a photo showing its serial number so they can send me a new model.

I only mention this because 12 years on, I imagine if I went on Amazon today to buy one, there would be hundreds of steamers that all look like they were made from the same plastic mold but are sold from different Chinese companies with terrible randomly-generated names. I'd probably just pick whichever one had the best reviews for the price and not really think about the company disappearing a year later (or generating another random company name), much less still be around 12 years later to do a safety recall.