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In this post I'm going to show you how to make sure your suppliers aren't taking advantage of you by sending you certificates that are fake or not pertinent to the specific product(s) you are enquiring about.
Before we get started, you'll need to understand why getting the necessary certificates is important. I'm going to be referring to the EU throughout but I'm sure the outcomes are very similar in the States.
Not getting the correct certificates can have a number of implications:
- Customs may seize your product and can ask you to provide the necessary certification. Failure to provide the certificates means customs will keep your product. Even if the supplier has sent you certificates, they can still be inapplicable if they (1) Aren't testing the correct things, and (2) Don't relate to your product. As you can imagine, for large orders this can be a big disaster.
- If you import electronics, let's say lightbulbs, for example, and somewhere down the line one of them causes a fire for one of your customers, and you can't provide the correct certificates, you are liable to fines and in serious cases even (albeit unlikely), imprisonment.
I'll now provide you with a CE certificate as an example and show you what to look out for.
Let's say I'm looking enquiring about a Rearview Mirror DVR.
Below is a CE certificate a company I'm talking to provide me with...
Before you even begin your new validation process you'll need to make sure that they have provided the certificate(s) you have asked for. In this case, a CE certificate was requested.
Onto the validation process...
(1) Number one on the image above highlights the name of the company that tested these products. There are a lot of cheap inspection services in China that suppliers can just pay and they'll approve them. So first, we want to search their company name in Google and see what we can dig up. A quick search of 'Shenzhen Toby Technology Co., Ltd.' returns the following..
Both the websites in these top 3 results are related. I know this because when browsing www.toby86.com, if you click on the English version of the site you get redirected to en.tobylab.cn. Remember: companies in China can have multiple domains and names.
A screenshot from the English site version shows us some promising things.
As you can see, this site looks like it's had some effort put into it. From first glance I see 3 good things:
- Telephone number
- 'Certificate Search' page
- List of their qualifications
(2) Now we're onto Number 2 on our CE certificate.. The certificate number. Most good inspection services will have a certificate search function on their site. This is so you can search for the certificate and make sure it hasn't been edited in any way. So we'll take the certificate no. on our CE certificate which is: TB14099038 and we'll plug this along with the date of the certificate, into the site.. and Voila!
So now, I'm happy with the Inspection Service and also sure that the certificate hasn't been faked. Onto number 3.
(3) This is a simple one but I have made the mistake before. Make sure the applicant is the company you're talking to. They will try this sometimes. Remember though, they may be using another company name so be sure to check that out.
(4) Simple as well. Make sure the general product they're testing is the same as yours. This is not about the specific model, as we'll cover in the next point, but just the general product. I.e. Rearview Car Mirror DVR.
(5) Important. You can easily slip up on this bit. Make sure that the specific product(s) models you are enquiring about are listed in here.
Even if they are in the same general product category/niche, if the exact models you are after aren't listed in this bit, this certificate is not pertinent to you.
Note: Up to now, everything was looking good. Everything seemed to be in shape.
However, this next (and last part) is very important.
(6) What are they testing?
This is where you will have to do your own research. Test standards, just like actual certificates required, vary for different products, but also vary depending on where you live. For example, In the EU...
If a product is electrical it requires:
- RoHS certification.
- CE certification (directives below)
- If the electrical input or output is between 50-1000V AC or 75-1500 DC it also requires CE certification under the LVD directive.
- Most (but not all) will need to be tested under the EMC directive.
Back to the certificate. It looks as if they have only tested under the EMC directive on this CE certificate.
I can't tell you if this is appropriate, or if they should have tested the LVD directive as well. My reason is that although it plugs in and charges from your car charger which wouldn't require LVD testing (because it's using less than 50V), it claims it can also be charged by 100-240V on the Alibaba listing. I don't know because I haven't got this product but I would probably say their CE certification is appropriate in my own (albeit unprofessional) opinion.
That concludes this post and I hope this has helped clear things up for you. Bare in mind that not every single products requires CE certification, or even any certificate at all. It'd be best for you to do your own research on that aspect, this post was just demonstrating how to validate a certificate so you don't make any costly mistakes. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them below and I'll try my best to help you out!
- Luke
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