De-Minimus or The Amazon Loophole
Anything selling for $800 or less on Amazon ships tax free and goes un inspected by port customs authorities and if the product is an ebike that means that you could be receiving a faulty li ion battery.
The batteries are generally produced in cheap and underaged labor factory camps in China and elsewhere.
$800 includes almost all of the e-bikes sold on Amazon or Alibaba.com. This loophole is a danger to households in America and it should be closed now to prevent these potential hazards from coming to an apartment building or garage near you.
Do not buy e-bikes online unless it is a known and trusted brand and source. Always look at the warranty, can you easily contact the company and can you get replacement parts? Does the company supply warranty parts and labor at no cost to you the consumer? If you are purchasing an ebike for less than $1,000, corners have been cut somewhere on that product in order to bring it to you below the known costs of using known quality parts.
In fact all e-bikes under $1500 should be scrutinized to insure that expected standards have been met for safety and longevity.
Many online companies sell 20” wheel or folding e-bikes that are of particular concern due to the safety of the latching device combined with cable actuated brakes that need constant adjustment to remain safe. These folding e-bikes are extremely heavy, many times they exceed 80lbs even though the company might post a stripped down weight in advertising. These e-bikes are cheaply produced usually in horrific conditions with no regard for safety. This generally results in premature failures and unobtainable parts to fix and maintain them.
So as the sayings go: “you can pay now or pay later” and “you get what you pay for” and “buyer beware”
It seems to me that spending a bit more for quality, safety and longevity is always the best bet, as a friend of mine often tells buyers “buy it once” especially when you’re spending thousands of your hard earn and hard saved dollars on what should be a healthy and joyful freedom machine, like an ebike.