Check where the online store is located
It is important to pay attention to product safety, especially when shopping from foreign online stores outside the EU and EEA.
For online stores and marketplaces where the economic operator is located outside the internal market in the EU/EEA, and the goods are not marketed for the internal market either, the same requirements for product safety do not apply. The person who buys the goods then becomes the "importer" and must ensure that the manufacturer has met the European requirements and that the goods are safe to use.
Products from large marketplaces fail more often
Marketplaces such as Temu, Wish, Shein and Alibaba offer a platform where different sellers can sell their own goods, and those who operate the platforms have less control over the products. This can make it difficult to follow up on faulty or dangerous products, both for the buyer and for the supervisory authorities. Audits show that there is a higher risk that products from such platforms do not meet the health, safety and environment requirements that apply in the EU/EEA.
What can I do as a consumer?
Choose online stores that are from Norway, the EU and the EEA. For online stores with .no domains, you can find out if the store is Norwegian in norid.no. You can also find information about the company in the Brønnøysund Register Centre.
The contact information on the website can also give an indication of who owns a website and whether the owner of the website is from the EU and EEA.
The website's customer reviews can also give an indication of whether they offer quality products and good customer service, as well as to avoid potential scams. Report dangerous products to the relevant authorities.
The EU also has a database of products that are registered as dangerous in Europe.