Hello folks.
I’m starting to self-produce and sell a lamp I designed. I’m very confident in it’s safety (I had one running perpetually for 3 months) however I am of the understanding that it’s not technically allowed to be sold as a lamp if it’s not UL Listed. Does anyone have any experience in the type of legal statement I need to include with my product?
FBC: You can sell it as whatever you’d like, even if it isn’t approved. It’s just that you are taking direct responsibility. Also, you won’t be able to get into larger stores without an approval, as they too will be assuming greater risk.
Thanks for the feedback 914.
This is interesting to me as well, as I’m in the midst of creating a few one-off (well, three- or four-off) lamps to be sold as art/conceptual floor lamps.
I figured I would just add the design to my portfolio once built or sell them to random individuals… end goal: maybe they will get picked up and purchased from a manufacturer sometime down the road.
When you get an LLC, does this protect you from this type of threat? Or at least help protect you?
this depends by jurisdiction. However, there is similarity.
Three cases exist.
Manufacturer’s / designer prototype. Not for resale. No certification or labeling required, unless exported. Similar situation as for art pieces.
Low volume manufacture of essentially one off custom goods. Electrical. Each model inspected by public utility inspector, tested, certified, labeled. This case is contentious as many public utilities are moving away from individual inspections. For clarification, often what they look at are all voltages, insulation, mechanical attachments, grounding. Historically used by university labs that offer an embodiment for use outside their domain, or similar private companies’ exotic research equipment.
Certification by UL/CSA, others in EU, Japan, Brazil, etc.
Ask your insurance man about the difference in product liability premiums between UL and non-UL products. My guess is that the numbers will speak for themselves.
Ok, an add-on question: Has anyone ever gotten their personal design “UL Approved”? Their website does not give cost quotes, so I have no sense as to how much it cots. Is it worth it, if my designs are much more bespoke than a million-unit lamp at Target?
It depends on your design. If you don’t need testing, I think it’s like $3-4k. With testing, it’s $7-8k plus cost of a testing lab. It’s definitely made for the big boys.
However, if you are doing production in China, you can probably get your supplier to get approval from ETL or even UL over there for less.