Why does no one care cheap chinese lasers are trying to blind us all?

So..... Today I received in the mail my first real lasers(from laserglow Laserglow Technologies)

The only lasers I had owned previous were cheap Chinese ebay lasers the 2xAAA pen style ones that actually look very similar(ignoring quality) to the laserglow units. I have one green and one red one from ebay, both made in china, both VERY CLEARLY LABLED 5mw MAX class IIIA.

Now that I have my laserglow units which multiple people on here have stated are very accurate in there power ratings, and know what a true 5mw unit looks like I can say with confidence that my ebay lasers are seriously overpowered.

Until I get my LPM(RE x4) later this week or next week I guess im not going to know for sure but if I had to guess I would say the red ebay unit is 3-5 times more powerful than the laserglow unit and the green at least 10 times.

Both have very crappy beams and fluctuate in power often in comparison to the LG units but both are very clearly over spec.

The thing that bothers me the most about this is I was treating them as toys for years until I found this site a few weeks back and realized they were likely overspec, and dangerous.

So why the hell is this allowed to happen?

Well. Here is my take on it. That's like saying cheap Japanese motorcycles are trying to kill us all, because I believe they are making too much horsepower. Yet I have no dynamometer to check horsepower.
The government can only protect us from ourselves so much. I actually don't want anymore government intervention thinking they know what is best for me.
If a person chooses to use a laser without safety goggles and no one else is around to be harmed. That's on them.
If I choose to ride my motorcycle without a helmet. That's on me.
Seems like you are aware of the dangers. So I guess I don't understand why that surprises you or why you think someone should protect you from yourself. That's your job in my opinion.

So why the hell is this allowed to happen?

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Out of the batch of lasers say they take the ones that are between 1-50mW they put these in pens and sell them as 5mW pens and sell them for a few $ to get past customs. then they take the 50-130mW modules and put them in bigger hosts like the 301 and the 303 and sell them for $20 after that they go for bigger $ with better labeling.

IWIRE said:

Well. Here is my take on it. That's like saying cheap Japanese motorcycles are trying to kill us all, because I believe they are making too much horsepower. Yet I have no dynamometer to check horsepower.
The government can only protect us from ourselves so much. I actually don't want anymore government intervention thinking they know what is best for me.
If a person chooses to use a laser without safety goggles and no one else is around to be harmed. That's on them.
If I choose to ride my motorcycle without a helmet. That's on me.
Seems like you are aware of the dangers. So I guess I don't understand why that surprises you or why you think someone should protect you from yourself. That's your job in my opinion.

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The issue with the motorcycle comparison is everyone knows motorcycles are dangerous no matter what you should wear a helmet.

The issue with the cheap lasers is people think they are safe because they are miss-labled class IIIa less than 5mw while really being much higher powered.

I don't think you can expect normal everyday people to go out and spend 100-1,000 on a LPM to make sure there 5mw class IIIa laser isnt really 50mw+.

^^^ Agree with what Iwire says...

To your specific question, the majority of overseas sellers like those on ebay just don't care about consumer safety. They care about making money. Proof that China is learning a lot about capitalism.

The real problem is "education" and "awareness." The price/availability of high powered devices has increased very quickly, and outpaced public awareness of the potential dangers. It will take time (and unfortunately, some injuries) before the general public becomes aware of the risks. As you say, people are generally aware of the risks riding a motorcycle -- because motorcycles have been commonplace for a much longer time.

The government(s) could help with a "solution" by advocating education, providing grants to develop factual safety curriculum and public awareness. Instead (at least here in the US) they have used media scares and advocate regulation/restriction instead.

Short answer: plenty of us care, but there's nothing we can do about it.

Also, post #1000

crazyspaz said:

Short answer: plenty of us care, but there's nothing we can do about it.

Also, post #1000

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Very similar to the gun argument ...... The choice is and should always be up to the individual to make.
Educate yourself and act in a responsible manor.


Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility,
and most people are frightened of responsibility.

Sigmund Freud


Congrads on 1K posts :>)

Rifter said:

The issue with the motorcycle comparison is everyone knows motorcycles are dangerous no matter what you should wear a helmet.

The issue with the cheap lasers is people think they are safe because they are miss-labled class IIIa less than 5mw while really being much higher powered.

I don't think you can expect normal everyday people to go out and spend 100-1,000 on a LPM to make sure there 5mw class IIIa laser isnt really 50mw+.

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I think maybe you missed my point. Motorcycles are NOT dangerous. People are dangerous. Just like some people have no business riding a motorcycle. Some people have no business owning a laser.
I'm an Electrician. Do you think I'm going to risk my well being because a "label" on a panel says "24v DC" ? That label means nothing. It's up to me to verify that it really is 24v DC and not converted in the field to 120v control wiring. Again, electricity is NOT dangerous. People are dangerous.
That's just how I look at stuff, and I'm not blind or dead. So it must work for me. Your mileage may vary.

The subject of this thread is one of the consequences of freedom, something we laserists generally want to fight for and keep.

trencheel303 said:

The subject of this thread is one of the consequences of freedom, something we laserists generally want to fight for and keep.

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Exactly. The governments response would be "If we get rid of all of them that will solve that." Could you imagine how expensive a laser pointer would be, if every one of them had to be LPM'd by the government to protect you from yourself.
I agree the labels on them should be accurate. But there are a lot of labels on a lot of things that are not accurate. Some of them are items the government supposedly regulates already for our safety. I'm responsible for my own safety and I trust the government to look out for my safety as far as I can throw it.

The mislabeled lasers that make me mad are the ones that say "2w" and they are only "1.5" :yh:

I agree with you all that you should be responsible for your own safety but..... the issue is the tools to verify your safety are unreasonably expensive for your average consumer to own. With hobbiest LPM's being 100-400 and pro class LPM's going from 1,000 and up

I don't think its reasonable to expect everyone who buys a ebay laser pointer for $5 to shell out $100+ just to make sure they arnt going to blind themselves.

I mean really think about this, most consumers who care about safety will do a little research, read up on laser classes, ratings, power, and come to the conclusion class IIIa lasers are safe, which they are.

Then they will go on ebay or the net find a cheap class IIIa laser buy it and proceed to play with there pets/kids with it and have no idea they are risking there loved ones eyesite everytime they fire it up.

Rifter said:

I agree with you all that you should be responsible for your own safety but..... the issue is the tools to verify your safety are unreasonably expensive for your average consumer to own. With hobbiest LPM's being 100-400 and pro class LPM's going from 1,000 and up

I don't think its reasonable to expect everyone who buys a ebay laser pointer for $5 to shell out $100+ just to make sure they arnt going to blind themselves.

I mean really think about this, most consumers who care about safety will do a little research, read up on laser classes, ratings, power, and come to the conclusion class IIIa lasers are safe, which they are.

Then they will go on ebay or the net find a cheap class IIIa laser buy it and proceed to play with there pets/kids with it and have no idea they are risking there loved ones eyesite everytime they fire it up.

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I think you don't have to buy an lpm. Just follow the recommendations to avoid direct eye exposure.

IWIRE said:

I think you don't have to buy an lpm. Just follow the recommendations to avoid direct eye exposure.

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You see there lies the problem. Im not worried about ME burning someones eyes out im worried about some 10yo rugrat with a 100+mw(labled as 5mw) ebay pointer blinding my eyes with it cause he is shining it at everything he can think of thinking its safe.

I mean when im using a high power laser ill have eye protection no worries there. when im walking down the street for a slurpee not wearing eye protection that's when I get worried if I see someone with a pointer.

I don't have an LPM, but even as a kid I knew not to point that little red bullet shaped pointer at my eyes. That has to have been going on for 15 years ago now, when they were really the only diode lasers available, even then anyone sensible in the general public knew you didn't point it at your eyes.

5mW or 500mW the precaution should be the same. What you're asking for would just put the brakes on the entire laser hobby. You want that 3W dominator? Forget it, government says no.

Rifter said:

I mean when im using a high power laser ill have eye protection no worries there. when im walking down the street for a slurpee not wearing eye protection that's when I get worried if I see someone with a pointer.

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Same goes for anything, gun etc. But really I think you're being a bit dramatic. Unless you really are one of these "the world is out to get us" types.

trencheel303 said:

I don't have an LPM, but even as a kid I knew not to point that little red bullet shaped pointer at my eyes. That has to have been going on for 15 years ago now, when they were really the only diode lasers available, even then anyone sensible in the general public knew you didn't point it at your eyes.

5mW or 500mW the precaution should be the same. What you're asking for would just put the brakes on the entire laser hobby. You want that 3W dominator? Forget it, government says no.




Same goes for anything, gun etc. But really I think you're being a bit dramatic. Unless you really are one of these "the world is out to get us" types.

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I don't think im being over dramatic, I mean your eyes don't heal, you get once chance with them, blow it and you are blind, its that simple.

Rifter said:

You see there lies the problem. Im not worried about ME burning someones eyes out im worried about some 10yo rugrat with a 100+mw(labled as 5mw) ebay pointer blinding my eyes with it cause he is shining it at everything he can think of thinking its safe.

I mean when im using a high power laser ill have eye protection no worries there. when im walking down the street for a slurpee not wearing eye protection that's when I get worried if I see someone with a pointer.

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In my opinion your making life way to complicated. If cows had balls they would be bulls too. It is what it is, till it isn't anymore.
Unless you are locked in a prison cell, with a 10yo rugrat that has a laser pointer, and you are unsure of it's output and fear for your safety. Simple. Leave. Err on the side of safety. Lasers aren't dangerous. People are dangerous.