Wicked Lasers products not FDA approved

[00Giorge]

On the East Coast more are gettng thru than the West Coast. Do some reading in some of the other threads and you will find the information.

 

[Sauron]

On the East Coast more are gettng thru than the West Coast. Do some reading in some of the other threads and you will find the information.

I have done the reading, but has also been a supposed crackdown occurring on the east coast since mid-November. Hence my previous statement.

 

[00Giorge]

So another one slipped thru. Your point?

 

[Xplorer877]

Look what I got!

-Tony

 

[LtKernelPanic]

I'm not sure what that letter has to do with WL sine it's dated August 2005.

 

[Xplorer877]

I'm not sure what that letter has to do with WL sine it's dated August 2005.

Look closer, it has to do with LaserGlow.

It's just an example of what the FDA will do if they find out you've imported a class IIIb laser. Basically they'll ask you to return it and provide proof that you did so.

I don't trust ANY of the abroad laser sellers, especially Wicked. It's all marketing BS. They're not legal. If you buy a completed laser, where the only thing you have to do is add batteries, and it's over 5mW, it's illegal.

The FDA didn't come up with the accession number system to regulate kids with laser pointer. It's a way of monitor the distribution of any radiation emitting device ranging from industrial CO2 laser to X-Ray machines.

IMO it is cheaper, more fun, and more rewarding to build your own lasers and buy parts separately. If you buy laser modules or diodes it doesn't matter what class they are. They're not technically functioning, so they shouldn't be any issues with customs. I mean what's the point of even being on this forum if you're only going to buy completed lasers and pop baloons? It just doesn't seem like a hobby to me if you're not willing, at some point, learn enough about their construction to build one, and then eventually to expand on the science and provide intelligent feedback to the forum about your finding. This forum is full of intelligent guys who experiment with all kinds of set ups. They push diodes to the limit, plot curves, review batteries, design drivers, experiment with complex optics, and provide write ups on experiments like spectroscopy, fluorescence, diffraction, and interferometry. I myself measured the wavelenght of light to within 5% using a little math, diffraction, and a ruler. Not only that, there are other guys who organize group buys and provide the DIY laser community with awesome deals on sleds and other such things.

But then you have the "I came here because of the arctic" crowd, who bombard this forum with complaints about Wicked lasers and shipping times. That's why I take breaks form this forum for a while. It was great in the past when powerful pointers weren't so mainstream. Now they're so affordable everyone wants one. I remember, back in the day, paying over 500 bucks for 80mW of green. You were hot shit if you had that kind of power.

Ever since that crap happened back in 2005, I've never bough another expensive completed laser from abroad. I think I bought a 25 dollar 50mW pen from LED shoppe at one point but thats it. I only make lasers now. Or if I do buy them completed, I'll get them from a forum member or a US seller.

Sorry for the rant/needed to vent my 2 cents.

-Tony

 

[00Giorge]

^^A Canadian seller is going to be different than a Chinese seller. The FDA can reach out and get the guys in Canada, but China is a whole different ball game.

Do ya feel better after your rant? I always do!

 

[Xplorer877]

^^A Canadian seller is going to be different than a Chinese seller. The FDA can reach out and get the guys in Canada, but China is a whole different ball game.

Do ya feel better after your rant? I always do!

Not only that, the customer can reach out to Canadian sellers. It wasn't hard to arrange the return of that laser to LaserGlow, it was time consuming but they did return my calls. Good luck trying to get Wicked on the phone. LOL

Yeah I feel better.

-Tony

 

[Xplorer877]

Actually thats been their for a while.

-Tony

 

[LtKernelPanic]

Doh. Reading comprehension fail. I stopped reading at LaserGlow because I was thinking WTF does this have to do with WL. Should have kept reading.

I'm curious what would have stopped you from sending a box with something of the approximate weight back and keeping the laser. I suppose since they asked for the tracking number that it'd be flagged when going through customs so they could open it and make sure it's in there.

I agree with you about building your own but I have to admit reading about the arctic is what got me interested in lasers again. I'd like to get a FDA approved one from CNI or the like but they're out of my price range. Guess I'll keep to building my own high powered lasers for now.

 

[Justin]

Yes, 5 years ago there was a short "gap" in some paperwork which lead to this letter being sent, and the FDA also contacted us directly. It was sorted out within a few days and since then we have not had any problems shipping to the US. In fact, we've since sold several lasers directly to the FDA/CDRH for use in their labs. However, your point that the FDA can and will contact you about non-compliant lasers is valid. Our product wasn't even non-compliant, it was just that the paperwork was out of date for a short period of time and they didn't like how the laser was marketed on our website. We complied with their requests and there were no more problems.