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You Should Get Rid of the Cheap Hoverboard You Bought on Amazon, Says Amazon

When you say the word “hoverboard” this is probably the terrifying image that Amazon pictures. Photo: Adam Taylor/ABC

After deciding to stop selling most hoverboards this week, Amazon is now sending letters to happy hoverboard owners in the U.K. begging them to get rid of them as soon as possible so they don’t explode. “We regret any inconvenience this may cause you,” the email reads, according to The Telegraph, “but trust you will understand that the safety and satisfaction of our customers is our highest priority.” Around 15,000 hoverboards (which would disappoint Marty McFly entirely, as they are more like headless Segways) have been seized at ports and airports in the U.K., per the BBC, after several knockoff hoverboards caused many house fires — the cheap ones tend to overheat when you charge them. Many other retailers, including Target, have also stopped selling most hoverboards, and many airlines no longer allow them on planes. 

The best-known hoverboard-maker, Swagway, is back on Amazon; the company thanked the online retailer for “weed[ing] out the low quality boards.” (They probably also didn’t mind the fact that their lower-priced competition just evaporated from a big market.)

Those lucky (?) few who manage to own a hoverboard that doesn’t explode and are allowed to use them in public — now against the law in Britain and in New York City — have the opportunity to maybe have it get stolen, based on the past few months of local police reports. 

Amazon Wants You to Get Rid of Hoverboards