Amazon - February 2026

We investigate Amazon’s safety standards, after Emma from Staffordshire who, last October, bought a stationary set for daughter Macie. On arrival Macie discovered that there was a concealed blade within it. There was no mention of a blade, in the product description, however, it did appear in one of the photos, which Emma did not think was clear enough.

With Amazon being the UK’s largest online seller of electrical items, Watchdog identified seven products of interest, all of which had concerning user reviews, that pointed to serious safety issues. These included a night light, an extension lead and a charger. Electrical Safety First tested the items for us and found that in all of the items, there was a risk of electric shock.

When we wrote to Amazon it told us it has removed a number of the electrical items highlighted by Watchdog.

When we asked about the stationery set that Emma bought, Amazon told us it takes its responsibility around the sale of bladed items very seriously. It said that in this case, third-party sellers failed to disclose that a hobby knife was included in the stationery bundle. We were told that Amazon is ensuring these items are subject to thorough age-verification checks at the point of purchase and delivery and come with clear 18+ warnings on the product display page. It went on to say that it’s educating sellers and will require them to disclose hobby knives in stationery kit listings.

When we asked why a toy was allowed to contain a blade in the first place, Amazon didn’t agree on the ‘toy’ classification.

The full VT is here for 28 days - https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002qwdh/the-one-show-04022026?seriesId=unsliced