How do I know what I'm buying is safe? I've sworn by the Nexus chargers in their various incarnations and http://www.amazon.com/Charge-Charging-Station-Micro-USB-Sams... (I have a Tronsmart and an Aukey vertsion)
I think for Anker, their brand has become a bit bigger than is gamble-able on a bait and switch, so I'm continuing to use their products.
Instead of trusting a particular brand, I think it makes more sense to trust the various security certifications that were created for this purpose.
The ones I am aware of are:
* TÜV Nord, TÜV Süd, TÜV Rheinland (TUV, Germany)
* GS (Geprüfte Sicherheit, Germany)
* UL (Underwriter Laboratories, US)
* CCC (China Compulsory Certification, China)
There are probably more that are trustworthy and that actually check the safety of the devices.
No, somehow we have to charge all those batteries ;) A lot of people use Anker products for this as well.
Suppliers register and prove that their products comply with Australian standards, and are awarded a compliance number. That number is the consumer's indicator that a product is safe. Any interested party can check that the certification is genuine by looking up the compliance number in an online database.
Here's how it works in practise: you're screwed. The relevant government department took the database off line years ago, and there still isn't a replacement. When you go to do a search, you arrive at a page that talks about the database in the future tense [1]: "The national database will list all the equipment registered by the responsible supplier". A supplier can put a fake mark on a product, and there is no easy way for a consumer to know if is genuine, making the marks virtually useless. The result is electrocution whilst listening to a plugged in music player with headphones [2].
[1] http://www.erac.gov.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=art...
[2] http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/warning-over-usb-chargers-after-wo...
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Edit: spelling
Supposedly the CE marking in Europe should be a good indicator, but sadly there are various ways that a company can self-certify products.
I think the biggest problem is that Amazon allows anyone and anything to use them as an outlet by default. Thus many fly by night resellers can used Amazon's brand as a cover.
The manufacturer/importer is supposed to keep and present on demand a "technical file" detailing compliance to various standards, which is supposed to include particular tests, but there's no real guarantee that they've been done.
On the other hand, this is a major barrier to entry to small-run products, as is WEEE.
I think I answered my own comment a few sections above. But for safety you should look for the UL mark:
http://www.ul.com/code-authorities/resources/faqs-for-code-a...
The CE mark is the manufacturer's self declaration of compliance with EU law, sometimes including safety.
Whereas the UL mark can only be put on products that Underwriters Laboratories have authorized themselves.
"The photo below shows the safety certifications that the charger claims to have. Again, it looks genuine, with no typos or ugly fonts."
Or http://www.righto.com/2014/05/a-look-inside-ipad-chargers-pr...
"The counterfeit charger displays a bunch of certifications (such as UL) that it doesn't actually have. As you will see below, there is no way it could pass safety testing."