Insurance, UL certification, CE cert

[Garrett335]

Hey guys,

I was curious to see if any of you run your own business building and selling amps, and if you have your amps certified, or if you carry any type of insurance etc.
Just in case an amp ever broke or someone got hurt etc etc etc.
Just wondering what the next step is when actually selling amps to the public and anything to look out for?
UL Certification? some forums say that small builders don't have this done, or that it's only really required to sell in music stores?

Any input is greatly appreciated :D

[shooter]

UL Certification

last time I checked, 90's?, IIRC it was like $750 to file, many thousands for the gold star.  All my amps are "prototype" AS IS.

[pompeiisneaks]

UL Certification

last time I checked, 90's?, IIRC it was like $750 to file, many thousands for the gold star.  All my amps are "prototype" AS IS.

Yeah I also remember someone explaining that UL listed is a lot of hard work.  There is a very complex spec you have to meet that you can buy for thousands, and then read through it and ensure you do all those and get certified first shot, or close to it, but if not, you go back and forth a LOT with refiling fees etc.  So getting UL listed is a luxury for larger companies in most cases.   Music stores can still sell anything they want to, but may not if they feel there's risk.  There's no mandate of UL to sell amps. Isn't CE just "Chinese Export" and is basically that you paid the right bribe to the right politician in China to get the CE logo?  or am I confusing that with something else?

~Phil

[PRR]

CE is a European committee. Similar yet different to US practice. It means the manufacturer is responsible to meet accepted standards (they can self-test). The mark is sometimes applied without the testing or the standing-behind-the-product, but is usually kosher.

There could be a China Export but _I_ never heard of it.

[pompeiisneaks]

CE is a European committee. Similar yet different to US practice. It means the manufacturer is responsible to meet accepted standards (they can self-test). The mark is sometimes applied without the testing or the standing-behind-the-product, but is usually kosher.

There could be a China Export but _I_ never heard of it.

You're probably right, I think I got it from a youtube video where the guy gives funny names to almost everything and he's probably just being a smart ass.  He calls Harbor Freight Hazard Fraught, Ryobi 'cryobi' etc. :D

~Phil

[Garrett335]

UL Certification

last time I checked, 90's?, IIRC it was like $750 to file, many thousands for the gold star.  All my amps are "prototype" AS IS.

Thank you very much for the input

UL Certification

last time I checked, 90's?, IIRC it was like $750 to file, many thousands for the gold star.  All my amps are "prototype" AS IS.

Yeah I also remember someone explaining that UL listed is a lot of hard work.  There is a very complex spec you have to meet that you can buy for thousands, and then read through it and ensure you do all those and get certified first shot, or close to it, but if not, you go back and forth a LOT with refiling fees etc.  So getting UL listed is a luxury for larger companies in most cases.   Music stores can still sell anything they want to, but may not if they feel there's risk.  There's no mandate of UL to sell amps. Isn't CE just "Chinese Export" and is basically that you paid the right bribe to the right politician in China to get the CE logo?  or am I confusing that with something else?

~Phil

Ah okay, yeah I have noticed that a lot of bigger named boutique sellers don't have this listed on their amps CE UL.
Probably good to create an LLC when going into business, just in case someone wants to sue.