Best Place to Buy Electric Bikes (2026)

By Milad Ghobadibeygvand, BScN (Western University, 2014) — Redtail eBikes. Every price, spec, and legal claim on this page was re-opened at its primary source and re-checked. · Verified October 19, 2026.

4 states require lab-tested e-bike batteries at sale (5 from January 1, 2027) · 219 bikes price-checked · 52% between $1,000 and $2,000 · 38 federal e-bike recalls read · 7 checks before you pay

Quick Answer: There is no single best place to buy electric bikes. There is a best channel for your situation, and a seller inside it you can verify. Before you pay anyone, run seven checks that take about ten minutes.

Online stores carry the widest selection and the easiest price comparison; local bike shops add a test ride, a fitting, and one place to take a warranty claim; big-box shelves and marketplace listings ask the most of you before you pay.

Four states have also made one of those checks a matter of law. California, Colorado, Illinois and New York bar selling an e-bike or its battery unless an accredited laboratory has tested or certified the battery, and Oregon's rule starts on January 1, 2027.

Redtail eBikes is an online store, so the seven checks below apply to us too, and we run them on ourselves in public further down. Browse the full lineup once you know what you are checking for.

Key facts (verified October 19, 2026):

• Four states now write the battery test into the law. California (Health & Safety Code § 26302(a), from January 1, 2026), Colorado (C.R.S. § 42-4-221(14)(a), from August 6, 2025), Illinois (815 ILCS 361/15, from January 1, 2026) and New York (General Business Law § 495-a, from October 9, 2024) set the state rules. New York City and San Francisco add their own, and San Francisco's reaches any seller that delivers into the city.
• Every marketplace e-bike recall in the federal database is a battery fire. Of the 38 e-bike recalls the CPSC has published since 2015, 4 name a marketplace in the notice (Amazon, Walmart or eBay), and all 4 are battery fires. Of the other 34, 5 are fires (our sweep of the CPSC database, October 19, 2026).
• A warranty is only as good as the company behind it. After 31 reports of fire, Rad Power Bikes refused to agree to an acceptable recall and told the CPSC it was "unable to offer replacement batteries or refunds to all consumers" (CPSC warning 26-118). It filed for Chapter 11 on December 15, 2025, and the brand's new owner says it has no obligation to service bikes bought before that date (Rad's warranty terms), though the court-approved sale lists warranty claims among the debts it took on.
• Fraud losses have risen six years running. US consumers filed 3 million fraud reports in 2025 and reported $15.9 billion lost, up from more than $12 billion in 2024, and reported losses have risen nearly 430% since 2020 (FTC testimony to the Joint Economic Committee, March 25, 2026, p. 3).
• Real prices start around $340. The 219 bikes in our All eBikes collection run from $339.99 to $4,499, with a median of $1,599, and the cheapest fat-tire bike we sell is $569 (our price census, October 19, 2026). A "750W fat-tire" e-bike at $299 from a shop you have never heard of is priced below every fat-tire bike on our shelf.

How we verified this

Every legal claim here was read at the body with authority over it, on October 19, 2026. Federal statute comes from the Government Publishing Office's US Code: the $50 cap on unauthorized card use at 15 U.S.C. § 1643(a)(1)(B), and the billing-error window at 15 U.S.C. § 1666(a).

Federal rules come from the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. Each state's battery rule was read in the text that is law today: California's current code section, Colorado's and Oregon's enrolled acts, the Illinois Compiled Statutes, New York's General Business Law and San Francisco's Fire Code.

The recall, price and state-law figures on this page are our own counts. The recall figures cover all 3,716 recall records the CPSC published from 2015 to October 2026, read through the agency's own public database.

A record counts when its own product description, or the product half of its title, names an e-bike, an electric bicycle or an electric tricycle, the two- and three-wheeled vehicles the federal definition covers (15 U.S.C. § 2085(b)). A company's name never counts by itself, which keeps out two hoverboard recalls filed by a firm called Jetson Electric Bikes.

The price figures cover every bike listed in our All eBikes collection on October 19, 2026, all 219 of them at each bike's lowest variant price, rather than a sample. The state map comes from a full-text search of every state legislature's bills since 2023 for the standards these laws name (UL 2849, UL 2271 and EN 15194) and for "accredited testing laboratory", with each enacted law then read in its own text.

• Corpus: 56 cited claims on this page rest on 54 distinct sources from 29 issuing bodies. All 54 were retrieved on October 19, 2026, read at the section cited and kept as dated copies, and 51 of them also have a Wayback Machine snapshot. One more was sought and not found: the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Data Book for 2025 is not yet on its reports index, so the 2025 loss figure is cited to the Commission's prepared statement to Congress.
• Demand: 717 queries and questions came from five independent sources, each read again on October 19, 2026: Google Search Console (the 236 US searches this page appeared for over 90 days), Google autocomplete, an eight-prompt AI-search panel, the headings of ten pages ranking for this topic, and archived Reddit threads. Rows from the September 6 harvest that this pass did not see again keep their date. 58 distinct questions are answered by a named section here, and 18 were set aside as off-topic, non-US, or a sibling guide's subject.
• Disclosure: Redtail eBikes sells electric bikes online. The checklist below is written to judge every seller by the same test, so we run all seven on ourselves, in public, including the two we do not fully pass.

A commuter e-bike on an empty main street at first light. Where it came from decides what happens the day something on it fails.

If you are still choosing which bike to buy, start with our complete guide to choosing an electric bike, or go straight to whichever of our buying guides matches the rider, the budget or the body style you have in mind. This page picks up at the next question: where to buy it, and how to be sure of whoever is selling it.

In this guide

• So what is the best place to buy electric bikes?
• What changed in 2026: certification became the law
• Buying from an online e-bike shop: brand-direct vs multi-brand
• Where can you buy an electric bike in person?
• Is Walmart, Costco, or Amazon a safe place to buy an ebike?
• Is it safe to buy an electric bike from Temu, AliExpress, or Alibaba?
• Buying a used or refurbished e-bike
• The legit e-bike store checklist: 7 checks before you pay
• Red flags: how to spot a sketchy e-bike seller
• What to do if you have already been scammed
• How Redtail scores on its own checklist
• When is the best time to buy an electric bike?
• Know the rules before you buy
• Frequently asked questions about where to buy an electric bike
• The bottom line
• Every guide behind this page
• Limitations
• Source register
• Primary sources

So what is the best place to buy electric bikes?

In 2026 the answer to this question changed shape. California made an accredited laboratory's battery test a condition of sale on January 1 (Health & Safety Code § 26302(a)), Illinois did the same that day, and Colorado and New York already had, so in four states a seller either has the laboratory's paperwork or is breaking the law by taking your money. The table below names each statute.

Get the channel wrong and you lose a few hundred dollars to a markup or a stiff return policy. Get the seller wrong and you lose the whole purchase: the money is gone, the warranty was never real, and the bike is a fire risk in your hallway. The decision comes in two parts, which of five channels suits how you shop and how to verify the specific seller inside it.

One number frames the money side. The 219 bikes in our All eBikes collection run from $339.99 to $4,499 with a median of $1,599, and 113 of them sit between $1,000 and $2,000 (October 19, 2026). The cheapest fat-tire bike among them is $569, so a shop offering a new 750W fat-tire bike at $299 is not offering a deal.

Two of these hand you a finished bike. Two hand you a box and a set of instructions.

Redtail eBikes is a multi-brand online store, so we sit in row two and we score ourselves against the same checks below. The table shows tendencies rather than guarantees. A careful local shop can beat a careless online store on price, and one sloppy marketplace listing can undo the advantage its channel usually carries.

The same split runs inside a single retailer. Of 55 Walmart e-bike listings we read on September 6, 2026, 10 were sold by Walmart itself and 38 by third-party sellers, and the Walmart seller breakdown shows how to tell the two apart before you pay.

What changed in 2026: certification became the law

Ask for the certification mark before you pay. In California, Colorado, Illinois and New York, and in New York City and San Francisco, you are asking the seller to prove something the law already requires, and Oregon's rule joins them on January 1, 2027. Everywhere else, certification is still a voluntary standard, which makes the mark evidence about the seller rather than proof of compliance.

The four state laws

California's operative sentence is short. Under Health and Safety Code § 26302(a), "A person shall not distribute, sell, lease, or offer for sale or lease an electric bicycle unless the storage battery for the electric bicycle has been tested by an accredited testing laboratory for compliance with a standard referenced in ANSI/CAN/UL 2849 or EN 15194".

The section was added by Stats. 2024, ch. 791 § 1, the act better known as SB 1271. It also requires the laboratory's name or logo and the standard to be "permanently affixed directly on the electric bicycle", and it exempts secondhand sales from that labeling duty under § 26302(e)(2).

Three other states wrote the same idea in their own words. Colorado's rule, in force since August 6, 2025, bars selling a lithium-ion battery "as part of or intended for use in an electrical assisted bicycle" unless it "has been certified by an accredited testing laboratory" (C.R.S. § 42-4-221(14)(a)). The same act makes the seller disclose to the buyer the motor's watts, the top speed and the class (§ 42-4-221(13)).

Illinois, from January 1, 2026, requires an accredited laboratory to test a low-speed electric bicycle's whole electrical drive system to UL 2849 or EN 15194, with UL 2849 alone from January 1, 2028, and its battery separately (815 ILCS 361/15).

New York's rule covers the battery of a "bicycle with electric assist" and has required the laboratory's mark "on packaging or documentation at the time of sale" since October 9, 2024 (General Business Law § 495-a). A seller who breaks it faces a civil penalty of up to $500, then up to $1,000 for each repeat within two years, counted battery by battery.

The city rules

New York City's version reaches something more useful to an online shopper. Its Department of Consumer and Worker Protection publishes an inspection checklist for NYC Admin. Code §§ 20-610(a), (d) and (e) telling businesses: "If you distribute, sell, rent, or lease powered bicycles online, you must display the certification or the logo, mark, or name of the accredited testing laboratory on the product page."

A product page selling into New York City with no laboratory named on it is missing something the city requires. Since Local Law 50 of 2024 the penalties reach as much as $2,000 per device type, and the city can shut down a repeat violator (DCWP, October 9, 2024).

San Francisco reaches any seller who ships to the city. Since July 27, 2026, "No person or business shall sell, offer for sale, or deliver any Powered Mobility Device or Replacement Battery to any person or any address located within the City and County of San Francisco" unless its battery is certified and the mark is shown on the packaging, the paperwork or the product (San Francisco Fire Code § 326.2).

The city's definition of a powered mobility device names "an electric bicycle" (Ordinance 34-24, § 325.1).

Towns can add their own rules. In February 2026, Asbury Park, New Jersey, added one that bars the "sale and storage" of e-bikes and lithium-ion batteries in the city unless a nationally recognized testing laboratory has certified them and its mark is on them (Asbury Park Code § 3-40.2).

Oregon, New Jersey and the federal proposal

Oregon has enacted a rule of its own. From January 1, 2027, selling or offering "a storage battery or charging system" for an electric assisted bicycle that "has not been certified by an accredited testing laboratory" is an offense, and so is selling one without the laboratory's mark "permanently affixed"; a used sale is exempt, and breaking the rule is a Class D traffic violation (Oregon Laws 2026, ch. 101 (HB 4007), § 19).

New Jersey regulates the sale from a different direction. Until January 19, 2027, no one may "sell, or offer for sale, on the Internet any electric motorized bicycle", the state's term for a two-wheeled pedal machine with "an electric motor capable of greater than 750 watts that is capable of reaching a speed greater than 28 miles per hour" (P.L.2025, c.285, §§ 1 and 12).

Our New Jersey e-bike law page covers the licensing and registration the same act requires; a rider who cannot show those papers when an officer asks faces a fine of up to $50 (P.L.2025, c.285, § 5).

The federal picture is still a proposal, and it has a history worth knowing. The CPSC published a notice of proposed rulemaking on June 24, 2026 that would make compliance with the micromobility battery standards a federal requirement. Written comments closed on August 24, 2026, and the Commission scheduled oral comments for a virtual meeting on October 21, 2026 (Federal Register 2026-20296). It has not been finalized.

The proposal was pulled once before. On May 13, 2025, the Commission voted unanimously, 2-0, to withdraw an earlier version before it reached the Federal Register (CPSC Record of Commission Action).

Congress has a route of its own: the House passed the Setting Consumer Standards for Lithium-Ion Batteries Act 365-42 on April 28, 2025 (H.R. 973 bill status), and the Senate's version has waited on its calendar since July 29, 2025 (S. 389 bill status).

As of October 19, 2026 there is no federal certification requirement, and the state and city rules above are the enforceable map, within the limits Limitations item 2 sets out.

Tested versus certified

The trap here is the word "tested". UL Solutions is explicit that a test is not a certification: "Certification to these product safety standards can ONLY be issued by an ISO/IEC 17065 accredited product certification body or by an OSHA Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory" (UL Solutions, August 1, 2023).

A listing that says "tested to UL 2849" has told you about a report someone commissioned. A listing that names the accredited body has told you who is accountable for it.

Even a printed mark is worth checking: UL Solutions has sued an e-bike seller for allegedly using the UL Mark across a lineup that never went through its testing (UL Solutions, March 13, 2025), and UL's own Product iQ database is where the products it certifies can be searched.

Our state law pages for California, Colorado, Illinois, New York and Oregon carry the rest of each state's rules alongside this one.

Buying from an online e-bike shop: brand-direct vs multi-brand

Online is where selection and price live, and it splits into two shapes that behave differently when something goes wrong. Brand-direct means buying one label straight from the company that makes it. Multi-brand means buying from a store that carries several. Both can be entirely legitimate, and both have to pass the same seven checks.

To see which company stands behind a particular online shop before you order, look it up in our census of every e-bike website that sells to Americans, which records the operator each site names, its government registry match and its domain age.

Buying direct from the brand (DTC)

Buying straight from the manufacturer removes a margin, which can mean real savings, and it puts the bike, the warranty and the support under one roof. One roof is excellent when the company is responsive and solvent, and it is the whole exposure when it is neither.

The trade-offs are predictable. Read the component list before the price, because the brakes, the tires and the finish are the parts you feel a year later, and a bike shipped direct arrives in a box for you to assemble. Because support is remote, parts availability and response time matter more than they would at a shop down the street.

Direct suits a confident buyer who has done the homework. Price the savings against the service you are giving up, and ask what happens to your warranty if the company changes hands.

Specialist multi-brand e-bike stores

A multi-brand online store gathers several labels into one catalog, so you can compare builds and prices without eight tabs open. The cost is a company sitting between you and each manufacturer. The middle position is a benefit when the store adds US-based support and a single point of contact, and a liability when it is a thin reseller with nothing behind it.

Judge it the way you would judge anyone: does it publish full policy and contact pages, does it answer a pre-sale question, and does it stand behind the manufacturer warranty with real support?

Redtail publishes its shipping, return and contact pages and its terms of service openly, and you can compare the 15 brands on our brands page in one place. The whole sequence from checkout to first ride, including the military and recovery-program discounts, is written out on how buying from Redtail works.

Where can you buy an electric bike in person?

You can buy an electric bike in person at an independent bike shop, at a brand's own retail store, at a warehouse club, or at a general big-box retailer. Only the first two will fit the bike to you.

A quarter of the Google searches that showed this page in the last 90 days asked for a shop near the searcher, in person or locally: 251 of 964 US impressions (Google Search Console, October 19, 2026). The honest answer is that the in-person channel is worth its markup for a specific kind of buyer.

A local bike shop's edge is everything a screen cannot deliver: a real test ride, a professional fit, and one counter to walk into when a warranty repair is needed. You pay more, and the selection is whatever is on the floor.

There is a sharper argument for shops than the one usually made, and it is about catching a mistake before you pay for it. A good shop will notice that the frame is too long for you, that the reach puts weight on your wrists, or that the bike you picked is more machine than a flat five-mile commute needs. Nobody online can see you sit on it.

If this is your first e-bike, if you are unsure about fit, if you want hands-on service, or if you would rather not assemble a bike yourself, a shop earns its price. The efficient path is usually hybrid: research online, then test-ride locally before committing.

To find one, start with our US e-bike store directory, which maps every buying channel from dealer locators to independents. We also keep verified city and state directories with addresses, hours and brands checked against each shop's own site, including California, New York City, Los Angeles and Portland.

If your city is not named above, find it in the list by state at the end of this guide before you drive anywhere.

If a straightforward commute is the goal, comparing commuter e-bikes online first will narrow the field before you go.

Five questions to ask a dealer before you pay

Ask a dealer five things before you pay, and time how long the answers take. The same verification applies in person as online; you simply get to ask a human.

• who made the battery cells, which a good shop can tell you from the pack's paperwork;
• the motor's continuous rating rather than its peak wattage;
• the component brands on the brakes and drivetrain, such as Shimano or SRAM;
• the warranty length and who actually handles a claim;
• how fast they respond, which you test by emailing or calling before you buy.

A same-day answer is a good sign. A week of silence means the same thing online or off, and it is the cheapest test on this page.

Getting an online-bought e-bike serviced locally

Ask before you buy rather than after. Shops set their own terms for a bike they did not sell: one may take it at its normal rate, another may charge more for the labor, and another may decline it over liability or parts. Read the brand's own support page for a service network, too, before you assume there is none.

Is Walmart, Costco, or Amazon a safe place to buy an ebike?

Big-box and marketplace stores can be safe for an entry-level e-bike with an easy return policy, and the seller of record decides your risk rather than the famous logo at the top of the page. If price is your first filter, shop these listings with your eyes open.

Our own sweep of the federal recall database found something worth carrying into the checkout. The CPSC recall database holds 38 e-bike recalls published since 2015, and four of them name a marketplace in the notice: Amazon, Walmart or eBay. Every one of those four is a battery fire.

Among the other 34 in the CPSC database, five are fires. The rest are mostly parts that break: forks, frames, stems, seat posts, axles, wheel bolts, fenders and brakes, plus four motors that could drive the bike on their own and one lead-paint finish. In this record, recalled bikes from bike brands tend to break, and recalled bikes from marketplace listings tend to burn.

The most recent of the four makes the mechanism concrete. Under CPSC recall 25-403 (July 24, 2025), about 100 FENGQS F7 Pro e-bikes sold on Amazon between May and December 2024 for $700 to $1,200 were recalled because "The e-bikes' lithium-ion battery can overheat and ignite, posing serious fire and burn hazards to consumers."

The notice records 13 ignition incidents including 2 fires. The remedy was a full refund from the manufacturer, Shenzhen Fengqisi Car Industry Co., Ltd., of China.

On a marketplace, a listing sold by the brand's own storefront is a different transaction from a third-party listing under the same photograph. Third-party sellers set their own warranty, their own returns, and whether the bike carries certification at all. Read the "sold by" and "ships from" lines, then search the model in the CPSC recall database.

Big-box chains differ most on returns, and each one publishes its own rule, so read it rather than relying on a reputation. Every electric bike Best Buy lists is in our September 2026 census, model by model, and Best Buy's own return policy names electric bikes as nonreturnable once purchased. Whatever the chain, the bike is only as backed as its actual seller and manufacturer, so read both before you tap buy.

Recall counts read backwards easily. A recall is a record of a company that could be made to act. It is not a mark against them, and a brand with no recall may simply be one nobody could compel. The next section is what that looks like.

Is it safe to buy an electric bike from Temu, AliExpress, or Alibaba?

Treat a cross-border platform listing as an unverified seller until proven otherwise, because the two things that protect you on a US purchase are hardest to use there. A warranty claim needs a company that will answer and a jurisdiction you can reach it in, and a recall needs a firm the CPSC can compel. On the FENGQS recall the recalling firm was a manufacturer in China, and the remedy required contacting it directly.

The certification question is now decisive rather than advisory. If the listing ships into California, Colorado, Illinois or New York, the seller may not lawfully sell an e-bike or battery that an accredited laboratory has not tested or certified.

Into New York City the mark has to be on the product page, and into San Francisco it has to be on the packaging, the paperwork or the product (Fire Code § 326.2). None of these rules stops a listing appearing. Each one gives you a specific thing to demand and a specific answer to walk away from.

Three questions settle most of these listings quickly. Who is the seller of record, and in which country are they established? Which accredited laboratory certified the battery, by name? What is the return path if the bike arrives damaged, including who pays the freight back?

A seller who answers all three has earned the same consideration as any other. A seller who answers none has told you what the warranty is worth.

Paying by credit card matters more here than anywhere else on this page, for the reason set out in check 7 below: non-delivery is a defined billing error you can dispute in writing, and a wire transfer gives you no equivalent right against a seller who never ships.

Buying a used or refurbished e-bike

A used e-bike is a genuinely smart buy when the battery checks out and the bike is not stolen. The battery is the part to check first: it is costly to replace, and the battery system figures in all nine fire recalls in the federal record above. A stolen frame is unrecoverable, unwarrantable and worth nothing the moment it is identified.

Four checks make a secondhand purchase safe. Confirm the pack is the original certified battery rather than an aftermarket swap, and look at it in daylight for swelling, cracks, impact marks, corrosion at the contacts, or tape holding anything in place.

Run the model through the CPSC recall database. Price a new battery for that model before you negotiate, so you know the real cost if it fails. Then check the frame serial number against a stolen-bike registry.

How do you check whether a used e-bike is stolen?

Find the frame serial number, photograph it, and search it in a free stolen-bike registry before you hand over money. The frame serial is usually stamped under the bottom bracket where the pedals pass through the frame, and it is not the same as the number on the battery or the motor, which most e-bikes also carry.

Bike Index is a free nonprofit registry with more than 1.8 million bikes registered, and it will take the number directly.

The behavioral tells matter as much as the lookup. Walk away if the serial has been ground off, painted over or covered, if the seller will not let you photograph it before payment, if they refuse to meet in a public place, or if they change the pickup location at the last minute and want a fast cash handoff. Any one of those is a reason to leave.

Certification is worth a separate thought on a used bike. California's labeling duty does not apply to a secondhand sale under § 26302(e)(2), so an unlabeled used bike is not evidence of anything unlawful, and Oregon's 2027 rule exempts a used sale too. It still leaves you without the piece of paper, which is a fair thing to price into the offer.

If a first e-bike is what you are shopping for, buying new from a seller that passes the checklist is the simpler path, and our guide to choosing a first electric bike walks that decision.

The legit e-bike store checklist: 7 checks before you pay

You can verify almost any e-bike seller, online or local, in about ten minutes. The seven checks below work on a brand's website, a multi-brand shop, a marketplace listing or the store on your corner, and each maps to a source you can open yourself.

Work through them in order and stop when a seller fails one it cannot explain. A legitimate seller passes all seven without flinching.

The pack slides out on its rails. Check the lock, the rails and the certification mark on it before you pay for the bike it sits in.

1. Search the exact model in the CPSC recall database. The federal recall database is free and lists every e-bike recall the CPSC has announced. Two minutes tells you whether your model was pulled for a fire or a mechanical hazard, and there are only 38 e-bike recalls in it to date.
2. Get the certifying laboratory by name rather than the standard by name. UL 2849 covers the whole electrical system and UL 2271 covers the battery pack. Certification "can ONLY be issued by an ISO/IEC 17065 accredited product certification body or by an OSHA Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory" (UL Solutions). Ask which lab, and look for the mark on the battery itself.
3. Get the warranty terms in writing before you pay. A federal rule requires sellers to make written warranty text available before sale on anything costing more than $15, by displaying it near the product or "Furnishing it upon request prior to sale" (16 CFR § 702.3). Read the term, the coverage, who handles claims, and whether it survives a change of ownership.
4. Read the return policy's fine print, then the shipping promise. Find the window, any restocking fee, who pays return freight, and whether an assembled bike still qualifies. Federal law also requires a seller to ship within the stated time, or "within thirty (30) days after receipt of a properly completed order" if none is stated, and otherwise to offer you the choice to "consent to a delay in shipping or to cancel the buyer's order and receive a prompt refund" (16 CFR § 435.2). Our guide to the Lectric return policy shows the window, the fee and who pays return shipping for one brand.
5. Confirm a real US contact route and test it before the sale. The Better Business Bureau's advice is to make sure "that there is a physical address and robust contact information" before you pay (BBB, updated October 22, 2025). Then use it. Email a pre-sale question and time the reply: 24 hours is good and a week of silence is a decision.
6. Look the seller up somewhere they do not control. Read complaint history at the BBB, check its Scam Tracker, and search the name with "reviews" and with "complaint". A "Powered by Shopify" badge proves where a site is hosted; Shopify itself runs a report-a-merchant channel with a fraud category.
7. Pay by credit card, and sanity-check the price. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1666(a) you may dispute a billing error in writing within sixty days of the statement carrying it, and a bike "not delivered to the consumer or the consumer's designee as agreed" is a defined billing error (12 CFR § 1026.13(a)(3)). Liability for unauthorized use of the card is capped: "the liability is not in excess of $50" (15 U.S.C. § 1643(a)(1)(B)). Our own lineup runs from $339.99 to $4,499 and its cheapest fat-tire bike is $519, so a $299 "750W fat-tire" from an unknown shop is the price telling on itself. Compare it against real fat-tire e-bike prices.

None of these checks is about brand loyalty. They are about evidence, and every one applies to us. The section below runs all seven on Redtail in public, including the two we do not fully pass.

Red flags: how to spot a sketchy e-bike seller

A bad seller costs you in one of two ways: it disappears before your warranty claim, or it never ships at all. US consumers filed 3 million fraud reports in 2025 and reported $15.9 billion lost, against more than $12 billion the year before, with reported losses up nearly 430% since 2020 (FTC testimony, March 25, 2026, p. 3).

Watch for these tells:

• Too-good-to-be-true pricing. A brand-new "750W fat-tire" e-bike at $299 to $399 from an unknown domain is priced below every fat-tire bike on our shelf, the cheapest of which is $519, and the Section 301 tariff on lithium-ion batteries from China other than for passenger vehicles rose to 25% on January 1, 2026.
• Fake urgency. Countdown timers that reset, "only 2 left" theater, and prices that grow with mandatory fees at checkout are pressure, not information.
• Payment by wire transfer, crypto, or gift cards. The FTC's advice is flat: "Never pay someone who insists that you can only pay with cryptocurrency, a wire transfer service like Western Union or MoneyGram, a payment app, or a gift card" (FTC, How To Avoid a Scam). The reason is structural: none of them carries the billing-error right a credit card does.
• A brand-new domain running a 70%-off clearance. A domain's creation date is public and free to check at ICANN Lookup. A "premium" store registered last month deserves real skepticism.
• No street address and missing policies. No physical address, no privacy, return or terms pages, and broken images or links all point at a storefront built to vanish.
• Only generic five-star reviews and nothing off-site. If every review is a glowing one-liner and the brand name returns nothing on Google, Reddit or Trustpilot, the reviews are decoration.
• A certification claim with no laboratory attached. "Tested to UL 2849" is not "certified by" a named accredited body, and in California, Colorado, Illinois and New York the difference is now a legal one.

Real discounts exist, and the tell is transparency: a legitimate sale shows the regular price beside the sale price rather than a mystery percentage on a week-old domain. Most listings on our sale page print both prices, which is what an honest markdown looks like.

Does the padlock in the address bar mean a site is safe?

No. The padlock means traffic to the site is encrypted, nothing more. A storefront built last week to take your money can show the padlock exactly as a legitimate store does, because the certificate behind it says nothing about who runs the shop.

Check the domain's registration date at ICANN Lookup instead, because that one still tells an old business from a new one.

What to do if you have already been scammed

Act on the payment first, because that is the part with a deadline. Call your card issuer and open a dispute in writing rather than only by phone.

Under 15 U.S.C. § 1666(a) the creditor must receive your written notice within sixty days of transmitting the statement that carried the charge. A bike "not delivered to the consumer or the consumer's designee as agreed" is a billing error by definition (12 CFR § 1026.13(a)(3)), and the creditor must acknowledge your notice within thirty days.

Photograph it just like this, before you move it or open it. A carton that arrives looking like this is the evidence, and the clock on it is short.

Then create the record, in this order:

1. Save the evidence before the listing disappears. Screenshot the product page, the checkout total, the confirmation email and every message. Storefronts built to vanish do exactly that.
2. Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Reports feed the Consumer Sentinel Network that produced the figures above and are shared with law enforcement.
3. Report the merchant to the platform. Shopify runs a report-a-merchant channel with a fraud category; marketplaces have their own.
4. File with the BBB Scam Tracker, a public record the next buyer can search.
5. If the bike arrived and it is the safety that worries you, report the incident to the CPSC at SaferProducts.gov. Consumer reports are one of the ways the CPSC learns that a product may need a recall.

Two limits are worth knowing in advance. A wire transfer, a crypto payment or a gift card has no equivalent of the billing-error process, which is why check 7 exists. And a company that has entered bankruptcy may leave you filing a claim in the case rather than with the company, which is what happened to buyers of one major US brand described below.

How Redtail scores on its own checklist

Fair is fair. Redtail eBikes is a store, so this is how we score on our own seven checks, read from our own policy pages on October 19, 2026. Run these yourself rather than taking our word for any of them.

Checks 5 and 6 come down to who stands behind a seller: the company that answers for your order is named in our terms of service, and our about page carries its Florida filing number and its trademark serial, so you can search both.

Three more terms belong on the record because they cost you money in the wrong circumstances. Shipping is free to the contiguous United States: orders are dispatched within 1 to 3 business days of confirmation, and most e-bikes arrive within 5 to 10 business days after dispatch.

Damage claims have a hard window: inspect at delivery, note any damage with the carrier, and email photos within 48 hours of delivery, because "Claims made more than 48 hours after delivery are not accepted."

That is our honest scorecard. Real strengths, one genuinely strict return policy, and one gap we will not paper over. If it clears your bar, shop the full Redtail lineup with free shipping to the contiguous US. If a hands-on fitting matters more to you than price or selection, a good local shop is your better call, and we would rather say so than sell you a bike that does not fit.

When is the best time to buy an electric bike?

Buy at the end of a model year or the end of a riding season, when last year's stock is genuinely discounted, rather than waiting for prices in general to fall.

One input cost moved in a documented direction this year. The Section 301 tariff on lithium-ion batteries from China other than those for passenger vehicles rose to 25% on January 1, 2026, under HTSUS 8507.60.0020, the line an e-bike pack sits under.

That has a practical consequence for the checklist rather than for your calendar. A price that looked too low in 2024 looks lower still once a battery imported from China carries a 25% tariff, so the too-cheap-to-be-true test has become more reliable, not less. Treat a deep discount on a current-year model from an unknown seller as a stronger signal than it was two years ago.

The honest version of seasonal timing is narrow. Prior-year and end-of-season bikes are real savings on real bikes, and the tell of a legitimate one is a seller who prints the price before the markdown and still answers a pre-sale question inside a day. If you want to see the shape of the market before you commit, our US e-bike price guide sets out what each budget band actually buys.

Know the rules before you buy

Check your state's e-bike rules before you check out, especially before you buy a Class 3. E-bike rules are set by the states rather than by Washington, and class access, speed limits, helmet and minimum-age requirements, and where a Class 3 may legally ride all change from state to state, as our state guides set out.

In four states the rules now reach the purchase itself rather than only the ride, and Oregon joins them on January 1, 2027. Until January 19, 2027, New Jersey also bars selling its most powerful pedal machines online, as described above.

For the details where you ride, see our guide to US e-bike laws, and if you want the bike shortlisted before the legal check, our reviews of the bikes we sell carry the published specifications that decide class. Our answers to the 100 questions e-bike buyers ask most cover conversion kits, used bikes and marketplace sellers too.

Every state and the District of Columbia has a page of its own here, each one read at the statute rather than summarized. Find your state before you check out.

Frequently asked questions about where to buy an electric bike

What is the best place to buy an electric bike for a first-time rider?

For a first-time rider, the best place to buy an electric bike is a local bike shop, if one nearby stocks what you want. You can test-ride it, be fitted to it, and hand off the assembly, and a good shop will catch a size or style mistake before you pay for it. If you buy online instead, choose a store with a real return window, a named certifying laboratory, and US-based support.

Is it better to buy an e-bike online or from a local shop?

Buy online for the widest selection and the lowest prices if you can handle basic assembly, and buy from a local shop for a test ride, a fitting and one-stop warranty service. Redtail sells online, and even so, if you are unsure about fit, a good shop is worth its higher price. The same seller checks apply either way.

Is it safe to buy an e-bike from Amazon or Walmart?

Amazon and Walmart can be safe for entry-level e-bikes once you confirm the seller of record. Marketplace listings carry a distinct risk: all four e-bike recalls in the CPSC database whose notice names a marketplace are battery fires, including recall 25-403 covering FENGQS e-bikes sold on Amazon. Read the "sold by" line, search the model in the recall database, and get the certifying laboratory by name.

Is it safe to buy an electric bike from Temu or AliExpress?

Treat a cross-border platform listing as unverified until the seller answers three questions: who is the seller of record and where are they established, which accredited laboratory certified the battery, and who pays return freight if the bike arrives damaged. Enforcement and warranty service are both harder to reach across a border, and on the FENGQS recall the refund had to be claimed from the manufacturer in China.

What payment method is safest for buying an e-bike online?

A credit card is the safest way to pay, because it is the only common method with a statutory right to dispute a bike that never arrives. Non-delivery is a defined billing error, and you may dispute it in writing within sixty days of the statement that carried the charge. Avoid any seller demanding a wire transfer, crypto or gift cards.

Do I need a license to buy an electric bike?

A license, where one applies, covers riding rather than buying. New Jersey requires a license and registration for every e-bike, and the six months its law gave riders to get them ended on July 19, 2026; Hawaii registers every e-bike for a one-time $30 fee (HRS § 249-14(b)). A machine outside the three classes can need a moped's license and registration. Check your state's page in our US e-bike laws guide.

Which states require UL certification to sell an e-bike?

Four states do today: California from January 1, 2026 (HSC § 26302(a)), Colorado from August 6, 2025 (C.R.S. § 42-4-221(14)), Illinois from January 1, 2026 (815 ILCS 361/15) and New York from October 9, 2024 (GBL § 495-a). Oregon's starts January 1, 2027. New York City and San Francisco add city rules, and a federal rule proposed on June 24, 2026 has not been finalized.

How do I check that an e-bike is actually certified?

Ask the seller which accredited laboratory issued the certification and to which standard, then look for that laboratory's name or logo on the battery and on the product page. Certification can only be issued by an ISO/IEC 17065 accredited certification body or an OSHA Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, so a claim of being "tested to" a standard with no laboratory named is not a certification.

What does UL 2849 cover, and how is it different from UL 2271?

UL 2849 is the standard for the e-bike's whole electrical system, covering the drive train, the battery system and the charger together. UL 2271 covers the battery pack for light electric vehicle use. A bike can carry a certified pack inside an electrical system nobody assessed, which is why New York City's rule names the two separately: UL 2849 for the bike and UL 2271 for its battery.

What warranty should an e-bike come with in the US?

An e-bike should come with a written manufacturer warranty you can read before you pay: 16 CFR § 702.3 makes sellers show warranty text before the sale on anything over $15. Check the term, the labor, the battery coverage and whether it transfers to a second owner. At Redtail the warranty is the maker's, as our terms of service say, and we help you take a claim to the manufacturer.

Does an e-bike warranty transfer to a second owner?

Read the written terms before you buy used, because that is where the answer sits. A warranty limited to the original purchaser does not pass to you, and a transferable one is a real part of a used bike's value. Ask the seller for the original proof of purchase too, since a claim needs it whoever is making it.

Who actually does the work on an e-bike warranty claim?

That depends on the brand, and it is the question worth asking before you pay rather than after. A replacement part shipped to your door is a different promise from a repair done for you, so ask who performs the labor, who pays for it, and who pays the freight both ways.

Will a local bike shop service an e-bike I bought online?

Call before you buy, because each shop sets its own terms for a bike it did not sell: its normal rate, a higher labor rate, or a refusal over liability and parts. Asking first turns a possible surprise into a known cost.

Should I buy a used e-bike from Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist?

A used e-bike from a classifieds platform can be a good deal when the battery checks out and the frame is not stolen. Confirm the pack is the original certified battery, inspect it in daylight for swelling or corrosion, run the model through the CPSC recall database, check the frame serial against a registry such as Bike Index, and price a replacement battery before you negotiate.

Where is the serial number on an electric bike?

The frame serial number is usually stamped or engraved under the bottom bracket, where the pedals pass through the frame, and you find it by turning the bike over or crouching beside the cranks. Most e-bikes also carry separate serial numbers on the motor and the battery. The frame number is the one a stolen-bike registry wants.

What should I do if an e-bike store will not honor its warranty?

Start with the written terms and a dated written request to the seller, then escalate on the payment if the bike was defective on arrival or never delivered, since that is a billing error you can dispute. File with the BBB and with the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and report a safety defect to the CPSC at SaferProducts.gov. If the company has entered bankruptcy, the claim may have to be filed in the bankruptcy case instead.

When is the best time of year to buy an electric bike?

The reliable savings are on prior-year models and end-of-season stock rather than on waiting for e-bike prices generally to fall. The Section 301 tariff on lithium-ion batteries from China other than for passenger vehicles rose to 25% on January 1, 2026. That makes a deep discount on a current-year model from an unknown seller a stronger warning sign than it used to be.

Can I buy an electric bike on payments?

If a seller offers an instalment plan, read what it costs and what happens to it if you return the bike. Paying through an instalment provider is not the same as paying by credit card for the billing-error rights described above. Our own checkout showed no instalment plan when we read it on October 19, 2026, and it takes card payment or the Shop Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay wallets.

The bottom line

The best place to buy electric bikes is not a store. It is any seller that passes the seven checks, in whichever channel suits how you shop. Online multi-brand stores win on selection and price. Local shops win on the test ride, the fitting and one counter to walk back into.

Big-box and marketplace listings can work for an entry bike once you have confirmed the seller of record, and the recall record says to treat the battery as the thing at risk there. A used bike is smart when the pack checks out and the serial comes back clean. In California, Colorado, Illinois and New York, and in New York City and San Francisco, one of these checks is now the seller's legal obligation rather than your request.

The strongest argument for doing all of this is what happens when nobody does. After 31 reports of fire, Rad Power Bikes refused to agree to an acceptable recall and told the CPSC it was unable to offer replacement batteries or refunds to all consumers, then filed for Chapter 11 on December 15, 2025. The brand's new owner's warranty page says this about bikes bought before that date:

as a result of the bankruptcy procedure by which RLM acquired certain assets of the estate, RLM has no obligation to provide warranty or other service for Products purchased prior to December 15, 2025

The court-approved sale agreement, though, lists warranty claims among the debts the buyer took on, so an owner should write to Rad and quote both; our Rad Power Bikes profile sets out the court record. No checklist predicts a bankruptcy. What the checks do is narrow the odds, and the one that protects the purchase itself is the payment: a credit card gives you a statutory route back if the bike never arrives.

When should you not buy from us? If this is your first e-bike and you want a professional fitting and hands-on setup, a good local shop earns its higher price. If you cannot handle basic assembly, buy where assembly is included. We would rather make the sale, and we are telling you anyway.

If online is the right fit, shop the full Redtail lineup with free shipping to the contiguous US, help taking a warranty claim to the manufacturer through our US support desk, and the strict-but-stated return policy we ran on ourselves above.

Every guide behind this page

Everything below is a page we researched and published ourselves, and every one of them was live on October 19, 2026. Use it the way you would use a shop's back wall: find the aisle first, then the thing you came for.

Choosing the bike: 73 buying guides

Each one screens our own catalog against a published specification and says who the answer is wrong for.

The bikes themselves: 136 model reviews

Each one reads a single model against its maker's own published specification, and where an independent outlet has instrumented the bike, its measurements are named and attributed.

The makers: 23 brand profiles

Warranty terms, recall history and lineup, taken from each maker's own published pages.

Where to buy in person: 162 verified shop directories

Addresses, phone numbers and hours checked against each shop's own site, city by city.

What you may ride once you own it: 51 state law pages

Class rules, speed caps, helmet and age law, read at the statute and re-checked against the current code. Every state has one, and so does the District of Columbia.

Where to ride it, how it works, and who we are: 30 more

Limitations

Eight things on this page are narrower than they may read, and each one is named here so you can weigh it yourself.

1. The price figures describe our own shelf, not the market. They cover the 219 bikes listed in our All eBikes collection on October 19, 2026, a set that includes pedal-less electric dirt bikes and a children's balance bike, at each bike's lowest variant price. They are not a US market average, our catalog is weighted toward direct-import value brands, and prices on it moved during the day they were read.
2. The state map rests on a bill search and on the laws it found. Every state legislature's bills since 2023 were searched for the standards these laws name and for "accredited testing laboratory", and each enacted law was read in its own text. A rule written in other words, or one in a code that bill search does not reach, could still exist. City and county codes were not enumerated nationwide: New York City, San Francisco and Asbury Park are the local rules this page found, and your town may have its own. One state bill was pending on October 19, 2026: Massachusetts' economic-development bill sat in conference committee (H.5576), and its House version "strengthens safety standards for lithium-ion batteries" (Massachusetts House, July 8, 2026).
3. The recall sweep describes what the CPSC database contains rather than how safe any brand is. A recall records a corrective action a firm agreed to. A brand with no recall may be safer, smaller, or one that could not be compelled, which is the Rad Power case, where the firm refused a recall and the agency issued a warning instead.
4. Retailer flags in the recall sweep come from the notice's own wording. A bike sold on a marketplace whose recall notice does not name it is counted as unnamed rather than as not-sold-there, so the marketplace count of four is a floor.
5. The recall figures replace a count of 31. That count missed six e-bike recalls whose notices describe the product in other words: electric mountain bike battery packs, electric folding bicycles, "e-bicycles", a three-wheeled electric tricycle, electric and traditional cargo bikes, and seat posts on an electric bicycle. All six were in the database before September 2026, and the one recall published since then is a cargo e-bike's seat-post clamp, on October 1, 2026.
6. The 2025 fraud loss figure is cited to the FTC's prepared statement to the Joint Economic Committee rather than to the Consumer Sentinel Data Book, because on October 19, 2026 the FTC's newest published Data Book was the 2024 edition. The figure is the Commission's own, and the fuller breakdown is not yet published.
7. The AI-search panel was run on an accessible AI-answer instrument rather than on ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google AI Overviews, none of which are reachable to us programmatically. It supports statements about what those questions return in AI search generally, and not about any named commercial engine's behavior.
8. We publish no street address. By our own check 5 that is a gap, and it is the reason that row reads as a partial pass rather than a pass.

This page expires on the first of these events:

• the CPSC finalizes or withdraws the proposed rule in docket CPSC-2025-0012;
• Oregon's rule takes effect on January 1, 2027, or another state or city enacts a sale-side rule;
• New Jersey's online-sale bar ends on January 19, 2027;
• Illinois stops accepting EN 15194 on January 1, 2028;
• a new e-bike recall is added to the CPSC database;
• the FTC publishes the 2025 Consumer Sentinel Data Book;
• our return, shipping, contact or payment terms change.

Absent any of those, this page is re-verified by April 19, 2027.

Source register

Each source below is graded by how close it sits to the authority that made the rule, so you can see at a glance which claims rest on a statute or a federal database and which rest on a store or a company describing itself. Nothing graded T5 is cited anywhere on this page.

No T4 journalistic source carries a claim on this page alone, and no T5 source is cited anywhere on it.

Primary sources

Every source below was retrieved on October 19, 2026 and read at the section cited; 51 of the 54 also have a Wayback Machine snapshot and the other three are kept as dated local copies. Each one is listed with the section or page the claim actually rests on rather than the publisher's front door. Government bodies come first; nothing on this page rests on a summary of any of them.

1. California Legislature. "Health and Safety Code § 26302." Added by Stats. 2024, ch. 791, § 1; operative January 1, 2026. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&sectionNum=26302 · accessed 2026-10-19.
2. California Legislature. "Senate Bill No. 1271 — Electric bicycles, powered mobility devices, and storage batteries." Chaptered 2024. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1271 · accessed 2026-10-19.
3. Colorado General Assembly. "House Bill 25-1197, Concerning Requirements Related to Electrical Assisted Bicycles Offered for Sale in the State," enrolled act, adding C.R.S. § 42-4-221(13) and (14); section 4, effective date. https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025A/bills/2025a_1197_enr.pdf · accessed 2026-10-19.
4. Colorado General Assembly. "HB25-1197 Sale of Electrical Assisted Bicycles Requirements," bill history: Governor Signed, May 28, 2025. https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1197 · accessed 2026-10-19.
5. Illinois General Assembly. "815 ILCS 361/15, Manufacture and distribution of low-speed electric bicycles, personal e-mobility devices, and traction batteries," Micromobility Fire Safety Act; Source: P.A. 104-414, eff. 1-1-26. https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/081503610K15.htm · accessed 2026-10-19.
6. New York State Senate. "General Business Law § 495-a." Laws of 2024, ch. 195. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/495-A · accessed 2026-10-19.
7. Governor of New York. "Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Encourage the Safe Use of E-Bikes and Lithium-Ion Batteries and Protect New Yorkers," July 11, 2024; S.154-F/A.4938-D. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-signs-legislation-encourage-safe-use-e-bikes-and-lithium-ion-batteries-and · accessed 2026-10-19.
8. Oregon Legislative Assembly. "Enrolled House Bill 4007," 2026 regular session, Oregon Laws 2026, ch. 101; §§ 19 and 33. https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2026R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB4007/Enrolled · accessed 2026-10-19.
9. New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. "Inspection Checklist: Micromobility Devices and Batteries," implementing NYC Admin. Code §§ 20-610(a), (d), (e) (Local Law 39 of 2023, amended by Local Law 50 of 2024). https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dca/downloads/pdf/businesses/DCWP-Inspection-Checklist-Micromobility-Devices-And-Batteries.pdf · accessed 2026-10-19.
10. New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. "Mayor Adams, Speaker Adams Announce New Enforcement Powers to Prevent Sale of Dangerous, Uncertified Batteries and Battery-Powered Micromobility Devices," October 9, 2024; Local Law 50 of 2024. https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/news/041-24/mayor-adams-speaker-adams-new-enforcement-powers-prevent-sale-dangerous- · accessed 2026-10-19.
11. City and County of San Francisco. "Fire Code § 326.2, Prohibition on Sales," added by Ord. 122-26, effective July 27, 2026. https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_fire/0-0-0-49183 · accessed 2026-10-19.
12. San Francisco Board of Supervisors. "Ordinance No. 122-26," definition of a certified lithium-ion battery. https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/o0122-26.pdf · accessed 2026-10-19.
13. San Francisco Board of Supervisors. "Ordinance No. 34-24," Fire Code § 325.1, definition of a powered mobility device. https://sfbos.org/sites/default/files/o0034-24.pdf · accessed 2026-10-19.
14. New Jersey Legislature. "P.L.2025, c.285," §§ 1, 11, 12 and 13; approved January 19, 2026. https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2024/PL25/285_.HTM · accessed 2026-10-19.
15. City of Asbury Park. "Code § 3-40.2, Sale and Storage of E-Mobility Devices and Lithium-Ion Batteries," added February 11, 2026 by Ord. No. 2026-1. https://ecode360.com/50586590 · accessed 2026-10-19.
16. Hawaii State Legislature. "Hawaii Revised Statutes § 249-14, Bicycle fee," subsec. (b). https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol04_Ch0201-0257/HRS0249/HRS_0249-0014.htm · accessed 2026-10-19.
17. Massachusetts General Court. "Bill H.5576, An Act relative to economic development in the commonwealth," bill history to July 30, 2026. https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5576 · accessed 2026-10-19.
18. Massachusetts House of Representatives. "House Passes Economic Development and Competitiveness Bill to Strengthen Massachusetts Economy," July 8, 2026. https://malegislature.gov/PressRoom/Detail?pressReleaseId=1436 · accessed 2026-10-19.
19. United States Government Publishing Office. "15 U.S.C. § 2085 — Low-speed electric bicycles," subsec. (b), 2023 edition. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title15/html/USCODE-2023-title15-chap47-sec2085.htm · accessed 2026-10-19.
20. United States Government Publishing Office. "15 U.S.C. § 1666 — Correction of billing errors," 2023 edition. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title15/html/USCODE-2023-title15-chap41-subchapI-partD-sec1666.htm · accessed 2026-10-19.
21. United States Government Publishing Office. "15 U.S.C. § 1643 — Liability of holder of credit card," 2023 edition. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title15/html/USCODE-2023-title15-chap41-subchapI-partB-sec1643.htm · accessed 2026-10-19.
22. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. "12 CFR § 1026.13 — Billing error resolution," current eCFR. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-X/part-1026/subpart-B/section-1026.13 · accessed 2026-10-19.
23. Federal Trade Commission. "16 CFR § 435.2 — Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule," current eCFR. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-435/section-435.2 · accessed 2026-10-19.
24. Federal Trade Commission. "16 CFR § 702.3 — Pre-sale availability of written warranty terms," current eCFR. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-702/section-702.3 · accessed 2026-10-19.
25. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. "Recalls and Product Safety Warnings" database and public REST service. https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls · accessed 2026-10-19.
26. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. "FENGQS Electric Bikes Recalled Due to Fire and Burn Hazards; Sold on Amazon," recall 25-403, July 24, 2025. https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2025/FENGQS-Electric-Bikes-Recalled-Due-to-Fire-and-Burn-Hazards-Risk-of-Serious-Injury-or-Death-Sold-on-Amazon · accessed 2026-10-19.
27. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. "CPSC Warns Consumers to Immediately Stop Using Batteries for E-Bikes from Rad Power Bikes Due to Fire Hazard," warning 26-118, November 24, 2025. https://www.cpsc.gov/Warnings/2026/CPSC-Warns-Consumers-to-Immediately-Stop-Using-Batteries-for-E-Bikes-from-Rad-Power-Bikes-Due-to-Fire-Hazard-Risk-of-Serious-Injury-or-Death · accessed 2026-10-19.
28. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. "Safety Standard for Lithium-Ion Batteries Used in Micromobility Products," notice of proposed rulemaking, Docket No. CPSC-2025-0012, published June 24, 2026; comments closed August 24, 2026. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/06/24/2026-12749/safety-standard-for-lithium-ion-batteries-used-in-micromobility-products-and-electrical-systems-of · accessed 2026-10-19.
29. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. "Safety Standard for Lithium-Ion Batteries Used in Micromobility Products," announcement of opportunity for oral presentation of comments, Federal Register 2026-20296, October 5, 2026. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/05/2026-20296/safety-standard-for-lithium-ion-batteries-used-in-micromobility-products-and-electrical-systems-of · accessed 2026-10-19.
30. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. "Record of Commission Action: Withdrawal of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking," ballot vote package dated May 13, 2025. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/RCA-Withdrawal-of-NPR-for-Safety-Standard-for-Lithium-Ion%20Battery-Micromobility-Products.pdf · accessed 2026-10-19.
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32. United States Government Publishing Office. "Bill status, S. 389 (119th Congress)." Placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar, Calendar No. 133, July 29, 2025. https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/119/s/BILLSTATUS-119s389.xml · accessed 2026-10-19.
33. United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Washington. "Order Approving: Sale of Assets Free and Clear of Liens, Claims, Encumbrances and Assumption and Assignment of Executory Contracts Unexpired Leases," In re Summit Collective, Inc., et al., Lead Case No. 25-02182-WLH11, jointly administered with Rad Power Bikes, Inc., Doc 180, dated January 30, 2026, with the asset purchase agreement attached; Assumed Liabilities (3), the Warranty Claims. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.waeb.218904/gov.uscourts.waeb.218904.180.0.pdf · accessed 2026-10-19.
34. Federal Trade Commission. "Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission on The Rising Scam Economy," before the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, March 25, 2026, p. 3. https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/ftc-testimony-jec-hearing-on-the-rising-scam-economy.pdf · accessed 2026-10-19.
35. Federal Trade Commission. "How To Avoid a Scam," Consumer Advice, "Know how scammers tell you to pay". https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-scam · accessed 2026-10-19.
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