Screen capture at Amazon.

Should you buy a Thousand Oaks Optical filter sheet from “Rix Beauty” (or any other non-approved vendor) at Amazon? For now, my advice is no. Why? Several reasons. The most important is you have no idea if the filter sheet was actually made by Thousand Oaks Optical, or if it is a fake. This also applies to all the other eclipse products at Amazon that are sold by non-approved vendors.

Originally posted August 6, 2017. Updated with new information August 8, 2017.

Rix Beauty is one of several companies on Amazon that are selling white light solar filter material which supposedly is made by made Thousand Oaks Optical. None of these companies are on the AAS approved vendor list. More about that later.

FYI: Thousand Oaks Optical makes the best solar filters on the market. They make solar filters for NASA and most of the astronomical observatories in the United States. They are the best of the best. But you should only buy directly from Thousand Oaks Optical (they happen to be out of stock) or one of their approved dealers.

Amazon has been flooded with counterfeit eclipse materials. The American Astronomical Society (AAS) says “the marketplace is being flooded by counterfeit eclipse glasses that are labeled as if they’re ISO-compliant when in fact they are not.” Quartz is reporting “Solar-eclipse fever means counterfeit glasses are flooding Amazon’s market”.

That means it is no longer safe to order solar eclipse glasses or other solar eclipse materials from Amazon or other third party web sites from vendors that are not on the AAS approved vendor list. You have no way of knowing if the eclipse glasses and solar filters are safe or not. In fact, the safest option is to not buy from Amazon at all. Just order directly from an approved vendor.

AAS recommends that you buy directly from their list of approved vendors. It is the best way to know for sure that you are buying safe eclipse glasses, solar filters, and other solar eclipse materials. You can see the list of approved vendors here.  As for Amazon or other third party online sites, any fly-by-night company can buy counterfeit eclipse materials (intentionally or otherwise), say they are the real deal, and sell them on Amazon.

Like the other sites, Rix Beauty says the filters sheets come from Thousand Oaks Optical, but you have no idea if that is true. It might be but you can’t be sure. That is the reason for the warning from AAS and their advice to buy only from approved vendors.

According to this feedback at Amazon, Rix Beauty has been selling counterfeit eclipse glasses. This is a matter of serious concern.

I don’t know anything about this company. But they are definitely NOT on the AAS approved vendors list. When it comes to your eyesight that is a problem.

It is possible that this company doesn’t know they are selling counterfeit eclipse products, but that won’t be of any comfort to you if you buy fake eclipse products from them and ruin your eyes. That goes for other companies at Amazon that are not on the AAS approved vendor list. They may have good intentions but unwittingly buying fake eclipse materials and reselling them on Amazon. Good intentions won’t protect your eyes from permanent damage or blindness.

I sent a message to Thousand Oaks Optical today (August 6) and asked if Rix Beauty is one of their official vendors. As of today’s update to this article (August 8) I have not heard from them. Since Thousand Oaks Optical has not confirmed that Rix Beauty is one of their authorized dealers, and since Rix Beauty is not on the list of  AAS approved vendors, I would not buy anything from them (or any other company at Amazon that is not on the approved list).

If you are looking for safe solar eclipse products, check out the other articles in this series.

Links

The Great American Eclipse Series

The Great American Eclipse Series   –  All of my eclipse articles are listed at this link. Check back for new articles as they appear. This is the 20th article in the series.

More Links

Safe Eclipse Glasses from David Chandler

You Can Still Buy Safe Solar Eclipse Glasses if You Act Now! Written August 5, 2017.

You Can Make Your Own Inexpensive High Density Filter To Photograph the Eclipse

You Can Still Buy Safe Solar Eclipse Glasses if You Act Now! Written August 5, 2017.

Last Chance: High Density Filters to Photograph the Eclipse – My most recent article (August 5, 2017) on buying solar eclipse filters.

How to Tell If Your Eclipse Glasses or Handheld Solar Viewers Are Safe –  the American Astronomical Society

Reputable Vendors of Solar Filters  – the American Astronomical Society

Solar-eclipse fever means counterfeit glasses are flooding Amazon’s market