When I buy a product, if there's one with UL trademark label, and one without, I always go for the UL Label. I purely though it was about safety
considerations.
...
If true, it will totally change the way I buy gear.
That was a good thing to do (in the USA) 10 years ago.
The problem is not only fake UL logos, and even certificates like Bateroo is forging.
The problem is also UL has no monopoly any more on certification in the USA.
A company with a serious product has 3 options:
1) get a certification at UL : cost is in the order of 50 000$, it can vary widely...
2) get an alternative certification (NRTL) : cost is in the order of 20 000$, for the same strong certificaton as UL
3) not sell in the USA if the quantities are too low to justify a NRTL certification
The option 2 will probably lose some customers, but is a valid and exact replacement for a UL certification.
The list of the marks approved by the US gov. are here :
https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/nrtllist.htmlAs you can see, UL still abuses it's (former) monopoly position.
I strongly encourage you to buy rather than only UL marked stuff, devices marked with any NRTL mark.