What tops gift wishlists this holiday season? According to eBay, Inc., hoverboards (also known as self-balancing scooters) are most wanted, not to be confused with Marty McFly’s flying contraption or what Arx Pax, LLC is developing.

During Cyber Monday, eBay sold nearly 7,500 hoverboards, or one every 12 seconds.

How to use a hoverboard

Hoverboards look like a plank with two wheels at each end. The controls are in the pedals on the platform, so it’s all about the feet. Just step on the plank and get balanced, and angle your foot forward or backward to make it move forward or backward. To stop, stand straight. To change directions, angle your feet to the direction you want to turn. The moment you step on the hoverboard, it will starts moving, so be careful.

When you step on the hoverboard, its headlights and indicator lights turn on to let you know if you have enough battery power. Top speed for this device is about 6.2 miles per hour, and it can cover 15 miles in one charge. Riders are limited to 264 pounds.

Hoverboards may look unsafe, but they also look totally fun, plus celebrities are sporting them on the streets and on their shows, which only boosts their popularity this holiday season.

It might be surprising that hoverboards are still in demand after news of faulty chargers and the board itself exploding or causing fire, as well as being banned on the sidewalks of New York City. Most of the questionable hoverboards come from dodgy online sellers who sell these devices for cheap. So the key to keeping safe this holiday season is to only buy from reputable sellers. The question now is, where can you buy a hoverboard?

Chic Smart

Hangzhou Chic Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd or Chic Robotics is the company that allegedly pioneered this two-wheeled contraption back in 2013. And when it hit stateside, people started calling them hoverboards. And then some companies started plastering their logos on it, reverse engineering it, or even putting some of their own touches and improvements before selling, making some of them quite expensive.

Others dispute that there’s another device that predates this, but it was a bit different.

Specs

Net weight: 10kg or 22lbs

Max speed: 10km/h

Range per charge: 15-20km

Max climbing limit: 15º

Minimum and maximum load: 20kg-100kg or 45-265lbs

Price: starts at $757

Where to buy: Alibaba.com and Amazon.com

PhunkeeDuck

This device looks exactly like the Chic Smart, but it has the popular PhunkeeDuck brand all over it. According to the company, they were able to strike up a licensing deal with a self-balancing scooter manufacturer that enabled them to rebrand an existing scooter. The manufacturer was not named, but it is most likely Chic.

Specs

Weight: 18 lbs

Top speed: 12 MPH

Range: Lasts up to 6-7 hours on a single charge

Maximum load: 300 lbs

Price: $1,499.99

Where to buy: PhunkeeDuck.com

IO Hawk

This brand bears the logo of Chic, so it makes you wonder if it’s really a Chic Smart that has just been rebranded and sold at a higher price. Even its specs are similar to Chic Smart. In an interview, John Soibatian, the president of IO Hawk, tells the tale of how the IO Hawk came about, but the logo alone refutes what Soibatian claims.

Specs

Weight: 22lbs

Top speed: 6.2mph

Range: 8-12 miles

Max climbing limit: 15º

Minimum and maximum load: 45-265lbs

Price: $1,799.99

Where to buy: IOHawk.com

Proswegway

This brand sells hoverboards with different designs. Some of them even have a built-in speaker and connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth so you can play your favorite tunes while gliding down the street. And, it’s not as expensive as the other brands, but that could also mean it’s not a durable.

Specs

*Top speed: 15km/h

Range: 15-25km

Maximum load: 120kg

Maximum incline: 15°

Price: on sale from $269 to $699

Where to buy: Proswegway.com

*specs based on Proswegway Lamborghini edition v2.0 with Bluetooth speakers

Hovertrax

The Hovertrax started as a Kickstarter PBC campaign from Shane Chen back in 2013. Chen holds the patents for the hoverboard in the U.S., and earlier this year, struck a licensing deal with Mark Cuban, serial entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks. But Cuban backed off the deal after filing a patent infringement case against IO Hawk and stating that he will make his own hoverboard.

Razor USA, LLC swooped in and struck a patent deal with Chen. Razor offers two types of Hovertrax: Hovertrax Smart Scooter and the Hovertrax DLX Smart.

Specs

**Range: 115 minutes of continuous use on a single charge

Maximum load: 220lbs

Price: $599.99

Where to buy: Razor.com, but you can still purchase Chen’s Hovertrax for $1,495 here.

**Based on the Hovertrax Smart Scooter

Buying hoverboards at a discount

If you think these hoverboards are way too expensive, you can head on to Amazon.com where there are a lot of self-balancing scooters to choose from. But it’s possible that you may run the risk of purchasing a faulty hoverboard. Make sure to purchase from a distributor that offers a warranty and has an active help or support line.

Photo by Phantom Leap