Mix of interest and concern

Hi all,

Always loved laser pointers as a child ever since I got my first red pointer on a school trip overseas. I use them for presentation regularly and when I am on site as an engineer.

Also use my old one for mucking about getting the pets and toddler to chase them.

However, I recently got a second green laser "<1mw" as my old one got lost. Instead of a reputable company, I took a punt on eBay. As soon as I got the laser I knew something was up as it was many times brighter than any I had seen. Pointed it at my hand and to my surprise it burned me. Now I am not an expert but basic research told me <1mw should not burn anything. Further experimentation showed it lit matches and burned black plastic. A homemade laser power meter instructions picture (probably from here) gave me a reading of 113 mw. Horrendously dangerous considering that this may end up in the wrong hands due to the <1mw label. But if I said I wasn't kinda exited by it would be a lie.

Is this overpowered thing common with cheap imported lasers?

Cheers, Rich