Hi Folks

Bumped into this thread while looking for something else but saw the confusion and though I'd offer my thoughts.

I'm an electrical inspector working for a certification agency certifying products to UL & CSA standards

If anyone has questions about what the current situation is regarding certified equipment is as well as what your options are depending on what country you are in please feel free to ask.
I'll do what I can to clear up the situation.

A short bit on the problem:
Because this is the age of the internet and any company that can run a credit card can sell something; there are many companies out there selling unapproved equipment.
Also there are manufacturer's who only get approvals for their home country. (i.e. US company, no Canadian approvals, etc.)
Regardless this is a common problem and is likely only going to get worse.
I highly recommend checking as much as you can to get approved equipment however it does happen.

Once you end up with an unapproved product you have options depending on the region you are in.

Canada:
If you are in Canada it is simple. Canada has a specific standard called SPE-1000 (AKA Special Inspection or Blue Label) which is for the acceptance of equipment for use in Canada.
This doesn't mean you are certified, this means that that specific product is accepted to be connected to the grid.
Basically this standard is designed for this specific problem, it's fairly cheap when compared to full certification.

USA:
In the US it's a little more complicated and about 10X as expensive.
Many certification agencies there do what is called a Field Evaluation, it is an abbreviated certification process for a small number of a particular product.
It takes longer that the Canadian process and therefore costs more but does exist and is cheaper than full certification which would be far too costly.

I hope this helps

If you have any questions feel free to ask, I'll try and check on this for a while.