Honestly, it does not surprise me. SnowJoe (and their sister company SunJoe) do not make the greatest product. They are sort of a cut rate type of place.
I looked into them because back when I was unemployed, they were hiring for process improvement positions. Their HQ is 15-20 miles from my house. I looked at their product line, their market, etc. I don't think I would buy anything from them. I bought one of those expandy garden hoses from them once. It popped a leak in under a week. They did replace it no questions asked, I'll give them that, but I would rather it had not broke in the first place.