[Fran27]

Has anyone heard about this? Apparently, as of Feb 10, we won't be able to resell any used toys, clothes or other baby items without having them tested for lead... which is expensive.

Which means, no more selling on Craigslist or ebay, no more mom sales... Hopefully you can still donate them on freecycle or something...

I am SO bummed about this. Over 50% of the twins clothes are bought second hand, and I was planning on buying their whole Summer wardrobe at the next sale of my mom club in March... Now I'm going to have to pay full price for it and I won't be able to get any money back for all the stuff I've bought so far.

For more info, babycheapskate.com.

[lovemy2boys]

Great - and that was one of our biggest fundraisers at the kids school.

Here comes tuition increases...

[Bunnygirl]

I've never heard of that before -- what about thrift stores & yard sales?

[mondk]

Clothing tested for lead? I can see old baby furniture being tested, but clothing?

I get most of Joshie's stuff from secondhand shops and Salvation Army; will the law prevent me from buying stuff there?

Do you have a link explaining all this?

Blessings, Michelle

[Fran27]

Yeah if you go to the link I posted and scroll down it should be there. They updated their site after I posted, doh.

Baby Cheapskate: Gov't Says, Sorry, No More Reselling Your Kids' Stuff

[binkybear]

Makes you wonder what else congress can muck up. They seem to have made THAT their profession ..... tossing our lives into financial turmoil by not using common sense and fore thought of any kind.

I'm guessing swaps will become the new thing or sites that offer swap and barter options for "vintage" items (pre 2/10/09 law items). People can make decisions for themselves regarding gently used cotton onesies instead of all of those items winding up in a landfill, what a waste. If I relied on 2nd hand items I'd take the next month to stock up in sizes I wanted, after that you're probably looking at 6 months to a year for "legal" items to start trickling back into the 2nd hand market for actual "sale". (???)

[jules17]

This sort of stuff drives me NUTS.

I am the parent, and therefore, I should get to decide what my children wear, or have it tested should we decide to.

I am seeing families swapping/selling "under the table" like Prohibition.

Are they going to be regulating every single item of new clothing as well? It wasn't too long ago that we had the "paint fiasco" on toys from China.

Since most of the clothes I buy resale still have the tags on them, what is the difference? (insert sarcasm) This is just great for our economy and environment!!

The conspiracy theory part of my brain thinks, "Wow - it sure would generate billions of dollars."

[lovemy2boys]

Originally Posted by jules17

The conspiracy theory part of my brain thinks, "Wow - it sure would generate billions of dollars."

Yeah - and make it 10 times harder on parents with limited incomes to clothe their children...

[jules17]

Originally Posted by lovemy2boys

Yeah - and make it 10 times harder on parents with limited incomes to clothe their children...

And possibly limit the number of children people have...

Seriously, if you know you have to buy every toy and item of clothing brand new, that is a HUGE expense!

ETA: "Sorry, kids, no vacation this year. We had to clothe you."

[binkybear]

I'm having flashes of recenlty watched classic Christmas specials. Children in brown and gray cost effective clothing, no toys due to government say so....Barney Frank does kinds sorta look a lot like Burgermeister Meisterburger (quick someone go get Barney a yo yo before it's too late LOL!)

The whole thing is just poorly done with congress throwing the baby out with the bath water. It might seem like no big deal, even to those without kids...but this will effect everyone in the long run $$$. I 100% agree that food, clothing, and toy safety standards need to be solid and in place (like yesterday), but this here is bassackwards in it's design and execution. (what else is new)

[Leigh131313]

Y'all can come up here to Canada and do your swapping. Ebay is an international site - they can't possibly stop people on there.

I wouldn't worry - people drank through your prohibition....people will find their hidden swap meets with this too.

[mommieof2cuties]

Ok, the update to the law is for only big stores like Goodwill for example that also buy items new from China. It will only effect us if we sell bulk toys or items meaning like babies r us etc. If you are selling one or two of an item it won't effect you. Consignment stores won't be effected unless they are for example chains that also sell new items. Here is what my news told us

This new law does not affect the consignment stores, thrift stores or even individuals selling items. It will affect the large stores that buy in bulk.
This has been cleared up as of Dec. 19th.

This is copied right from the Channel 10 News website:



Consignment shops are in the clear after Feds clear up new lead law

St. Pete - It literally took an act of Congress to make retailers sell safer products for children.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) passed back in August to change the lead standard for all children's products, from clothes to toys. The idea is to get every single product virtually lead-free with a maximum of 600 ppm (parts per million).

Now, the confusing new law has consignment and thrift store owners questioning the shelf life of their own businesses.

Many of those questions were based on a lack of answers from the very leaders in charge of enforcing the law, the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

So, 10 Connects got on the phone with Washington to get answers straight from the CPSC itself.

Julie Vallese is the Director of Public Affairs and she said, "If it is a one-of-a-kind product, those stores [consignment, thrift] will not need to test."

So, consignment shops are in the clear. That would not be the case for larger thrift stores that actually buy more than one-of-a-kind.

Goodwill Industries tells 10 Connects that only makes up ten-percent of children's inventory, still, those products would have to be tested for the new lead standard or taken off the shelf.

No word on how much it would cost to professionally test products for lead but the responsibility would be on the retailer to get it done and pay for it.

The CPSC will be in charge of enforcing the new law through spot checks. While the CPSC says violators will face consequences, the agency would not elaborate what kind of penalties retailers would face.
Erica Pitzi, 10 Connects Reporter

Consignment shops are in the clear after Feds clear up new lead law | 10connects.com | Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater

So we can still ebay, donate (email if you want to donate to my org, I am trying to cover shipping costs using pay pal when I can) and still consign items. I would just be careful when you buy a toy second hand and very carefull with second hand carseats!

[buttascotchbaby]

I am not positive, but I am pretty sure that this new law only applies to mainstream, professional manufacturers/sellers, not to the average person on CL, eBay, etc. I DO know that there is a lot of uproar over small, cottage industries where it is a SAHM making handmade dolls to supplement income/expenses for example. As they will now need to comply with the new law, proving their products are lead free and it IS very expensive. I think we would have heard a lot more about this law if it was going to effectively shut down Goodwills, Savers, SA, etc. And, of course: how the heck would they enforce it?? I mean, come on... simply not possible. Can you imagine the government hiring enough people to go to every person on CL, to every garage sale?? In every town, city and state? To quote my favorite clown (Homey The Clown ): "I don't THINK so!".

[jules17]

This was the article I read, which made it sound like consignment shops are included. I like Mommyto2cutie's link better.

New safety rules for children's clothes have stores in a fit - Los Angeles Times

[mommieof2cuties]

I would think each state has the same rules since feds are in the middle of all this? We have many consignment shop and goodwills etc. The goodwill outlets you really have to watch for bad items, but usually good will is up on recalls etc. Have a great day!

Summer