New Law Restricts Sale Of Used Children's Products

If you regularly buy used children's toys and clothes or are in the business of selling them, then February 10, 2009 is a day that you will dread. A federal law enacted by the U.S. Consumer Protection and Safety Commission will go into effect, making it illegal to sell any used children's products (toys and clothes.) The act is the result of the plethora of toys that were recalled last year due to content of lead paint, most notably from Mattel/Fisher Price who were forced to recall 55,000 items from their lines such as Batman (pictured), Sesame Street, and Barbie. Upon the day the law goes into effect, manufacturers of new product will be left with more stringent standards for providing testing for lead-based paint, as well as responsibility for providing a sticker validating the item's status of having been tested. The law will affect all children's items (defined as "all products for children under the age of 12.")

So, what will this mean for the secondary market for children's items? Sellers are definitely scared, as the ebay forums are full of topics with sellers openly saying that they are no longer taking incoming used product as they wait out the logistics of the new law. There may be certain loopholes that eventually come out concerning the intended use of a product. The law itself seems to centered on the definition of "children's products" and if sellers can find a way to legitimize the definition of a "collectible," then they may have what they need. The fact remains, it is completely unreasonable to say that you cannot sell vintage toys to collectors who wish to reacquire items from their childhood or to tell people that they cannot clean out their attics to sell potentially valuable items. At some point, as laws render themselves unfeasible after execution, it becomes clear that the law that really needed to be enacted must be embraced. (And it is not this one.)

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