About the CPSC Used Clothing Toys Policy

I had a question over there in the Shoutbox about the new policy regarding the sale of used stuff for children under the age of 12.

Guidance on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)
for Small Businesses, Resellers, Crafters and Charities and then there is this
this

So...if anyone cares to please read all that and report back to me - and when you do, pretend you are explaining it to a 3rd grader if you don't mind - I don't want to have to look up big words in a dictionary.

One of my thrifts (VV) has stopped selling toys and children's clothing because of this new law. But then I went to the other VV stores and they still had a rack of children's clothes and I found toys there amongst their clutter. (I am not heartbroken they got rid of the kids clothes tho since it drew moms with crying babies from all over). And I have such a stash of clothes for Jacob that I think I have enough to clothe him until he is 34. But I see how some stores are panicing about this new law, as if the thrift store police are going to show up. The funny thing is is that my thrift store VV doesn't even have a sign out front to say what it is. I'll try to add a pic later. The thrift store police would have a hard time finding them!

If the Queen made the rules of the land, in the yardsale/thrift store world, it would be "buyer beware". I think it should be the buyer's responsibility to check to see if a toy or baby item has been recalled. When Jacob was a baby, the baby swing I bought (at a yardsale) turned out to be recalled. But I was smart enough to call the manufacturer at their toll free # to check for recalls. As it turned out, it just needed a different seat belt which they mailed to me free of charge.

Should anyone sell something at a yardsale that they know to be defective or recalled? No, that would be stupid. Throw it away. (But not before checking with the CPSC to see if you can get some sort of bennie out of it. For instance, last fall I bought some Little Tikes computer mice at a yardsale. I paid $1 each. As it turned out, they've been recalled. So now I can mail off a small piece and in return get a $10 Little Tikes coupon for each mouse).

I will be surprised if I see yardsale police at the yardsales in the spring. So....in conclusion, I don't have any real answers and I don't think the CPSC has thought all this out either.

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And speaking of answers, I had two people recently ask me when the official start of the yardsale season is. And will the state of the economy have anything to do with it?

Well.....again I don't have any answers written in stone. Yardsale season varies depending on where you live etc. Some areas of the country yardsale year-round. I did notice the yardsale season ran later than usual in 2008 in my neck of the woods. Some people on my message board report going to "Foreclosure Yardsales". I haven't seen any of those.

I think some yardsailors cut back their yardsaling last summer due to the high price of gas, but as long as it stays low, I'm optimistic of the 2009 yardsale season. I try to be optimistic about all kinds of stuff anyhow.