Additional Recall Information
When buying or selling preowned items, you should always check to make sure that the item did not have a recall.
Sellers MUST check each of their items for recalls - it's not just Kidsignments rule... IT IS THE LAW!
Here are two sites provided by the government for you check for recall information:
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC - main site government provides for recall checks)
- When you go to this site make sure to sign up for email alerts on new recalls. You will be surprised by the items that get recalled and you will be able to make sure your home stays safe. Using their site can be a bit tedious since there are so many recalled items. They recently updated the site and unfortunately, it did not make it any easier to search.
Once you have reviewed the recall list and know that you don't own any of these items or take action on the ones that you might have, hopefully you can stay current on recalls by reviewing the new ones announced via the email alerts the CPSC sends to you (after you sign up for them).
- When you go to this site make sure to sign up for email alerts on new recalls. You will be surprised by the items that get recalled and you will be able to make sure your home stays safe. Using their site can be a bit tedious since there are so many recalled items. They recently updated the site and unfortunately, it did not make it any easier to search.
- NHTSA Car Seat Recalls
- Car seat recalls are located on another government site:
www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/childseat.cfm
You can also sign up for email alerts on their site
- Car seat recalls are located on another government site:
Kidsignments has also provided a link to WeMakeItSafer ( it is not an official US government site) that lists recall information but only since 1999. Remember that limitation please since you might have things in your home that are older that might be recalled and this site does not include that information. Please keep in mind it is NOT the official site for recalls. If the CPSC site lists a recall with for example, 5 different versions of a piece of clothing pictured in one recall announcement, this site appears to provides a separate recall notice with picture for each of the 5 different versions.
Crib Standards - Kidsignments does not accept cribs for resale. Government Crib Information
Sleep Positioners - Kidsignments does not accept sleep positioners -Find CPSC warning on their use
Bumbo seats - Kidsignments only accepts Bumbos sold with the seat belt already attached- Bumbos information on CPSC site
Toys with magnetic parts - Magnetix have been on the CPSC's Most Wanted List or a long time due to magnets in them can get loose and children can swallow them. "If more than one is swallowed, they can attract to each other inside the intestines and cause perforations and or blockage which can be fatal if not treated immediately" according to the CPSC site.
Drawstrings - You will see many, many recalls listed in the clothing area for items due to improper drawstrings used. Here is excerpt from the CPSC site regarding the updated standard:
In general, the standard prohibits drawstrings at the hood and neck area of children's upper outerwear in sizes 2T to 12. In addition, it limits the length of drawstrings at the waist and bottom of children's upper outerwear in sizes 2T to 16 to 3 inches outside the drawstring channel when the garment is expanded to its fullest width. For waist and bottom drawstrings in upper outerwear sizes 2T to 16, the standard prohibits toggles, knots, and other attachments at the free ends of drawstrings. The standard further requires that if a waist or bottom drawstring in upper outerwear sizes 2T to 16 is one continuous string, it must be bar tacked (i.e., stitched through to prevent the drawstring from being pulled through its channel).
Phthalates http://www.cpsc.gov/business--manufacturing/business-education/business-guidance/phthalates-information/ Not sure what these are? We were not either when we first heard about them. Here is what Wikipedia says: phthalates, or phthalate esters, are esters of phthalic acid and are mainly used as plasticizers (substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity). An example: a rubber duck
In order to help ensure potential restricted phthalates are not sold, we do not accept the following: Bath time books, baby bottles, pacifiers (even if brand-new-in-package), feeding items (plates, sippy cups, silverware, bottles), plastic teething toy & mattresses.
Lead - In order to assist to keep the lead away from our children, Kidsignments does not accept: any jewelry item, jewelry on clothing, painted metal or wood toys, any painted wood item such as puzzles, trains, or other painted wood toys. If you have a letter of certification from the manufacturer stating it has never used any lead in the paint on there toys, we can accept them.
Thank you for learning how to safely resell your items but also, gain insight on how to make your home safer too! If you are shopping retail or anywhere and see items that you know are a hazard, we hope that you will be able to share the information you are learning about safe childrens' items with others to help make them aware and take appropriate action for those items. Remind them that it is not only the right thing to do, it is the law.
We hope that sharing the above information helps you to assure your home is child friendly and safe.