Purchasing second-hand children's products 
Whether you are buying goods  from an ad in the newspaper online, or at your favorite thrift shop remember: Buyer beware!

 Buying second-hand children’s products is an affordable way to equip a nursery. But it can also be dangerous as some items can be out of date and no  longer safe.
Do your research and choose carefully as safety is the most important  issue to consider.
There are children’s  products, especially cribs and bassinets that have caused deaths and have been the subject of numerous recalls. When in doubt reference our website under recalls for a direct link to the www.cpsc.gov website to check the items you are considering before you  purchase any children’s product second hand.  

Before  purchasing used children’s products consider the following:
 
Cribs
Used cribs can host a variety of hidden hazards that most  consumers may not detect. Thus, unless the crib can be fully
assembled and  operates correctly, contains all the original hardware and the instructions are  included, do not buy it. 
If  you decide to buy a used crib, follow the checklist below.

•  Make
    sure the crib is not the subject of a recall;
  
  


• 
  Slats
    should be spaced no more than 2 3/8 inches apart;
  
  


• 
  Make
    sure there are no missing or loose slats;
  
  


• 
  Do
    not buy a crib with drop side (millions of cribs with drop sides have been 
  recalled);
  
  


• 
  Make
    sure the crib has a properly-sized mattress. The mattress is too small if you 
  can fit more than two fingers between the edge of the mattress and the side of 
  the crib. An infant can get his head or body wedged in the extra space and
  suffocate;
  
  


• 
  Corner
    posts are no more than 1/16 inch high. They can be catch points for objects or 
  clothing worn by a child and cause strangulation.
  
  


• 
  No
    missing, broken or loose hardware;
  
  


• 
  No
    decorative cutouts in the headboard or footboard. Cutouts can entrap a child’s 
  head; and
  
  


• 
  No
    unsecured mattress support hangers that can be easily dislodged. Children can 
  be entrapped and suffocate.
  
  


• 
  Check
  that  there are no broken or wobbly bars;
  
  


• 
  All
  bolts  and screws should be firmly in place and not protruding;
  
  


• 
  The
  corner  posts should not stick up more than 5mm.
  
  


• 
  Make
  sure  that the mattress fits the crib snugly and that there are no gaps which
  would  allow a child to become trapped beneath it;
  
  

Car  Seats

• Check that there are no
  broken       or wobbly bars;


• All bolts and screws
  should be       firmly in place and not protruding;


• The corner posts should
  not       stick up more than 5mm.

Highchairs

• A wide base to stop the
  chair       tipping;


• A five-point safety
  harness       (shoulder straps as well as waist straps and a crotch strap) to
  stop the       child climbing out;


• No sharp edges, or open
  tubes       or gaps where fingers could get caught;


• The tray can be secured
  so the       child can't remove it;


• There should be no splits
  in       the chair's seat or back - a child could pick out or choke on pieces of
         foam padding;


• If the chair has wheels
  there       should be brakes on at least the rear wheels.

Bath  Products

• Used baby bathtubs are fine as long as the lining isn’t full of  mold or mildew. However, if the tub has an odor of either of these, stay  clear of it.


• Do not use second hand bath seats, bath rings, and inflatable tubs  since they have
  been responsible for many deaths among babies. If you chose to do so make sure you are buying from a reputable re-seller.


• In addition to mold and mildew, look for scratches or other signs  of wear and
  tear in the plastic. Old plastics are more apt to leak chemicals  and the
  scratches can also harbor bacteria.

The
Consumer  Protection Act 1999
and the Sale of Goods Act 1978 (as
amended  2002); have limited application to buying goods privately. If you do 
buy from a seller who was dishonest about the reason for selling the product, 
you may be entitled to a refund; however compensation will have to be decided 
by Magistrates’ Court.

• Inspect  the
  Goods You Are Buying.   Inquire as to the age and quality of the product
  and whether it is still  covered by warranty. If the  product is
  electrical, plug it in to see if it works. For mechanical or  technical
  products, take someone with you who knows about the item, or make the  sale
  conditional.  In the case of a car,  it is a good idea to ask for a day to
  have it checked by a mechanic so as to  decide if it will cost more to have it
  licensed than it is worth;


• Sales are
  final once you exchange money and receive the item;


• Ask for a
  receipt which shows what you have bought with the date, name, address
  and  telephone number of the seller, and any conditions of sale;


• If you pay a
  deposit, get a receipt and make note of the agreement you  have with
  the seller regarding remainder of payment, collection of product and  time
  frame.  Make sure both parties sign the agreement.

Consignment Shopping - Used is the New "New"Far from the experience it
was just a few years ago, consignment shopping has become a way to both save
money and save the earth.
Consignment
shopping, once thought of as embarrassing and shameful, has now become the chic
and fashionable way to shop. No longer do we have to hide and sneak our used
purchases from our friends and family. We can now hold our heads up high and
proudly exclaim to all the great bargains we have just acquired.

Back in
the day, consignment shops were dingy little stores with low lighting and dusty
merchandise. The tightening of the purse strings has led to an evolution of the
consignment business. Many of the new resale stores are more like boutiques.
These places usually accept only new or very gently used items that are
up-to-date and trendy. Items are usually priced at one-third of the original
cost. You can get a lot more bang for your buck.

Getting a bargain is
only part of the appeal of the consignment store. Not only do we save money and
get great things, we can also make money by taking in our clothing and furniture
and other items that we no longer use. Most resale shops give you 30-60% of the
selling price once your items sell. That's a lot of cash just for getting rid of
things that you no longer want!  To stretch that bargain even further, you can
then turn around and buy things that you DO want from the same consignment store
for a discounted price.

In addition to the bargains and the money,
another huge appeal is its impact on the environment. The state of the
environment is on everyone's minds these days. Everywhere you turn you hear
about reducing your carbon footprint and how to make things more "green". When
you buy and sell on consignment, you are doing your part to try to reduce the
amount of waste that ends up in our landfills. Why throw away a perfectly good
sofa or pair of jeans that you just purchased last year and are either sick of,
or they just don't fit anymore? Hundreds of thousands of tons of our unwanted
goods and gadgets gets thrown away each year. Recycling your unwanted items and
buying others' diminishes these numbers vastly.

Most importantly,
consignment shopping is fun and exciting! It's like going on a treasure hunt.
You aren't looking through rows and rows of the same boring stuff that you would
find in the malls. Most are organized by size, color or style. Each item that
you look at is different from the last. These stores often receive items that
were originally purchased from all parts of the world and somehow landed in your
neighborhood. You could be the only person on your block to own one of these
jewels.

There is no other place you can shop, earn money, be green and
have fun at the same time! You can find your local consignment shops by going
online or looking in your area yellow pages. They are so popular these days,
most cities and towns have them, and new ones are cropping up everyday.
By Buzzle Staff
Published:
8/27/2010