Guide
What no charity shop in America may resell.
Most of what we decline is a judgement call about whether something will sell. This group is not. These are items that federal law puts beyond resale, and the rules apply to every thrift store, yard sale and online listing in the country — not just to us.
If you are clearing out a nursery, this is the page worth reading first.
Banned outright
The Safe Sleep for Babies Act.
Signed in May 2022 and effective from 12 November 2022, this law makes it unlawful to sell, offer for sale, distribute or import two categories of infant product. It applies to used items as much as new ones, and it does not matter when they were manufactured.
Crib bumpers
- Padded crib bumpers
- Supported and unsupported vinyl bumper guards
- Vertical crib slat covers
- Non-padded mesh crib liners are not included in the ban
Inclined infant sleepers
- Any sleep product with a surface inclined more than ten degrees
- Intended, marketed or designed for infants up to one year
The Consumer Product Safety Commission links these two product types to more than 200 infant deaths. That is the reason the ban reaches used goods: a hand-me-down is exactly how these things kept circulating.
Also off limits
Anything under recall.
Reselling a recalled product violates the Consumer Product Safety Act, and the obligation to check sits with the seller. The CPSC expects resellers to screen goods against current recalls before putting them out — and its own research has found the majority of thrift stores offering at least one hazardous or recalled product.
Drop-side cribs sit here too. CPSC rules have barred them from resale since 2011.
Our own line
Where we go further than the law.
Some things are legal to resell and we still will not. Car seats and bicycle helmets both have service lives, both are recall-prone, and neither shows its history — a seat that has been in a collision looks identical to one that has not. We cannot verify either, so we decline both.
Same reasoning for cribs and bassinets generally, and for baby walkers. We would rather turn down a donation than sell a family something that fails at the worst possible moment.
Sources: CPSC business guidance on the Safe Sleep for Babies Act and the CPSC resale and thrift store FAQ. Check current recalls at cpsc.gov/Recalls.