Public Safety: E-Buyer Beware!
Today’s online stores are offering everything imaginable for sale. One particularly dangerous scenario however, involves the selling and buying of children’s products previously recalled because of safety concerns.
Researchers randomly selected 150 children’s products recalled over the past decade. Then for 30 days, they searched on eBay to identify recalled products and follow their activity. In total, 190 auctions contained a recalled item and 70 percent of them sold. The authors of the report: Resale of recalled children’s products online: an examination of the world’s largest yard sale state that this presented a risk of injury to children.
Bottom line: Sellers on online auction sites must check that their merchandise for sale is safe and has a non-recall status (It is illegal to sell certain items in
Canada
such as baby walkers). Buyers must check the company or government websites to verify that the merchandise for sale is not on a recall list due to being labeled unsafe.
