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The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is a threat to vintage toy, book, etc collectors. I am always visiting my local thrift stores for Peanuts collectibles, either to sell or for my own collection. However, the CPSIA would make the thrift store liable any item for children that would test below the standards. Thrift stores would have no choice but throw away all their children’s merchandise and no longer accept them as donations. They can’t even give the stuff away for FREE!
What does this mean to us? Low-income families would not be able to get inexpensive clothing for their kids. Handmade kids items from etsy.com, boutiques and craft fairs would be a thing of the past. Thrift stores and eBay have been mentioned as losing a valuable part of their business, but I imagine antique stores, flea markets, etc. would also be impacted.
This site might also lose a part of its business. I have stacks of toys waiting to be sold. Could they be dangerous? Possibly. Would I give them to a child? Yes, if they were the correct age for the toy and I had throughly examined it for problems. Parenting involves some common sense. The other trouble would be – how far would the law extend? Toys and books are easy to determine, but what about a night light, a mug, a magnet? We sell items to defray the cost of our collection, not to become millionaires or be taken to court.
Don’t let kids’ collectibles become contraband on February 10, 2009. Visit http://blog.buyhandmade.org to learn more!
