When a product is recalled, you expect it to be removed from store shelves.
But, a Consumer Reports investigation found hundreds of recalled products -- some of them potentially dangerous to children -- still available for sale on the online secondhand market.
It’s illegal to sell recalled products, including on the secondhand market.
“People might not be aware of the law, or may not realize the product they’re selling has been recalled," said Consumer Reports’ Rachel Rabkin Peachman. “But the websites that host their listings should be aware.”
Consumer Reports’ Public Policy expert William Wallace said secondhand retail sites need to do much more to put safety first.
“They really need to track every recall and block the sale of any recalled goods to make sure that it stays out of consumers’ hands,” he said.
Second-hand retail sites need to do much more to put safety first. They really need to track every recall and block the sale of any recalled goods to make sure that it stays out of consumers hands.
Neither Craigslist nor Facebook responded to Consumer Reports’ questions about steps they take to prevent the sale of recalled products on their websites.
Both eBay and Kijiji, a classifieds website owned by eBay and available in Canada, told Consumer Reports that they use a number of techniques to prevent the sale of recalled items on their websites. eBay agreed to remove all infant inclined sleepers from its website, even those that were not recalled.
Fisher-Price, which sold inclined infant sleepers linked to dozens of infant deaths, said it has “communicated directly with nearly two dozen major online marketplaces, including Facebook and Craigslist, urging them to prevent the sale or resale of Rock ’n Play Sleepers.
Ikea said it had “sent letters to Amazon, Craigslist, and eBay to inform them of the recall” of dressers that can tip over too easily and injure children.
To protect yourself from unknowingly buying or selling a recalled product, do some research. Check Recalls.gov or the Consumer Product Safety Commission first to make sure it hasn’t been recalled.
When you buy a new product, register it if you can. That way the company can notify you if it is ever recalled or needs a repair.