Americans who slap $1 price tags on their used possessions at garage sales or bazaar events risk being slapped with fines of up to $15 million, thanks to a new government campaign.
The "Resale Round-up," launched by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, enforces new limits on lead in children's products and makes it illegal to sell any items that don't meet those limits or have been recalled for any other reason.
The strict standards were set in the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act after a series of high-profile recalls of Chinese-made toys.
The standards were originally interpreted to apply only to new products, but now the CPSC says they apply to used items as well.
"Those who resell recalled children's products are not only breaking the law, they are putting children's lives at risk,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. "Resale stores should make safety their business and check for recalled products and hazards to children."
In order to comply, stores, flea markets, charities and individuals selling used goods — in person or online — are expected to consult the commission's 24-page Handbook for Resale Stores and Product Resellers (pdf) and its Web site for a breakdown of what they can't sell.
Violators caught selling anything on the enormous list face fines of up to $100,000 per infraction and up to $15 million for a related series of infractions.
And while it was an existing standards were implemented during the final months of the Bush administration, the CPSC is simply taking the next logical step. It was up to conservatives to turn it into something completely illogical.
Places like EBay, where millions of individuals sell things, already has existing safety measures in place that will prevent the sale of items of this nature. Even the listings headlines are screened for "buzz-words" and can easily have a particular auction deleted.
Secondly, the average Fox"News"/Fox"Nation" audience member is continually bombarded with recall notices at Wal-Mart and are continually conversing about products they think are being recalled. It's an all too common occurrence in my neck of the woods, as well is the traditional Yard Sale.
To think that there will be some "task force" wandering around your subdivision on summer mornings just looking for that one Shrek glass from McDonalds that was recalled last year is simply a ridiculous notion that would only cause a reactionary response from people that are looking for a way to call Obama a Maoist, Communist, Fascist, Nazi, America-Hating, Angry Black Man who's sole purpose is to take away the $15 dollars you made selling that knock off end table you told the lady across the street was an antique.
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