Stuff That Can't or Shouldn't Be Resold in Thrift Stores or Online
Keep Customers and Employees Safe
The most wonderful thing about donated thrift store goods is the random assortment of items that come in. They sustain the business and provide value to shoppers. Then there is the occasional amazing gem, it’s the icing on the cake.
Unfortunately, some items show up that can’t or shouldn’t be sold. Especially recalled items. Simply stated, selling recalled items in the US is unlawful according to the CPSC website. The rules are the same for physical stores and online sellers.
Hyperlinks to cited resources are provided for your convenience.
The CPSC (consumer products safety commission) has tools that can help resellers stay out of trouble. One great tool is The Online CPSC Resellers Guide. It’s a great general PDF resource for any resale, consignment, antique, or thrift seller.
Saferproducts.gov provides a place to research items and categories that you have questions about.
You can sign up to receive recall notices via email. You can choose what categories of product you want to receive notices on. If you don’t do food, you don’t need to get food recalls. There is a specific category for resale.
Following are some of the most common items:
I’m super passionate about this one: “Products used in the nursery, especially cribs and bassinets, have caused deaths and have been the subject of numerous recalls of millions of units. Do not sell any broken or wobbly nursery furniture or durable infant product that is missing parts, even if it has not been recalled. A baby’s life could depend on it. The risk is too high.” (CPSC Resellers Guide)
When in doubt, throw it out!
Drawstrings, especially on children's clothing are dangerous. these are recalled in most children’s clothing and some adult clothing. It was my habit to cut drawstrings off of donated clothing before the sale. They still sold.
“CPSC staff is aware of 18 deaths and 38 non-fatal incidents associated with neck/hood drawstrings on children’s outerwear between January 1985 and September 2009, involving children 18 months to 10 years of age.”
Hairdryers are required to have an immersion protection device. It’s a rectangular box at the plugin that protects people from being electrocuted.
Ladders- are recalled with some regularity, even some sold by Home Depot has been recalled. As a general rule, I suggest not selling metal or wood ladders. It’s worth checking these whenever they come in.
Mattresses are another thing to avoid for several reasons that don’t always apply to CPSC standards. Federal laws focus mostly on fire safety. State and local laws often go further. Sometimes it’s just common sense not to sell these. Bodily fluids and the danger of bed bugs being obvious issues.
The mandatory standard addressing open-flame ignition went into effect on July 1, 2007. Go to: 16 CFR Part 1633. The mandatory standard addressing cigarette ignition went into effect on June 22, 1973. Go to: 16 CFR Part 1632.
“CPSC staff advises you to destroy any bean bag chair that has: • a zipper that can be opened by young children; • stuffing or pellets coming out of the chair, and • seams that can come apart if they are pulled. The foam pellets could escape, posing a hazard to children.” (CPSC Resellers Guide)
A best practice is to maintain a reference binder with CPSC recalls of common items in your processing area. There are way too many to keep every single recall.
Bonus Tip
Non-OSHA approved step stools/ladders can’t be used in the workplace. As handy as a donated step stool is in a store, letting an employee use it as a work tool opens the shop owner up to liability and fines if the employee is hurt when using it.
An OSHA approved ladder or step stool will have a manufacturer label stating such.
In Conclusion
The categories listed above are far from all-inclusive, they are a good start. Understanding the hazards involved in accepting random second-hand goods is a fundamental responsibility. Keeping customers safe is part of the job. The links included here are a good place to start.
CPSC does inspect thrift stores for compliance and has the power to fine.
Stay safe, Thanks for reading!
about me
I am a thrift and retail business expert located near Chicago helping individuals and entrepreneurs grow and succeed. You can benefit from my twenty plus years of retail, and seven-plus years of thrift and eCommerce experience.
Check out my web site, thethrifter.com for lots of thrift oriented resources. You will find plenty of free tips for retailers, resellers, eCommerce operators, and shoppers.
You might also be interested in my Thrift Merchandising ebookon Amazon. It’s about merchandising thrift stores more like traditional stores. It’s free with a Kindle Unlimited membership.
Tim Gebauer — The Thrifter