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Illegal to sell old toys?


Dragonrider1227

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I found this article just now

http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/01060...e.466a87af.html

According to this, it says that starting February 10, it will be illegal to sell any children products including toys, clothes, ect before that date due to new lead limit laws. So, does this mean starting next month, it's going to be illegal to buy and sell old GI Joes or something? Because that's Bullshit!

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Unless the items can be shown to be tested to ASTM standards and free of lead and other deemed hazards, then private sales of used toys are also no longer allowed. Even worse, because the act applies to toys SOLD and not MADE after Feb 10 2009, any toy that lacks a paper trail that the seller MUST provide, cannot be sold.

Even if it was safe to sell before, if its used and out of package, you CANNOT sell it without a paper trail.

 

Congratulations, America, your toys have to have a pedigree now--you can thank the outgoing Bush Administration and Congress.

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What are the chances of getting Barack Obama to get rid of this?

 

Well, look at it this way.......like ANY bad law, its got poor (re: vague) definitions to it, plus it would be enourmously expensive to enforce, and costly if it were enforced. That means it'll be challenged in court, and thus will come up on the bench of the Supreme Court. Once it gets there, it'll be seen that the Act itself is flawed and directions to alter or eliminate the Act will be passed onto the Legislators of the Senate.

 

The problem with the Act comes from the qualification of the products sold, since items due for, and already in, circulation need to be addressed within the Act. The Act specifies that ANY item considered a child's product, no matter when it was made, must have a paper trail to it to show its lead/contaminant-free. Given how many knock-offs of various products exist already in circulation......the question becomes how does one police that?

The expedient is the dump any and ALL existing supply of goods that is not ASTM approved and only accepted approved items from that point on.

 

What it means, amongst other things, is that Dollar store toy aisle knock-offs will disappear very quickly, because almost none of them are ASTM approved. At the same time though, any toy made prior to the date can also fall within the purview of the act, because if it does not meet the CURRENT standards, regardless of when or where it was made, it cannot be sold. This means that the Act applies to garage sales and thrift stores like Value Village as well.

It also means that toys that abide by standards set in other countries, like Canada or Europe, might be perfectly safe as per those standards, but because they are not universal--that is not agreed by convention with the US--they will not be allowed either.

 

This is the pickle that the Act puts us in.

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That's so stupid at an amazing level. Most old vintage toys/items are adult collectibles and collector's items. How does lead have to do with anything? Does that mean I would be breaking the law if I sold some of my TF G1 figures or anything else???

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That's so stupid at an amazing level. Most old vintage toys/items are adult collectibles and collector's items. How does lead have to do with anything?

 

If you recall, a year ago, there was a alarm raised about contaminated products coming out of China--especially regarding products containing lead and chemicals like melomine. The concern on this side of the pond was so great that toy manufacturers ( and other industries) started taking really strident steps to ensure that their products contain either no lead or contaminants, or such small amounts as to be safe.

And the trouble is.......some of them found this stuff in their products.

So as a result we have this act pushed into place by parties concerned with seeing this kind of taint doesn;t make it into people, and in the process...they cast a wider net then they needed to.

 

Old vintage toys are still toys, the law does NOT make a distinction between children's toys and "adult collectibles and collectors items"......ergo there is no such thing as the latter. Its a semantic turn of phrase used for marketing.

If you doubt that, check the import/export regulations with US Customs regarding toys and antiques--it breaks down the classification of toys for legal purposes.

 

 

 

Does that mean I would be breaking the law if I sold some of my TF G1 figures or anything else???

 

Yup. According to this Act, if you sell these items to, from or within the USA after Feb 10, 2009, without establishing a paper trail regarding the safety standards of the toy you will be breaking the law.

Bear in mind that "vintage toys" are very hard to verify as being made to certain standards, because many of those met standards have to be assumed from this point on, especially if the item is loose.

From my quick read of the Act, there is no distinction made between a toy made today and a toy made 50 years ago--the Act is meant to safeguard the public from this point on from suspect products. This is why thrift stores can suffer from this, as well as private sellers on places like Ebay.

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I don't see why this has to pertain to adults

 

This is supposed to help kids

 

and kids have no money to buy toys like the vintage ones online

 

Well, the fear was that the act applies to ANY product intended for children, including such things as toys........which we adults collect.

Some of the clauses in the act, made distinctions that said that if the common view of an item was that it was a toy, it would be considered a toy and not a "collectible" or whatever semantic distinction we like to make. Those semantic changes were not considered as legally interpretations and thus they would not have applied.

That meant that if we collect toys, the blanket terms for ALL toys, including "collectibles" made for ages 12 and under would fall under the act and thus have to abide by the law. If it was meant for kids under 12, and did not have the paper trail that says it was free of lead etc.......it could not be sold by ANYONE, adult or child.

 

But it appears that there's been some changes of heart by the regulators behind this act, and pretty much all of those concerns no long apply.

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I don't see why this has to pertain to adults

 

This is supposed to help kids

 

and kids have no money to buy toys like the vintage ones online

 

Well, the fear was that the act applies to ANY product intended for children, including such things as toys........which we adults collect.

Some of the clauses in the act, made distinctions that said that if the common view of an item was that it was a toy, it would be considered a toy and not a "collectible" or whatever semantic distinction we like to make. Those semantic changes were not considered as legally interpretations and thus they would not have applied.

That meant that if we collect toys, the blanket terms for ALL toys, including "collectibles" made for ages 12 and under would fall under the act and thus have to abide by the law. If it was meant for kids under 12, and did not have the paper trail that says it was free of lead etc.......it could not be sold by ANYONE, adult or child.

 

But it appears that there's been some changes of heart by the regulators behind this act, and pretty much all of those concerns no long apply.

It's all Blaspemy, there is no telling wether a toy that dosen't pass new saftey standerds will be sent back to sendee, or sent to a landfill, or worse. It's not like toy companies can remake molds that have been missing or destroyed for who knows how long!

 

 

I think toy collecters are more like american citizens then those CPSC bureaucrats :P

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  • 3 weeks later...
Sounds like a protest rally among natural-born toy collectors, or such.
Darn right about that, collectors might even have to start petitions on the issue to get back their reputation.

 

*pulls out sniper* *hugs boba fett statue* lets do this boys!!!!!
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I don't know about Obama, but I'm sure some of his ultra liberal friends like Nancy Pelosi and Ted Kennedy are all for this law.

 

The law was written and voted on and signed during the Bush administration last year, so unless any Democrats voted on it, its unlikely some of those "friends" you mention had much to do with it.

The act has been held up until the new administration can look it over, and the agency involved in its enforcement has stated already that some sections and aspects are being waived, in anticipation of pending alterations to the act.

Its become clear that it was rushed into law before it was fully thought out, and it'll likely be significantly altered or outright repealed.

It will NOT go into full effect on Feb. 10th.

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I never said they were responsible. I just said they would probably support that law. I knew it happened with the Bush administration, The congress at the time was mostly Democratic controlled because of the 2006 elections. I just can't see the new administration disagreeing. But I'll remain hopeful.

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