Secondhand baby gear can cut a family's spending on cribs, bouncers and other essentials. A Consumer Reports investigation found, however, that banned or recalled products are being sold on online resale platforms, so a used item is not automatically a safe one.
What the investigation looked at
Consumer Reports searched for four categories of baby products that have been banned or recalled: drop-side cribs, inclined sleep products, in-bed sleepers and padded crib bumpers. It found banned or recalled items listed on every platform it examined. Mercari, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and eBay each received Consumer Reports' lowest rating for catching unsafe products before listings went live.
Johnny Mathias, director of corporate strategy and engagement at Consumer Reports, said the responsibility should not fall on parents. "They should not have to become safety experts to sell something or to buy something on a consumer-to-consumer marketplace," he said. Mathias also said in-bed sleepers were a particularly difficult category to police on Facebook Marketplace, where the group found all four product types at some point.
Why a listing does not mean a product is safe
Peer-to-peer marketplaces let anyone post an item, and many sellers may not know a product has been recalled or banned. A crib or sleep product that was legal when it was made can later be removed from sale after a safety problem is identified, yet an older unit can still circulate in private hands. The result is that a seller's good faith does not guarantee the item is safe for a child to use.
Practical steps before you buy
Consumer Reports recommends several precautions. Check the product's model number at Recalls.gov to see whether it has been recalled. Inspect the item in person before paying for it. Take extra care with car seats and sleep products, which are the categories where the investigation focused its concern.
Shopping at a resale store that screens items may reduce the risk. At Once Upon a Child, store manager Angel Rogers said staff check recalls every day and decide whether to accept an item based on whether it is on recall. Shopper Fantasia Pettway said she prefers stores that perform those checks. Store screening, however, is a practice of individual businesses, and the investigation did not evaluate every resale shop, so parents should still verify model numbers themselves.
What the findings do not settle
The investigation identified unsafe listings on the platforms it tested, but it does not measure how many used baby products overall are unsafe, and it does not establish how often unsafe items lead to injury. Mathias said online resale platforms are well placed to intervene and keep banned products out of new households, but the report does not describe changes any platform has made since its findings. For parents, the practical rule is clear: a used item can offer real savings, but a quick recall check and a careful inspection matter more than the price.