Retailers to Warn Against Dangers of Used Car Seats, Cribs and Strollers

BY Rachel Cagle
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"Having a baby brings many joys, and expenses. It’s tempting to save by buying secondhand or accepting a freebie from a friend, and that may be fine for onesies. But going for secondhand gear is generally not a good idea when it comes to certain infant and toddler products, including three essential investments: car seats, strollers, and cribs, says Consumer Reports."

'Safety standards are constantly evolving, and manufacturers are continually improving their infant and toddler products to make them safer,' says Don Huber, director of CR’s product safety. 'Newer gear is almost always safer.'”

"Recalls are another reason to opt for new rather than used baby gear. When products are recalled, it’s because they pose serious safety hazards or do not meet current standards. If you fill out the product registration card for a new purchase, the manufacturer will notify you if it gets recalled. But how would you know about the recall if you’re not the original owner? Even the original owner might not know if he didn’t register the product."

"Car seats have an expiration date. The reason for that is to keep old car seats out of the marketplace, because older seats may not provide as much protection as newer models. The life span is six years for most car seats. All car seats must pass minimum federal safety standards, but some may provide additional margins of crash protection, and some are easier to install than others, according to our tests. That’s crucial, given that a poorly installed car seat leaves a child vulnerable in a crash."

"Strollers may not have an expiration date like car seats, but you’ll definitely still want a model that was made on or after Sept. 10, 2015. That’s when federal safety standards (covering proper harness placement and the integrity, stability, and strength of strollers, among other factors) became mandatory. Check the label on the stroller that shows the manufacture date; it’s usually on the underside of the frame."

"Older cribs have sides that dropped down, but as a result of 32 deaths and hundreds of incidents, some resulting in injuries, the CPSC banned drop-​side cribs as of June 28, 2011. These cribs tended to be less sturdy than cribs with four fixed sides; some hardware was prone to loosening or breaking, resulting in the drop-​side detaching at one or more of the crib’s corners. If a baby or toddler rolled or moved into the space created between the drop-​side and the corner or edge of the mattress, she could be strangled or become entrapped and suffocate."

"The 2011 mandatory safety standard also requires more rigorous durability testing and better mattress support, slat strength, and structural integrity for new cribs."

"But there’s another reason not to use a secondhand crib, even if it was made after the latest safety standard kicked in. Over time, a crib’s hardware could be weakened by rough use (imagine a toddler yanking on the rails) or the hardware or glue joints loosening because of changes in humidity during storage."

"For all these reasons, CR recommends buying a car seat, stroller, and crib new."

Baby/​Infant Apparel or Supply Shoppers are 87% more likely than others to find ads on their mobile apps useful and 70% more likely to find ads on social media useful, according to AudienceSCAN. They're active on social networks such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Additionally, last year, more than half took action after receiving email ads, with 33.7% saying that new product announcements are their favorite emails to receive from businesses. Within the last year, these shoppers also took action after receiving direct mail ads, seeing TV commercials, finding ads on daily deals sites such as Groupon and hearing ads on both digital and over-​the-​air radio.

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. In addition, AdMall contains industry profiles on children and infant supply retailers and children's/teens furnishings, as well as lead lists at the local level. Media companies, sales reps and agencies can access this data with a subscription to AdMall from SalesFuel.


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