More than two dozen toys have been recalled this year, the most since 2013, but as of early December, at least eight were still being offered by third-party sellers according to a USA TODAY analysis, a potential danger to families shopping this holiday season.
As of Nov. 3, 27 toy recalls had been issued in the U.S. this year, representing more than 1.3 million items pulled off shelves because they posed a danger or risk of injury. Yet, as recently as Dec. 8, several of the toys were still being sold by a range of retailers including Facebook Marketplace and eBay.
It is illegal to sell recalled products, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent government agency.
“Any banned or recalled product offered for sale represents a hazard for consumers, which we take very seriously,” Pamela Springs, spokesperson for the CPSC, said in an email. “While we can’t quantify the breadth of the problem, suffice it to say even one banned or recalled toy for sale is one too many.”
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What are some toys that were recalled?
The recalled toys still listed on some retail sites include Epoch Everlasting Play’s My First Activity Desk, several date codes of the Blue’s Clues Foot to Floor Ride-on toy, model number 55061 , and Asweets’ Wonder & Wise Activity tables designed for standing babies and toddlers.
USA TODAY found six recalled toys being sold on Facebook Marketplace. In a letter sent to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in July, CPSC chairman, Alex Hoehn-Saric noted that roughly 75% of the agency’s requests this fiscal year for online sellers to remove banned or recalled products were made to Facebook Marketplace.
Though Hoehn-Saric added that Facebook’s parent company, Meta, “worked well” with the agency to address those requests, his letter asked the company to provide more detail on how it deals with such listings.
Meta responded to Hoehn-Saric’s questions, but “unfortunately, we continue to see recalled and banned products being sold on Facebook Marketplace and other e-commerce platforms,” Springs said. “Large platforms have the resources to better protect the safety of their customers and stop the listing of violative products. They can and should do more.”
Meta says that it is making an effort.
“We are heavily invested in our approach to safety and have over 40,000 people across Meta working on safety and security, which includes teams proactively enforcing our commerce policies that prohibit the sale of recalled goods,” the company said in a statement to USA TODAY. “Like other platforms where people can buy and sell goods, there are instances of people knowingly or unknowingly selling recalled goods on Marketplace. We take this issue seriously and when we find listings that violate our rules, we remove them.”
Recalled toys on eBay
Facebook Marketplace is not the only third-party website selling recalled toys weeks or months after they were deemed potentially dangerous.
On June 2, 2022, Communicorp recalled 600,000 units of Aflac six-inch plush promotional ducks due to their risk of potentially exposing users to phthalates –chemicals used to make plastics more durable – and lead, which are toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health issues.
At least four types of those recalled duck toys were being sold by different users on eBay in early December, USA TODAY found.
Gary Fullmer, senior director of marketplace policies at eBay, says the company is “working to improve our processes” and make sure its technology can pick up items that should not be listed. But he adds that it is easier to ferret out products with a UPC code or part number than a more generic item like a promotional plush toy such as the Aflac duck.
There are 1.7 billion listings on eBay, according to statistics provided by the company. Last year, the company was able to block over 7 million dangerous items before they were listed, and through their follow-up reviews, they removed another 375 million products either because they were unsafe or violated their policies.
“The protection of our customers and stopping unsafe products is a top priority for us,” Fullmer said. “We take this really seriously, and we’re using the latest AI, we are deploying multiple hundreds of expert investigators and spending significant resources.”
Recalled toy on-site is not for sale
Some other sellers said that while a recalled toy might have been listed on their site, the item has been flagged and would be unavailable for purchase.
Epoch Everlasting Play recalled 8,200 units of My First Activity Desk on Aug. 25 because of “entanglement and entrapment hazards.”
Danny Givens, owner of the Lynchburg, Va.-based toy and book store Givens Books & Little Dickens says that though the activity desk was on his store’s site and he had one in stock, he was aware of the recall notice and it would not be sold to a customer either online or in person.
“If we were to process the order, it would say …it’s not sellable due to this recall,” said Givens, adding that he also puts a note in his store’s system so he doesn’t make future purchases of recalled products.
Givens added that the store typically might have only two or three toys in stock that have been recalled in a year.
“We would be getting in trouble if we were selling recalled items,’’ says Givens, whose business has been operating for 45 years. “We’re pretty careful about it.’’
An estimated 206,400 toy-related injuries were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments in 2021, according to a CPSC report published last month. More than 7 out of 10 of those victims were children 14 years old or younger, and the head region was the part of the body associated with the largest number of injuries.
What should consumers do?
The CPSC advises consumers shopping online to visit its website CPSC.gov to find out whether a product has been recalled and to sign up for notifications.
Meta meanwhile says if you have a question about whether a product you’re purchasing or selling has been pulled off the market, check the manufacturer’s website or the site of the agency that regulates such items.
Also, shoppers who believe a listed product violates Meta’s rules should click on the three dots in the listing’s upper right-hand corner to make a report.
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