Americans who slap $1 pricetags on their used possessions at garage sales or bazaar events risk being slapped with fines of up to $15 million, thanks to a new government campaign.
Seriously?
"Those who resell recalled children's products are not only breaking the law, they are putting children's lives at risk,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. "Resale stores should make safety their business and check for recalled products and hazards to children."
In order to comply, stores, flea markets, charities and individuals selling used goods — in person or online — are expected to consult the commission's 24-page Handbook for Resale Stores and Product Resellers (pdf) and its Web site for a breakdown of what they can't sell.
Violators caught selling anything on the enormous list face fines of up to $100,000 per infraction and up to $15 million for a related series of infractions.
The law is meant to apply mainly to large manufacturers, but it doesn't make any distinctions between them and the average soccer mom who's just trying to clear out the basement.
"It is scary to think that there could be such hefty fines imposed on unsuspecting households," another garage sale organizer, Patti Lombardi, told FOXNews.com. "I think I speak for many people when I say that the government spends too much time interfering in the individual citizen's personal life and this is almost bordering on the ridiculous ... what if it opens up a Pandora's box of litigation brought by the purchasers of items at garage sales?"
Too right.
3 comments:
i think it will cause a lot of people to throw more things away insteading of recycling them through garage sales and 2nd hand stores. and the president without his "green czar", too.
I was wondering what happened if I *innocently* donated a recalled item and claimed the charitable donation on my tax return? Is that legit?
It won't be imposible to police. People with nothing better to do will scour garage sales looking for "tainted" products and I bet they can find some sleazy lawyer to sue on behalf of their "damaged" spawn.
Post a Comment