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Fears about federal crackdown on resales

Some who are planning to hold yard sales might be wondering if the feds will come a knockin' as part of a crackdown on secondhand sales of dangerous and defective products.

Some who commented about this story are pretty peeved about the idea, too.

Not to worry. That's because the feds have bigger fish to fry, a spokeswoman with the Consumer Product Safety Commission told me this morning.

That means they're "not going after mom and pop yard sales," Patty Davis said.

Resale stores? Yep. But that doesn't mean an automatic, one-size-fits all response.

"If there's a violation, first of all we're going to be working with the resale store to correct the issue," she said. "Second of all, if we see repeat violations, that's where we're going to be stepping in with potential penalties."

Violators face hefty fines. It's a civil penalty that carries a maximum $100,000 fine. For a series of violations? Up to $15 million.

But Davis stressed they're taking it on a case-by-case basis.

"We're going to take into account the circumstances, the severity of risk, the type of violation," she said. "Our goal is not to put any resale store out of business. We want to work with them to comply."

The crackdown on sales of dangerous and defective used products is part of a campaign called Resale Roundup.

It's being enforced under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which Congress passed and President George W. Bush signed into law last year.

Although yard sales aren't in the law enforcement's bull's eye, residents should still pay attention to what they're selling.

"You don't want to pass along a hazardous product to another consumer, especially a child," she said. "Don't sell a recalled product that could kill or injure someone."

It's not that hard to figure out. Really.

"It's so easy to go to the Web site and check to see if a product is recalled," she said. "It takes a few minutes and it could save someone's life."

Here's a link to the list.

Accompanying Photos

Jerry Wolford (News & Record)