How to properly inform people who are selling expired seats?

judesmommy

New member
I saw a lady on ebay selling a safe embrace by fisher price manf. in 2000. Is it worth it to let people know that their seats are expired or is better just to turn a blind eye??

I was thinking of emailing this:

"Hi!
Just wanted to let you know that I think the carseats you are selling are expired. Yep, carseats expire!! I didn't know either until I found out more information on carseat safety at www. car-seat.org. Most seats expire after 6 years. :)

Thanks!"
 
ADS

simplychels

New member
Is it worth trying to let people know? absolutely! You never know whose going to be receptive and whose not. If they arent receptive to your helpful advice, so be it, but at least you tried.
 

CommMom

Senior Community Member
I will usually write something like what you suggested and include the fact that expired seats (even when they appear fine outwardly) may fail in an accident, have a recall on them, etc. thus making them unsafe for a child to ride in.

If I think I could use the cover, I might offer the poster a few dollars for it. Heck, I've even offered people $5 if they'd let me destroy the seat. Otherwise, I include information about how to properly dispose of the seat.
 

Andie

New member
I have a already written letter that I copy & paste into an email as a base:

Hello there,

I saw your ad for the car seat. I just wanted to let you know that the seat is expired. I understand most people don't know that seats expire at all, which is probably your case as well, but most only have a 6 year life after the date of manufacture. I can tell by looking at the seat that it's usable life is done. The reason that seats expire is that the plastic degrades over time and becomes brittle and no longer safe to restrain a child during the force of an impact. Also, many many changes have been made to child seats over the years and the older ones are no longer considered safe. No child is safe in an expired seat and it should really be destroyed and thrown away.

If you have any questions about seat expiration or how to properly dispose of the seat, please feel free to reply.

Thanks!

I do change wording to make it specific to the ad I'm replying to.
 

MomToEliEm

Moderator
This is my standard e-mail I send out (edited to be specific on the carseat type).

I noticed you had a fisher-price carseat for sale in the <city> craigslist site. What is the date of manufacturer on the carseat? From looking at the carseat pictorial, that fisher price carseat was last produced in 2001 (http://www.carseat.org/Pictorial/3-Five- Point-np.pdf). That model of carseat has an 8 year expiration date on it which would mean if it was manufactured at the end of 2001, it is expiring at the the end of this year. If it was made earlier then November 2001 though, it is already expired.

Many people think that carseat expiration is just a ploy to get people to buy more carseats, but I think carseat expiration is due to several reasons, not just plastic degrading. Here are my reasons on why I think carseat expiration dates are valid.

1. Plastic does degrade over time. It doesn't magically happen at 5-8 years, but it is a good date guideline, especially if a carseat has been used in a hot car or stored in a hot garage. Here is a youtube video of a 10 year old carseat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvCRz7BRAM0

2. Manufacturers make safety upgrades to seats all the time. They want to get older seats that might not meet the new safety guidelines out of the market. Seats made 10 years ago, often had a 20-22 pound rear facing limit on them (this was for convertible seats, not just infant seats). Now, those convertible seats rear face to 30-35 pounds, and are much safer. Older seats used 3 point harnesses or shields to protect a child, and now more seats are using safer 5 point harnesses on seats.

3. After a certain period of time, seats loose manuals, stickers wear off, harnesses get frayed. It is hard to get replacement parts for older carseats. Without good working parts or a good manual, carseats may not be used correctly.

4. Manufacturers put limits on their seats and going beyond those limits might limit the manufacturer's liability if the seat fails to perform properly during a crash.

I hope you will take this information and use it wisely. If the carseat is past it's expiration date, please consider not selling it. Dispose of it by breaking apart the different components and cutting the straps and then put it into a bag before putting it out by the trashcan. This will hopefully keep someone else from taking the seat and using it.

On a seperate subject, does anyone else think that the 10 year old Britax seat crash test video looks similar to the transport canada marathon videos where the harness rips out? Maybe the seat failed due to other reasons then just being old.
 

luvmyboyz

New member
...does anyone else think that the 10 year old Britax seat crash test video looks similar to the transport canada marathon videos where the harness rips out? Maybe the seat failed due to other reasons then just being old.

I thought the same thing. OTH, maybe a heavy dummy mimics the failure of an expired seat. :confused:
 

tjham

New member
.

If I think I could use the cover, I might offer the poster a few dollars for it. Heck, I've even offered people $5 if they'd let me destroy the seat. Otherwise, I include information about how to properly dispose of the seat.

That was a GREAT seat! I have two covers (off expired seats) that I can't bring myself to throw away, even though I would bet that all of them are expired now or very soon will be...:(
 

amyd

New member
I typically just email & ask for the expiration date on the seat. That way it lets the seller know that the seat does expire & hopefully gets them thinking if indeed their seat has expired. I've had a couple sellers email back & say they were sorry they couldn't sell me the seat because they realized it had expired. I also report expired seats to the listing site (not sure if that does any good, but I do it anyway).
 

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