Vent I'm ruined for garage sales!

kattale

New member
This weekend I went browsing through The Great Glebe Garage Sale, our city's most highly attended and densest sale of the year. It's in the residential area just south of the downtown core - hundreds of thousands of people, and traffic is gridlocked for the entire day...

Apparently I am ruined for garage sales now. It just wasn't fun. Every second house, I found myself stopping to lift up carseats and look for expiry dates. And then I felt compelled to point it out to the vendor... and engage in discussions about why expired seats are unsafe, what could happen in a crash, whether the vendor could be libel for a child's injury... After the 7th or 8th expired seat of the first 7 or 8 seats I looked at, my friend started trying to block my view of seats we came across, and finally forbade me to touch another seat. I did get into a discussion with a twin dad (who still had 11 months left on his two seats) who claimed he worked in the plastics industry - and then who worked it through and convinced himself all on his own that plastics might not actually display visual micro-fractures, and suddenly decided to agree with me...

You know? It wasn't fun. I couldn't keep my hands off the seats, couldn't keep my mouth shut, couldn't help feeling frustrated and angry at parents for not knowing *exactly* the same stuff I didn't know until I took my certification course. It really wasn't fair to the parents, and I'm sure it was a sour moment for them, as much as it was for me. :(

I feel like a miserable cranky person if I point out the expired seats, and as if I am endangering children if I don't say anything. Arg.

I wish I had a notepad of sticky-notes, with "Expired Car Seat" on one side, and all the info about how to choose a safe seat, and why, on the other seat. I could leave a trail of these where-ever I went, and not engage or squash anyone's feelings.

Crystal Beach garage sale is this Saturday - can I keep my mouth shut? Should I?

Kat (the other one from Canada)
 
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emy_lou

New member
Well, I'm glad you said something. It irritates me when I see people selling expired seats and I do tell them as well. Some people really dont know, and other people dont care. For the people who dont care, I call the cops on them. :D Its basically the same thing as selling something that has been recalled. Kinda...
 

CrunchyMaineMama

Senior Community Member
I've heard of people bringing scissors with them to yard sales and cutting the harness straps of expired seats...I don't think I'd have the guts to do that in front of someone, but maybe if they were distracted and didn't know who did it. :whistle:
Yard sale season is just starting up here. I'm sure I will have a hard time not pointing out things like that now that I'm a tech. Maybe I'll keep educational material in my car...
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
In most states, it is not illegal to sell expired seats. Calling the police for something that is not a crime or vandalizing other people's property is not effective advocacy.
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
The sticky pad of notes might not be a bad idea. Clear, concise, and educational would be the tack to take. That way you've done something but in the vein of education, rather than offending anyone.

I'm not sure how long ago you took the course, but for me -- I always remember where I was with seats before this board (just about a year now) and have a lot more sympathy for people who don't know. Because *I* didn't know. So I always take the tack of, "Did you know that xyz? I had no idea about it until recently, I was so surprised -- and hated that I wasn't doing the best by my kids!"

Calling the cops is unlikely to change anyone's minds, but rather write you off as a nutcase, and cutting straps could -- if someone chose to take it this far -- get you arrested for vandalism/destruction of property.

As hard as it is to remember (and believe me, I have a HARD time with this,) all you can do is educate. At the end of the day, the responsibility lies with a) the seller, who is choosing to sell an unsafe item, and b) the parent, who is choosing to purchase and use an unsafe item. If both parties choose to ignore the safety of the matter at hand, there's not a lot you can do about it.
 

babyherder

Well-known member
I would go with the sticky note idea. Hopefully you can do something helpful without driving yourself insane! And if you put a note on the car seats maybe potential buyers will see it and think twice.
 

libranbutterfly

New member
This is how I feel at flea markets and yard sales too :( Add that to my dislike for getting up early (especially when DH doesnt have to get up) and you see why I leave the yard sales to my mom :whistle: I give her a list a the beginning of summer and she gets whatever she finds. I stalk craigslist and thrift stores up here for things she needs, and pick them up for her. Everytime we see each other, we have bags of stuff to give each other. My dad does the thrift store in my hometown, here is only one now.

ETA at the indoor flea market, I put every expired seat in my cart,took them to the check out counter, and left info about expired seats for the sellers. The seats sat behind the counter until the sellers came in, and most of them never made it back to the floor (a couple had the wording changed on their tags to read "carrier" instead of "car seat")
 

BudgieStew

New member
Kat, Are you in Canada?

If so you could always handout a print out from the Canadian government website which points out that garage sale vendors can not sell seats that do not meet the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.

" Everyone holding a garage sale is legally responsible for ensuring that products sold, whether new or used, are safe and meet current safety standards."

"Car Seats - Car seats must meet the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. Before selling a used car seat, check with Transport Canada (1-800-333-0371 or www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety) for more information and to find out if the car seat has been recalled."

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/cons/garage-eng.php
 

kattale

New member
Oh, thanks for the link, Budgie! If I can get my printer to work (hah!) I will arm myself with a few - although they are predicting rain for the Crystal Beach sale this Saturday.

Really, I don't have anything I need to buy right now - I go to the sales because "shopping" is entertaining, and if I'm going to entertain myself that way, better to do it somewhere that I don't leave $$$ in fancy stores. :)

Kat
 

Mom2FiveGirls

Active member
That is the main reason I haven't been to any yard sales this year. Well, that and the fact that I just can't make myself get up and functioning early if I don't have to...lol. But I know it would be insanely frustrating and I'd likely end up grumpy and frustrated myself.
 

leighi123

Active member
I did the same thing last year at our neighborhoods anual yard sale.

The post-it idea is a good one, maybe I'll do that this year instead!
 

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