Drop-side cribs
Drop-side cribs will be banned in the U.S. on June 28, 2011. Does the ban apply to individuals trying to sell their used crib? Can I sell my drop-side crib on craigslist after June 28? And if not, any idea of what I might do with it besides bringing it to a dumpsite?
7 Answers
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Resale is against the law as well. Sorry! (Look for "resale" in that PDF for the legalise). The only legal option is to landfill it :-( Sorry!
This is going to affect us as well. We're trying to decide if we're going to use it for baby no. 2 when he comes in August, or if we're going to get a whole new crib. I looked over the defects cited in drop-side cribs, and as of right now, our crib has all its hardware intact and in shape. There is no gap between the matress and the gate. I'd hate to get rid of what appears to be a perfectly good crib, and maybe we can get one more use out of it before it goes to the dump. (Of course, I'll be watching for hardware failure very carefully)
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We have a drop-side crib that we will be done with soon. Instead of landfilling it, I think we might post it for free on Craigslist with some big disclaimers about its recall. But you never know how people can reuse it, maybe for staging for a home or a play, or some artwork. Who knows.
As for current use, we've checked it for defects and it all looks fine. Vincent, perhaps like us, you don't actually need to drop the side anymore? We took the wheels off to lower the whole bed so now we might just drill new holes to put permanent bolts in place. My husband thinks a few zip ties would also fix the safety issue. We haven't decided yet but it seems silly to get a new crib when she'll outgrow one in just a few months, if we can fix it.
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My wife and I were at a rummage sale and we saw a great deal on several drop side, brushed steel cribs. We actually bought one before I had buyers regret and we ended up canceling the sale. They are totalyl banned as far as I know. As in, they go to the landfill or the woodworking shop to be repurposed but they really should not be sold anywhere including yard sales or Craig's list. It's a big bummer to waste all of the materials but it is even a bigger bummer to have a child hurt, maimed or killed by a class of product that is deemed so dangerous.
We also have a wooden crib with a drop side that I am considering doing some basic maintenaince on to see if we can get it up to code, but if we can't then it's getting tossed out.
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It seems that it would be very easy to upgrade a drop side crib to a not-dropside crib if it's made of wood. Get some narrow L-brackets, and screw them to the underside of the crib bottom and the feet, or anywhere else where you think this slippage might happen. This will render the side undroppable in a way that would certainly make me comfortable re-using the crib and "up to code" at least for home use.
Not sure how I'd do it with a metal crib, but there are self-drilling metal screws you can find at the hardware store that might be similarly usable for securing parts.
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Solution to drop side cribs. SCREWS. Seriously, just screw the drop sides in place so they don't drop anymore. And face them away, so the drop side is now the "back" of the crib. I just don't get the paranoia.
Be a MacGyver.
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I just discovered that here in Seattle there is a non profit group collecting unwanted drop-side cribs. They are removing the drop side completely and using them as toddler beds at shelters. Maybe there are groups in your area too.
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I was hoping that I could sell my dropside crib on craigslist if I fitted it with an immobilizer kit (or an equivalent) like a lot of you, however, upon further reading of the official ruling I found this:
"For example, manufacturers have offered immobilizers in the past to address drop-side hazards on recalled cribs. This retrofit would not be sufficient to meet the crib standards. An immobilizer merely covers up part of the drop-side hardware and makes the drop-side unusable while in place, but it would not prevent a user from removing the retrofit and using the drop-side again."
So the official answer is No. You cannot resell your dropside crib in any fashion through any outlet. Going beyond protecting our children from defective equipment, the government has seen fit to protect us from ourselves. "..it would not prevent a user from removing the retrofit and using the drop-side again."
Katja,
That is precisely what I have done with our wooden crib. So you and I had the same idea. For the new baby we have comng in December I am ok with re-using the crib but my partner really wants us to try and get a newfangled one that will be good to go for the wear and tear associated with another child.
- JPRennquist, Jul 1, 2011