Mattel has recalled millions of toys

superscaper

dangeroussports wrote: »

Well you are responsible actually. You werent to know though. Its not entirely your fault if some kiddie ends up sucking on toys containing lead and poisoning them BUT what does your conscience say?

Well they weren't designed for young children (they were collectible pewter game miniatures not toys) and I'm pretty sure it said they contained lead (in fact all low grade pewter used to contain lead). I guess in the same way not everything with magnets is banned. Many things contain small magnets but they aren't meant to be used by young children either. I just wondered about legality in the sale of secondhand goods (for both toys and non toys).

pulliptears

Im in a similar position with DD's polly pockets. She has quite a few, and in fairness some of the bits have already lost magnets, but she is almost 10. There is no danger of her swallowing anything so part of me wonders whether to bother or not..

Like the earlier poster I also now have no idea what came with what set!!!

dangeroussports

superscaper wrote: »

Well they weren't designed for young children (they were collectible pewter game miniatures not toys) and I'm pretty sure it said they contained lead (in fact all low grade pewter used to contain lead). I guess in the same way not everything with magnets is banned. Many things contain small magnets but they aren't meant to be used by young children either. I just wondered about legality in the sale of secondhand goods (for both toys and non toys).

What does common sense tell you?

superscaper

dangeroussports wrote: »

What does common sense tell you?

Tells me there's no problem because I was selling to adults that knew what they were buying, and looking into it I can't find anything that says it's illegal either (which was the question I was asking). It would be dangerous allowing children to play with them (sharp and small objects) even without the chemical content so I don't think I have any moral obligation on what someone else gives to their children. I suppose it's no different than if I was selling an old secondhand TV which contains much more lead.


Edit::rotfl:Just took a look back at my original listing and I'd actually specifically put this clearly in the listing "WARNING contains lead!". I don't think I could be accused of not being diligent or being irresponsible. I just wasn't sure of the legalities of the secondhand market.

pulliptears

Funny though isnt it?

I grew up with lead soldiers, toys with sharp edges, my cot bars were painted with lead based paints. I had Meccano with small bolts, lego with small pieces. I had a fisher price telephone that weighed a ton and could be quite lethal when it was thrown (as my mother would testify!).

And here we are now, in the days where the responsibility for our kids appears to lie with the toy manufacturers rather than us, where we will sue anyone rather than take any blame. **sigh*

I miss those days.

superscaper

pulliptears wrote: »

Funny though isnt it?

I grew up with lead soldiers, toys with sharp edges, my cot bars were painted with lead based paints. I had Meccano with small bolts, lego with small pieces. I had a fisher price telephone that weighed a ton and could be quite lethal when it was thrown (as my mother would testify!).

And here we are now, in the days where the responsibility for our kids appears to lie with the toy manufacturers rather than us, where we will sue anyone rather than take any blame. **sigh*

I miss those days.

Couldn't agree more. Have you seen Lego nowadays? Most of them are almost complete toys.
I found something on ebay almost identical to what I sold (that apparently I should feel guilty/have my conscience pricked for selling)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DUNGEONS-DRAGONS-HEROES-10-MINIATURES-NEW_W0QQitemZ110157297666QQihZ001QQcategoryZ2537QQcmdZViewItem

pulliptears

Anyone who knows anything about D&D and WOW etc realises that these are detailed models for the adult collector.
I worked in a toy shop for a few years and we regularly sold these, mostly to teenagers and adults it has to be said. Its ultimately the parents responsibility to supervise the toys a child has.

As for lego, the rep reckoned the complete toy mentality had all but killed off the lego brand. Dont know if anything has changed now, but 3 years ago you couldnt buy extra bricks, and boards were like gold dust. Years ago you could pop out and buy a pack of doors etc but they stopped it all.

The appeal of lego was always that it was a million toys in one box. Now its the option to build a fire engine and nothing more.

ailuro2

I'm just off the phone to my local ToysRus, who have said if we return the toys then my DD can have their value refunded, I would assume to spend in store on something else- but that if the toys she has are not current then they may be reduced, so she won't get full value for them.

Considering she doesn't play with them very much anymore, it sounds like a good excuse for her to clear out some PollyPocket stuff and put the money towards something more her age group (she's 8 and more into educational stuff at the moment)

across

has anyone actually got through on the helpline yet i have been trying for two days and it is constantly engaged:eek: ! i took the stuff off the girls but they were soon back playing with it today as everything is so mixed up we cant even tell what bits came with what sets so how can we possibly return millions of bits that all look rather dodgy when only the house of style and limo of ours is on list? the ship and all the packets of dolls with outfits arent on? yet the magnets all look dodgy! cant tell which doll came with which set either and there are about twenty odd dolls so were do we go from here how can we return anything!:rolleyes:

Lifeisbutadream

VeryTrying wrote: »

How old and/or stupid is she? Is she likely to look at a loose magnet and say "that looks delicious, I think I'll nosh it - nice, I'll have another one". The toys are not supposed to be for younger than four years, so she most probably would not do anything silly. After all, if she was not too bright, she would already have eaten her way through a couple of small shoes and other PP accessories, all of which are small enough to fit inr ears and noses.

As Deanos has pointed out, the real danger is to younger ones who might just find the bits lying around and, as babies do, put it in their mouths, etc. If your daughter is over three, surely she would be OK?

I thought it was because the magnets contained lead? My DD is eight - obviously if I was concerned about her swallowing them then she wouldnt have Polly Pocket in the first place!

If it is only a swallowing issue then I am not worried, but I honestly thought it was because of the dangers of lead poisoning (which I know nothikng about). I do know that my DS was rushed to hospital last year after getting battery powder in his mouth - there was literally a hole in his tongue - thats why I am concerned.