Watch What You Buy at That Yard Sale

Bet you didn't know yard sales are now subject to government regulation. Well, they are. I can't say I'm necessarily opposed to these rules and some might complain this is just more unnecessary government intrusion, but let the buyer beware.

A question for anyone who’s planning a yard sale this summer: Are you having a safe sale?

A consumer-product safety law signed last year makes it illegal to sell recalled products—and that applies to goods sold at yard sales, as well as flea markets and Internet sites like Craigslist. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is charged with enforcing the law, is urging consumers who buy and sell products at garage sales to research the goods and make sure they’re are safe.

The product-safety agency acknowledges that it doesn’t have the resources to actually police yard sales, stoop sales and the like; its focus is on making sure that larger retailers and manufacturers comply with the new rules. “We’re an agency that has a certain number of employees,” says spokesman Scott Wolfson. Still, the agency, which just issued a handbook clarifying the rules for resellers, aims to set a standard that will be incorporated into communities of buyers and sellers—perhaps forcing noncompliant sellers to lose credibility.

“Why pass [questionable goods] on to another family that could be harmed? It doesn’t take much work to know that a product was recalled,” says Mr. Wolfson.

Amid the recession, more sellers are trying to wring some cash out of their old possessions. Listings on Craigslist for garage sales have increased 60% in the past year, and another resale site, Tagsellit.com, has seen a rising trend, with 3,000 listings for tag sales in the month of June. Large-scale yard sales have actually declined as fewer people have moved in the weak housing market. But those who monitor the resale industry say that more sellers are trying to get cash for smaller-ticket items.

“People are trying to generate income in any way that they can,” says Helaine Fendelman, former president of the Appraisers Association of America and a fine art and antiques appraiser. “If they can make some money by selling their unwanted treasures, they are doing that.”

The sheer variety of products being recalled in a given year can make it hard to guess what products might be unsafe. The ten biggest recalls of 2008 included toys, cribs, electric blowers, cosmetic accessory bags and window blinds. But buyers and sellers who want to check for recalls can search on cpsc.gov, which offers searches by product type, company name, or hazard, among other categories, or on recalls.gov, a site that lists recalls by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and five other federal agencies. They can also sign up with the safety commission to receive recall alerts by email.

Here's a good rule of thumb. If it was made in China, pass it by.

Still, people need to self-regulate. The last thing we need are teams of government snoops fanning out across America checking out what people are trying to dump off on their neighbors. And if you've got some recalled product you're trying to rid yourself of, either return it or burn it. Unless, of course, it's loaded with toxic lead.