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Buying Used Baby Gear: How to Check It for Recalls

Check secondhand cribs, strollers and other baby gear against the recall lists, skip cribs made before June 28, 2011, and know which items to pass on.

By Baby Product Recalls editorial teamUpdated 3 min readHow we research

An old red pram with a worn hood for sale at an outdoor flea market

Before using secondhand baby gear, find its label, check the model number on cpsc.gov/Recalls (or nhtsa.gov/recalls for a car seat) and walk away from anything recalled, broken or missing parts. Skip cribs made before June 28, 2011, inclined sleepers and crib bumpers entirely: CPSC treats them as unsafe or banned whatever their condition.

Used gear is not the problem in itself. The problem is that the recall notice and the product often get separated.

Why check used gear at all?

CPSC is direct about it: “it is illegal to sell any recalled product,” whether online or in person, and a seller is responsible for knowing whether an item was recalled. That rule covers individuals reselling old products, not only stores. CPSC adds that its staff monitor online marketplaces for recalled products, and it names infant sleep products and baby loungers, cribs, bassinets and strollers among the categories it most often finds resold.

In practice, not every seller checks. CPSC’s advice to buyers is that “taking five extra minutes to check cpsc.gov/recalls before buying or selling a used product could save a life.”

A checklist for any used baby product

An old red pram with a worn hood for sale at an outdoor flea market
  1. Find the label with the maker, model number and date. No label, no way to check: pass.
  2. Search the recall list for the brand and product type, then compare model numbers.
  3. Check it is whole. CPSC’s resellers guide says not to sell durable baby gear that is “broken, wobbly, unstable, or missing parts, even if they have not been recalled.”
  4. No home repairs. The same guide says “Do not try to repair broken products with other screws or hardware.”
  5. Ask for the manual, or find it on the maker’s site before you use the product.

Which used baby items should you skip?

Item Why Source
Crib made before June 28, 2011 The federal crib standards became mandatory on that date and apply to new and used cribs; older cribs are “very likely noncompliant, unsafe, and illegal to sell” CPSC
Any drop-side crib “Absolutely no drop-side cribs in the used marketplace … can meet the standard” CPSC resellers guide
Inclined sleeper for infants Banned since November 12, 2022, regardless of manufacture date Safe Sleep for Babies Act
Crib bumpers Banned since November 12, 2022, regardless of manufacture date Safe Sleep for Babies Act
Car seat with an unknown history Needs a known crash history, labels, no recall, all parts and the manual NHTSA
Anything recalled and not repaired Illegal to sell CPSC

Strollers and high chairs are among the most recalled nursery products in CPSC’s records; stroller recalls and high chair recalls show recent notices, and infant swing recalls covers swings sold for sleep. For cribs, the resellers guide also says each full-size and non-full-size crib must have a date stamp marked permanently on it. A crib without one cannot be dated, so it cannot be checked. Crib recalls explains the 2011 standards in more detail.

Used car seats need extra care

NHTSA's five checks

NHTSA says a second-hand seat “may be okay to use” only if you can check off all five: it has never been in a moderate to severe crash; it has labels with the date of manufacture and model number; it has no recalls; it has all its parts; and it has its instruction book.

The crash history is the hardest of the five to confirm when you buy from someone you do not know. Used car seats covers each check, and car seat after a crash explains NHTSA’s definition of a minor crash.

If you are passing gear on

The same rules apply in reverse. Check your items before you sell or donate them, and CPSC’s resellers guide says a recalled product “should be destroyed and not sold or given away to others,” unless it has been repaired in accordance with the recall. Hand the manual and the top half of the registration card over with the product, so the next owner can register it for recall alerts.

More on reading a notice: how to check a baby product for a recall and how baby product recalls work.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to buy a used crib?

Only a crib made on or after June 28, 2011, with its date label, all its original parts and no recall. CPSC says cribs made or sold before that date are very likely noncompliant with the federal crib standards, and its resellers guide says no drop-side crib in the used market can meet the standard.

Is it legal to sell a recalled stroller at a yard sale?

No. CPSC says it is illegal to sell any recalled product, and that includes yard sales, flea markets, thrift and consignment stores and online marketplaces. A product repaired as the recall directs is the one exception CPSC's resellers guide names.

Should I buy a used car seat?

NHTSA says a second-hand seat may be okay only if it has never been in a moderate or severe crash, has labels with the date of manufacture and model number, has no recalls, has all its parts and has its instruction book. If you cannot confirm all five, choose a different seat.

Can I use a hand-me-down Rock 'n Play or crib bumper?

No. Inclined sleepers for infants and crib bumpers are banned hazardous products under the Safe Sleep for Babies Act, effective November 12, 2022, regardless of when they were made, and the Rock 'n Play itself was recalled in 2019.

Sources

  1. Stopping the Online Sale of Recalled ProductsU.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
  2. Resellers Guide to Selling Safer Products (Publication 254, February 2025)U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
  3. Safe Sleep for Babies Act Business GuidanceU.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
  4. Used Car Seat Safety ChecklistNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  5. Recalls & Product Safety Warnings (search)U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Filed under Recall basicsStart with How Baby Product Recalls Work in the U.S.

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