My friend just told me that a law was just passed prohibiting the donation/consignment of any baby items....anyone else hear that? I love the store "Once Upon a Child" and would hate to think that I would have to simply throw items away after we are done using them. If you have hear anything, fill me in!
My mom actually owns a consignment store that deals with women's and childrens clothing and she was telling me about this law. It was actually voted down - which was a huge relief on her part.
That law would have effectively wiped out all children's resale shops because of the cost of testing for - I can't remember the chemical at the moment, but it had to be done in private labs to the tune of $500 per item, from what she was telling me.
A couple months ago there was an uproar about new regulations that were coming into effect. These regulations basically said that you could not sell/resell any child's product without certifying that it was free from lead. This would have been very cost prohibitive for resellers, either individually in garage sales settings or through Once Upon a Child, Salvation Army, etc. The rules were later updated to exempt these resellers, so you are OK. Having said that, if you can find a local resale in your area and are willing to put in a bit of work, you will find it to be much more profitable than Once Upon a Child, in my experience. One such resale is http://www.parentswhocare.org/index.php?title=Resale
Please do not throw your items away! If I my introduce myself. . . we currently support 170 families in the appalachian mountains and are always looking for donations. We are called Angel Haven Foundation and for 9 years having been taking care of these families. 6 times p/year we drive into the mountains with trailers and trucks full of furniture, clothing, appliances, food, personal hygiene, linens, etc anything they need. We are tax deductible and 100% of proceeds go towards supporting these families. Also we will pick up whatever you would like to donate. We collect all year round. If you would like to donate anything at all, please contact me at ###-###-#### (office) ###-###-#### (home). Thank you for considering us!!
Barb R.
I'm glad to hear it didn't pass (from other postings) I do want to tell you that if you ever have a problem with stores like once upon a child closing, you should go to the Davis school sale- St. charles, IL (once a year) or the Western Ave School sale- Geneva,IL. everything has to been in good condition and I go every year. I stock up on clothes and browse the toys area. They have everything from baby swings to books to coats and clothes to shoes... Just like once upon a child only it benefits a school. 40% of the money goes to the school. There is one at Western Ave. (Geneva) on March 6 and 7th. It's open to the public. You should check it out if you get the chance. Here's their website http://www.geneva304.org/was/ParentInfo/clothingsale/clot...
They were talking about having this law but it didn't go through.THANKFULLY!!
In Crystal Lake there is a place you can donate any of your items and then get papers for a tax deduction. You can visit the website BlessingBarn.org or call ###-###-####.Blessing Barn is an amazing and wonderful place(also the people). They give to others who are in need. They take anything except exercise equipment and large appliances. Do not throw things out donate them to help others...the tax write off is a bonus.
J. - Hopefully you will be glad to hear that your friend's information is wrong since there is no law prohibiting the donation/consignment of baby items. There are, however, new requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act that impose certain standards on sellers, resellers, and distributors of children's items as far as lead and phthalates content.
Even so, the law requires only manufacturers and importers of NEW items, not resellers of USED items, to certify compliance with the standards. Moreoever, the law only applies to products made after February 10, 2009.
For more information, read this article:
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/pending/cpsia.asp
It was last updated on 2/19/09, the day after the article in The Bolingbrook Sun was published, for which Toni S. sent you the link, so presumably it is even more up to date.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/bolingbrooksun/busines...
Check out that link and the links in the article.
Just take your stuff to the goodwill or thrift store!!
If that was true then why am I getting all sorts of calls about donating my things to different organizations? That sounds ridiculous but I have been wrong. Half of our communities thrive on other children's used clothing.
All the Once Upon a Childs I've gone to were dirty and smelly. I have had much better luck buying items from resales sponsored by organizations like Mothers and More and schools. I don't think this will affect those resales. They have tons of baby stuff and can get around it by deeming the resale as a fundraiser.
You don't have to throw away items when you are finished using them. You could garage sale them, sell them in one of the resales I mentioned about or put them on freecycle.org.
Maybe I'm wrong about the loophole and someone knows differently.
