Graco, a popular baby brand that sells “big ticket” items like strollers and cribs, recently recalled 100,000 high chairs. The problem is that the high chairs can collapse if they are not fully opened and locked from the storage position. They received 18 complaints of the chair collapsing and one child suffered a minor injury due to being in the chair while it collapsed.
On reading this story, I got curious as to how one finds out that something you’ve bought has been recalled. I know there are lists that you can look at. Perhaps someone with an overly developed sense of caution and a bundle of time on their hands may peruse the lists daily, or weekly to see if something they’ve bought has been recalled. However, I doubt that description fits anyone with one child, and I’m positive it doesn’t fit anyone with several children. I also always assumed that if something I bought had been recalled, I’d see it announced somewhere. But upon reading about the Graco recalls, I realized that I wasn’t really sure. . .so I decided to investigate!
Register Your Product
You know those little cards that come with just about everything you buy? Fill them out and send them in. Contrary to what the company may have you believe, you DON’T need to fill them out to obtain a warranty. By law, if they are offering a warranty, they are offering a warranty as long as you can prove that you purchased the item from a store, new. (As opposed to picking it up at a garage sale for example.) It is true that they want your information for marketing purposes. However, it also puts you on their mailing list so that if the product you just bought has been recalled or needs tweaking, they can let you know. (Doesn’t that make so much more sense than looking at tons of lists?)
CPSC
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is your friend. Their website is easily searchable and you can check out a product that you’re thinking of buying on their website. For example, does your child’s crib meet voluntary safety standards beyond the minimum requirement? You can also report problems there with any product that you have, in addition to reporting it to the manufacturer.
Consumer Reports
Of course Consumer Reports is a great resource–especially when you’re going for some of those big ticket items that you will only by once and use for all of your children. In addition to using them to research your options before you make your purchase, they have a list of recalls on their website. Consumer Reports is unbiased. They do not take advertising dollars nor do they allow their reports to be used in advertising.
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