What is this going to mean to those of us who mostly buy used books?

[Caroline4kids]

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=85542

 

If this is true it looks like we should all be getting any used hs books we need right now. I buy almost everything second hand, so I'm wondering if this is really as horrible as it sounds.

 

 

Ideas?? Can anyone refute this so I can not panic?

 

My dh just read me the article as I was cleaning up dinner. He said I'd better get what I need for next year right now.

 

What do you think?:bigear::bigear::bigear:

[Mandamom]

There has been several threads on this. If you do a search on "lead" you'll probably find the information.

 

There has been an update from the federal government on it.

 

Sorry, but too much chaos so I can't search.

[deeinfl]

Can this really happen? If it can, this is scary to even think about the control that will be upon everything and everyone.

 

I keep hoping to read that this is a hoax, but I haven't found anything to lead me to believe this yet...

 

...:confused:

[Caroline4kids]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-thrift9-2009jan09,0,7588285.story

 

I guess things aren't as bad as I thought. This article is from today so I guess the people's voice was heard!!!

[usetoschool]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNK3CAM978F92K94

 

http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/

 

http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/

 

If you read all the way to the end of the LA Times article it does seem fairly bad.

[Annabel Lee]

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=85542

 

 

Look under the "Taking Action" section on this link. We need to make our voices heard and make sure that common sense prevails while implementing new safety standards.

 

Eee-gads! Does this apply to private party sales between 2 non-business owners on a forum like this? Would this shut down Rainbow Resources or other popular distributors?

 

I don't have time right now but I'll certainly educate myself about it when I do.

[Annabel Lee]

If you read all the way to the end of the LA Times article it does seem fairly bad.

 

Yep. Here's the last sentence from it:

 

"When the Feb. 10 deadline comes, we're going to see books taken off shelves of classrooms, libraries and bookstores," Adler said.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

I've read several commentaries recently where it seems that second hand sales of used goods will be exempt. They are currently looking at the impact on cottage industries (ie folks who hand make toys or clothes) and how to solve that issue.

 

"Sellers of used children’s products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new toy standards." From This article (courtesy of Plaid Dad at Running River Latin School Blog).

 

I should think that this will extend logically to books. The information and exceptions just seem slow in coming and are hard to find.

[Alessandra]

On the subject of CPSIA & books in general, here's a link from American Booksellers Association:

 

http://news.bookweb.org/6515.html

Edited January 10, 2009 by Alessandra

[Caroline4kids]

This still all had me worried because no one can seem to pin down the true ramifications of this law. I keep reading words like: may, possibly, shouldn't have, vague, not clear how this will affect....

 

This law sounds so unclear I'm afraid that whoever enforces it will have a large sweep of liberties to decide what individual businesses will do.

 

What if someone has it out for a small shop or small publisher?

 

What if LARGE curriculum providers want to take out their smaller competition?

 

I hope Congress amends this or at least clarifies.

 

What happens if our 5.99 paperback from amazon costs $20 now after all this takes effect?

[coffeefreak]

This still all had me worried because no one can seem to pin down the true ramifications of this law. I keep reading words like: may, possibly, shouldn't have, vague, not clear how this will affect....

 

This law sounds so unclear I'm afraid that whoever enforces it will have a large sweep of liberties to decide what individual businesses will do.

:glare:

 

Is any law really EVER clear? UGH! I've been reading books for years, and I don't have lead poisoning. Anyone else have lead poisoning?

[Plaid Dad]

The CPSC has published a statement on how the law will apply to used items.

[FO4UR]

I am most concerned for small businesses, and the sky-rocketing prices of mundane new products.

[kim973]

Thank you for posting this! I was really worried because I buy almost everything used.

[Caroline4kids]

I was at my favorite local homeschool consignment shop today owned by a wonderful homeschooling mom with 12 children--Creative Learning Connection for anyone in the Huntsville, AL area. Anyway, she was fit to be tied because of all this. She is a well educated woman, one of her son's is a lawyer and she is VERY concerned about all of this.

 

Apparently, you can sell used goods, however, if it turns out there is some lead ( or whatever evil they peg it with) she can be fined starting at $100,000 and five years + in jail. Kind of a sell-at-your-own-risk proposition.

 

So...she is closing her store on the 10th to organize and whatever she cannot sell is going directly to the local office of our congressmen. They can deal with all of the goods she cannot sell. It is really a tragedy since the stuff will have to be thrown away. You can't even give things away. Not only that but she would have to pay to have it hauled to a landfill. What a mess!!

 

She was joking that maybe we should loan each other books and just forget to return them.

 

She also has suggested we flood our local congressman with FAXES as they are harder to ignore.

[coffeefreak]

HSLDA has looked into this. It will be up to the original manufacturer to guarantee the regs are met. Here's the article Consumer Product Safety Act

 

Blessings!

Dorinda

[Donna A.]

The problem with all these so-called "clarifications" is that the law's already written and signed. We're not just talking about a bill going up for vote... it's LAW... signed last August (unbeknown to almost everyone), and is effective in just what, 4 weeks? Which means that no matter what they say it "may or may not" affect (i.e., used book sales, libraries), everyone is still subject to the consequences unless the law is rewritten and signed before Feb. 10th.

 

And what I keep wondering about beyond the books -- although that's problematic in and of itself -- is educational toys and manipulatives! :001_unsure: What about places like Timberdoodle, MFW, CBD, Rainbow Resource, Love to Learn, toy stores, B&N, Borders, Math-U-See, and so many other places that sell *educational products* for children 12 and under?

[Michelle My Bell]

And what I keep wondering about beyond the books -- although that's problematic in and of itself -- is educational toys and manipulatives!:001_unsure: What about places like Timberdoodle, MFW, CBD, Rainbow Resource, Love to Learn, toy stores, B&N, Borders, Math-U-See, and so many other places that sell *educational products* for children 12 and under?

 

 

I had the same concern. I was thinking along the lines of RightStart Math manipulatives, so I emailed them and Rainbow Resource. I have only gotten a response from Rainbow. It is as follows:

 

Michelle,

 

Thank you for your email. We are aware of the concerns circulating; however books are not affected, as printing ink is exempt from testing.

 

I have passed along the web site that you refer to below.

 

We will keep a watch out, but for now there are no issues with books.

 

Please include previous correspondence if you reply to this email.

 

Sincerely,

Marybeth Jourdan

Customer Service

Rainbow Resource Center

1-888-841-3456 (Toll-Free U.S.)

1-309-695-3200 (Outside U.S.)

www.rainbowresource.com

info@rainbowresource.com

 

There is so much conflicting information, I don't know what to think so I ordered my Rightstart stuff the other day just to be sure. My thoughts are that they will probably have to look for a new supplier and it may be awhile before they get all of their manipulatives back on the market.

 

Michelle

[Donna A.]

But can you imagine how much prices on these things are going to skyrocket? Nature study supplies, art supplies.... :sad:

[lighthouseacademy]

I posted about this in a different thread. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76327&highlight=cpsia

According to the document here books will mostly be exempt because they are not primarily for children (even picture books). The books that will not be exempt are those that have parts smaller than 5 cm that could be sucked on or those that are meant to be played with like paper doll books or bath tub books.

[Nestof3]

I hate to sound ignorant, but isn't lead only toxic if consumed? My boys don't chew their toys. We kept Magnetix eventhough there was a big scare about them because they don't put them in their mouths.

 

I can understand infant toys and pacifiers, but is lead that big of a problem?

[Peela]

I hate to sound ignorant, but isn't lead only toxic if consumed? My boys don't chew their toys. We kept Magnetix eventhough there was a big scare about them because they don't put them in their mouths.

 

I can understand infant toys and pacifiers, but is lead that big of a problem?

 

Actually, lead itself is very toxic and way too prevalent in our environment. One of the symptoms in children is diminishing intelligence. Many babies have ingested very toxic amounts of lead just from some peeling paint from a house being renovated. Although your kids may not put their toys in their mouth, if there is lead on them, it will be on their hands and they may put their hands in their mouth. Google lead poisoning and you will see, it's not an issue to be blase about.

I think the U.S. government, or whoever it is making the law, is trying to do the right thing- there shouldnt be lead in anything given to children or in their environment that they may handle- however, obviously the law was badly designed and worded and is causing undue stress for many people, because there is no lead in books.

[Caroline4kids]

This is not an ad for these people, but it is applicable to this thread. I have bought things for school over the years from them and it is just one more example of where this is all heading.

Dear Customers,

 

This is a very important email, please read:

On February 10, 2009, a new law called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) goes into effect that threatens to put A Toy Garden, many other specialty toy stores, and thousands of handmade crafters (think of sellers on etsy.com, ebay.com, etc.) in the US & around the world out of business. Here’s my non-legal interpretation of the law: The law's beginnings had honorable intentions - keeping children safe from lead and phthalates - however, the way the law was written would require such extensive testing that most small and many medium-size vendors would have to go out of business, and we would only be able to sell toys from very large manufacturers who did the testing. If I could not sell the extensive selection of handmade toys I currently offer, I would choose to go out of business as I am unwilling to only sell mass manufactured toys. There are already some European companies (like Selecta) who have reviewed the law, seen how impossible it would be to follow, and have chosen to pull out of the US market.

How can this be, you might ask? The law requires each batch of any product that children under 12 might use to be tested for lead and phthalates. Everything, whether it contains plastic or anything that might contain lead, must be tested for phthalate and lead content. Even unfinished wooden toys! For example, many of you love our Herbal Play Bean Bags. Based on internet research and prices quoted to other craftspeople for similar approved independent product testing (as required by CPSIA), I estimate it would cost about $2100 to get a set of bean bags tested (8 colors of batik 100% cotton fabric, 16 different spools of thread, kidney beans, organic dried lavender, chamomile, and peppermint: 28 tests x $75 per test). Since I buy new fabric several times per year, and the fabric patterns are usually a little different each time, I’d need to retest the whole bean bag set several times per year. I would also have to “batch label†each batch of bean bags I made and provide official certification that they meet all the regulations. These testing costs would become the largest cost of making bean bags (more than any of the materials or labor) and make their cost so ridiculously high that we'd probably never sell any. OK, you may be willing to make your own bean bags, but the same holds true for handmade dolls, gnomes, fairies, felted items, dress-up garments, wooden vehicles, puzzles, baskets (there are no two alike so we’d have to test each one!), etc. All of our prices would go through the roof, because we'd have to pass all these costs along to our customers in order to stay in business.

The good news is that the CPSC is considering some exemptions for natural materials such as cotton, wool, silk, and wood, however none of the exemptions can be finalized until the Act becomes law on February 10th. We joined the recently formed Handmade Toy Alliance – a group of hundreds of small U.S. toy manufacturers/retailers to help lobby and spread the word through the government, media, and to the public about the potentially devestating effects of the law on conscientious small businesses. The economy has caused many of us to suffer but this law threatens to force us to break the law or simply close our businesses.

 

 

 

What you can do:

 

1. Go to handmadetoyalliance.org to read up on the law and many current news articles and press coverage about the law as well as signing the HTA petition. If you are a toy maker/seller, please join the HTA.
    
   
2. Go to change.org to vote for this issue to be one of the top 10 issues the Obama administration will look into. It will just take a couple minutes, you’ll need to register with your name and email address, then click on the email from them to confirm your registration, then go back to the website to place your vote. A couple steps but it is worth it and every vote is vital. This issue is currently #4 on the list.
    
   
3. Follow the links and print out the forms at the Handmade Toy Alliance’s website to write, email and call your congresspeople. This is important and is having an affect. All but 1 member of Congress voted for this law but most hadn't read and didn't understand it when they voted for it!
   

 

Thank you for your business past & present. We hope to be here to serve you in the future.

Sincerely,

Sonya

 

 

 

Please visit our online store at:

www.aToyGarden.com

& forward this email to your friends!

 

 

 

[Donna A.]

Actually, lead itself is very toxic and way too prevalent in our environment. One of the symptoms in children is diminishing intelligence. Many babies have ingested very toxic amounts of lead just from some peeling paint from a house being renovated. Although your kids may not put their toys in their mouth, if there is lead on them, it will be on their hands and they may put their hands in their mouth. Google lead poisoning and you will see, it's not an issue to be blase about.

I think the U.S. government, or whoever it is making the law, is trying to do the right thing- there shouldnt be lead in anything given to children or in their environment that they may handle- however, obviously the law was badly designed and worded and is causing undue stress for many people, because there is no lead in books.

 

And yet, the FDA here in America continues to repeat the mantra that the vaccinations pumped into our infants and toddlers are safe. :001_huh:

 

Their "concern" over lead and phalates (sp?) in the products we use with our children to actually LEARN from are sorely misdirected. :glare:

[Caroline4kids]

And yet, the FDA here in America continues to repeat the mantra that the vaccinations pumped into our infants and toddlers are safe. :001_huh:

 

Their "concern" over lead and phalates (sp?) in the products we use with our children to actually LEARN from are sorely misdirected. :glare:

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree:

[Nan in Mass]

I thought that the shiny newspaper ads had lead in the ink? And that was why you shouldn't let your babies eat that sort of ad? (Something I vaguely remember from when my teenagers were babies?) Maybe the shiny pages of books have the same problem? We are careful not to use the shiny ads in animal cages, or burn it in the fireplace. I can't remember the details, or how I heard about this, though.

[Nestof3]

if there is lead on them, it will be on their hands and they may put their hands in their mouth. Google lead poisoning and you will see, it's not an issue to be blase about.

 

 

Yeah, I wasn't trying to be blase about it, I just didn't realize that lead could come off of something merely by touching it, I thought it had to be injested itself. I knew about people eating lead paint, though.

 

Where is the lead actually coming from? Is it dye/coloring in something?

[Guest]

insane!

[jewel7123]

Just wondering if anyone's heard anything new on this.....

[Donna A.]

Just wondering if anyone's heard anything new on this.....

 

Well, there are always new "clarifications" coming out, but the law is still the law and becomes effective on the 10th.

 

Meanwhile, I did receive this e-mail from HSLDA the other day saying that they're going to be meeting with the commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Wednesday, February 4th to discuss the issue. They asked that "family business owners who will have to go out of business, or make drastic cutbacks, as a result of this legislation and the proposed regulations" contact them (HSLDA) directly to give actual accounts of how they're being affected.

 

The e-mail further stated:

 

"If you are interested in having us use your family business as an example, please send us your contact information and a one- or two-page summary of your family business, the impact of the CPSIA, and what the likely harm to you will be. You may send this information to Eric Lansing at federalrelations@hslda.org. You may reach Eric and the rest of the HSLDA Federal Relations staff at 540-338-5600, if you have additional questions. We will only share your first name, name of your business, and your state of residence with the CPSC."

[KristenS]

I just heard there's a new 'stay of enforcement' about testing requirements ... which sounds like a good thing ... till you read the fine print and find out it's exactly like what they said about resellers ... they don't have to test or certify (yet) but they do have to be sure their products are safe. Which sounds like a burden still to me. Sigh.

[Donna A.]

I just heard there's a new 'stay of enforcement' about testing requirements ... which sounds like a good thing ... till you read the fine print and find out it's exactly like what they said about resellers ... they don't have to test or certify (yet) but they do have to be sure their products are safe. Which sounds like a burden still to me. Sigh.

 

Sounds like the "stay of enforcement" is exactly that... the only thing they're holding off on is enforcement of the new law. But that doesn't give relief to anyone, really... it just buys them a little more time.