Used & secondhand
Hand-me-downs & Marketplace: the 10-step check.
Used toys bypass every control the new-toy list relies on — no tracking-label check at purchase, no registration card, unknown storage history. Run every candidate through this sequence before it enters the house.
The headline rule: 2008
CPSC’s own spokesperson puts it bluntly: modern lead standards date to 2008, and pre-2008 toys — “even the toys that you played with as a child” — should be kept away from children.
The 10-step check
- Identify it exactly. Maker, product name, model/batch markings. No CPSIA tracking label (maker, production date/location, batch) = a toy you cannot recall-check — for under-3 use, that’s a fail by itself.
- Recall-check before accepting. Search cpsc.gov/Recalls and SaferProducts.gov — two minutes. If it’s recalled, decline it; selling or giving away a recalled product is illegal, so a listing for one is a red flag about the seller generally.
- Apply the date screen. Pre-2008 manufacture → no for anything a baby will mouth. Pre-1978 painted toys are presumptive lead paint. Vintage painted metal toys and toy jewelry: display-only, never playthings.
- Condition inspection. Reject on any of: chipping, flaking or chalky paint; brittle or crazed plastic (age/UV degradation shatters into sharp small pieces instead of flexing); cracked wood; rust; mildew smell; sticky “sweating” soft plastic.
- Battery audit. Open every compartment. Corrosion → discard the toy. Any button/coin cell must sit behind a screwed-shut compartment — a snap-shut or missing-screw compartment fails, no exceptions.
- Small-parts & attachment tests. Choke-tube test anything detachable; tug-test plush eyes, noses, buttons and ribbons hard — on used plush, seams and glued eyes are already fatigue-aged.
- Magnets. Any loose or accessible magnet, or a cracked magnetic toy → discard. Non-negotiable at any age in this window.
- Cords & straps. Nothing with a cord that can loop a neck; retire crib-gym-style hanging toys per their age limits.
- Clean before first use. Plush: hot machine wash plus a complete dry. Hard rule from childcare practice: if a toy can’t be washed, it isn’t appropriate for an infant or toddler — an unwashable used plush fails on that alone.
- Re-check at each milestone. A used toy that passed at 9 months gets re-inspected when the child is stronger, more mobile, and chewing harder at 18 months.
About home lead swabs
Public-health guidance treats consumer swab tests as unreliable — a rough screen at best, never a clearance. A negative swab does not rescue a pre-2008 painted toy from step 3. If a specific heirloom really matters, a certified lab or XRF test is the only real answer; otherwise, decor-not-toy is the standing rule.
House rule worth adopting: when in doubt, check before the toy is played with, not after — the SaferProducts search takes about a minute and is the cheapest safety step on this page. CPSC Hotline for recall questions and hazard reports: 800-638-2772.