You know all those Date Rape Doras, Lead Poison Barbies, and Thomas the Tank Engine: the Evil Editions and all the other crappy toys that have been recalled? Yeah, well, maybe you culled your toybox and maybe you even returned your items for a refund or whatever, but...where did those toys go from there? Where are they now? What happens when toys have been recalled?
You'd be surprised (cue music for the Island of Misfit Toys).
Not surprisingly, most never make it back to the manufacturer. For one thing, how many of us actually take the damn things back to receive a refund? me, I have an Annoyance Quotient about such things that suggests that the refund/rebate/whatever amount must exceed the amount of annoyance it takes to receive said refund/rebate/etc. More annoyance = a higher necessary refund/rebate/whatever amount. I presume most people have a similar Annoyance Quotient.
So say the toy makes it past the Annoyance Quotient and now it's at the store where it was purchased. Then what? Well, most stores are simply storing the recalled toys in warehouses because they've no clue what to do with them. It'd be nice if someone had a plan for this sort of thing, but no, it's not happening.
Then there are the toys still in circulation. Think you can find recalled toys still on shelves? You'd be correct. In one case, a certan recalled a Polly Pocket LimoScene toy was found for several weeks running on the shelf at a Wal-Mart (though the cash register blocked the actual sale of the toy).
Plus, there's no federal reluation or law preventing reselling of recalled toys. So although eBay, for instance, has agreed not to sell recalled toys, they are sure to still be found there.
Bottom line is still caveat emptor: It's still up to the consumer (that's you and me) to make sure our kids aren't licking lead-laden crap toys.
Photo: mwctoys.com
