As garage sale season kicks into full gear this weekend, it’s buyer beware. Bargain hunters are already hitting neighborhoods across the state looking for deals on hidden treasures, and Michelle Reinen with the state Division of Consumer Protection urges shoppers to watch out for recalled products lurking behind the piles of old clothes and paperbacks.
Reinen suggests anyone carrying a smart phone to have the Consumer Product Safety Commission website ready to go. She says the valuable tool can help spot products, such as lawn mowers and cribs, which might have been recalled.
Toys are a staple of many sales, and Reinen says you should be on the lookout for potential choking hazards. She says those products usually don’t have warning labels when you pull them out of a shoe box or off of a table, and suggests using the tube from a roll of toilet paper to measure small parts for choking hazards.
On any purchase at a garage sale, Reinen says there’s little chance of a refund. So, you should never spend more than you’re willing to just throw away.