Health and safety
All items are checked in accordance with Trading Standards guidelines before being put out for sale in our shop.
Prams and buggies
Every pram and buggy for sale has been checked to see that it complies with the following guidance (with the exception that many do not have instructions):
- Ensure that the item does not have areas, such as open-ended tubes, crevices or closing mechanisms, where a child's fingers could become trapped.
- There should be no exposed or accessible sharp edges, points or burrs sharp enough to inflict a wound or abrasion.
- Check that the parking brake works and that it holds the item, without movement.
- A folding chassis should have a primary and secondary locking device. Check to make sure they both work properly.
- Check for the presence of a safety harness, which should comprise shoulder, front waist and crotch straps. It should be secure and in good condition.
- The wheels should be secure and show no signs of damage.
- Ensure that the item is rigid and stable.
- Look for signs that the chassis has been bent by heavy impact with kerbs or stairs, or by overloading the item with shopping, etc.
- Make sure that it is clean and in good condition, indicating that it has been well looked after.
- Check to see if the instructions are still with the item.
- Open and fold the item and, if it is a pram which converts to a pushchair, ask for a demonstration as to how to convert it.
- Check any separate components, which may be for sale with the pram or pushchair, and ensure they fit.
- 'Road test' the item to make sure you are happy with the 'feel' of it before you decide to buy.
Car seats and bike helmets
We are not allowed to sell second hand car seats or bike helmets as we cannot guarantee that they have not been in an accident. We occasionally get given a car seat that goes with a pram travel system, and will give the car seat away for free when selling the pram, at the customer's own risk. However, we strongly recommend that you do not use second hand car seats.
Cots and mattresses
All the cots we sell are checked for stability and safety. We are not allowed to sell second hand mattresses and recommend that customers buy new mattresses because second hand ones are linked to increased cot death risk. See this BBC news article for more details.
Clothing and bedding
We do not wash every item of clothing or bedding before we put them out for sale as this would be very expensive and time consuming. However, we never sell items that are obviously dirty. We recommend that our customers wash items before use.
