Originally published August 15, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified August 15, 2007 at 2:07 AM
Toy recall prompts thrift stores to comb through inventories
While major retailers scrambled Tuesday to pull recalled Mattel toys from their shelves, local secondhand stores also received recall notices...
Seattle Times staff reporter
While major retailers scrambled Tuesday to pull recalled Mattel toys from their shelves, local secondhand stores also received recall notices and prepared to sift through mountains of merchandise.
At the Crown Hill Value Village, dozens of toys lined shelves above several aisles of children's clothes.
Store manager Jeremy Lamb said recalls are nothing new to him and his employees. They regularly receive them from their Seattle-based corporate office and they'll handle the Mattel recall like any other: The recalled toys will be pulled from the shelves and tossed in the trash compactor, he said.
"I think our company does a pretty good job of it," he said.
Lamb received a detailed e-mail Tuesday with the list of Mattel toys to keep an eye out for. His employees will likely go through the inventory today. The e-mail also will be posted at an employee station close to where the toys are stocked.
Recalls like Mattel's pose a unique problem for Value Village stores because they buy their stock by the pound from wholesalers, not knowing exactly what they're buying, Lamb said. Then they sort through the products to decide which ones will go on shelves and which ones will be donated overseas, he said.
Toy recalls are not nearly as common as recalls on infant products, Lamb said. Value Village has had trouble with car seats, for example, to the point that the stores barely carry them, he said.
"Unless it's brand-new, chances are it's not good to sell," he said.
Nearby at the Goodwill store in Ballard, between shelves stacked with brightly colored toys, children played on the floor. A store manager there said the store had received a list of the recalled Mattel toys Tuesday.
Goodwill public-relations director Betsy McFeely said the size of the Mattel recall makes it difficult to go through their inventory, but they'll do it as fast as they can.
"Our priority is keeping our customers safe, and we want to do everything we can to make sure those items are not available for sale," she said.
Brian Alexander: 206-464-2026 or balexander@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Seattle Times Fund For The Needy offers opportunity to give
Tugboat sinks in Seattle's waterfront
Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
Danny Westneat: Bonus for supe with a B minus?
Nicole Brodeur: You have more to spare than you think you do

LA Galaxy's David Beckham
Los Angeles Galaxy's David Beckham talks about the upcoming MLS Cup final during after a team practice.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helen's and Astoria, Ore.
- Italian lead prosecutor argues Knox motive was hatred
- Italian prosecutors request life sentence for UW student
- Man shot in chest on E. Union Street in Capitol Hill
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Mariners Blog | A Mariners-Tigers swap makes a whole lot of sense for both teams
- Lynnwood is reinventing itself — again
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Senate vote clears hurdle
232 - Mariners add six to 40-man roster
149 - Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle
118 - Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
107 - Palin excitement builds in Tri-Cities
101 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
95 - Prosecutor requests life in prison for Amanda Knox
86 - Cutting through breast-cancer confusion
81 - Game thread
68 - New York terror trials will restore faith in rule of law
46
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Nonprofits get creative using Twitter and Facebook to make donation easier
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Lynnwood is reinventing itself — again
- Great places to cross-country ski for free (or almost) in the Methow
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helen's and Astoria, Ore.
- Recipes: Sesame Pork Roast, Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce and more
- Banff: powder, peaks & purity
- 175 foster kids in Washington get 'forever families'





