Drop-side cribs, even with millions of recalled products dating back 10 years, just won’t disappear. While retailers have changed their product selections and daycares and hotels removed all hazardous models, drop-side cribs can still be found over the internet, according to a story from USA Today. In general, used baby furniture is risky, because of wear and tear or past recalls, but purchasing it over the internet is even riskier. A parent searching for a deal has to wade through fuzzy or blurry photos, read through descriptions that may not be fully accurate, and has to determine whether or not a crib has a drop side.

EBay and Craigslist, in this regard, are the greatest offenders. More than a month after drop-side cribs were banned, eBay still manages to have advertisements for such products – and even with blockers in place, sellers of such items can slip through them. eBay, however, has since put a stop to crib auctions.

Craigslist, on the other hand, does not have proper blockers in place and, instead, relies on users to flag listings. Although the site did update its “prohibition notices and information page,” listings for drop-side cribs can go up and will stay posted unless flagged.

If saving money in purchasing baby products is a primary concern for you, think first about where you obtain secondhand items and their quality. As furniture, in particular, should be examined and tested for sturdiness and faulty hardware, items from internet listings are the least reliable. Thrift and consignment stores and hand-me-downs are better, and while not ideal for baby furniture, they allow you to see the product in person and examine it closely – not rely on a photo or description. Ideally, clothing and toys are better secondhand purchases, while furniture is the most reliable when new and not recalled.

Ever since January, many parents have been stuck in a quandary: Keep the drop side crib or toss it? A ban on drop side cribs became effective as of January 2011 but applies to places selling or using drop side cribs only – not parents. While it’s not illegal for parents to use drop side cribs, retailers, secondhand stores, daycares, hotels, or any similar establishments need to replace them with stationary designs. But what do you do when a drop side crib has functioned for years or when you can’t afford new baby furniture?

In theory, all parents could purchase new stationary cribs, but everyone has a different situation. Drop side cribs may be given as an heirloom or hand-me-down, or parents may have one already from an older child. Still, with millions of drop side cribs recalled by multiple manufacturers during the past decade, owning this design can be risky.

The North County Times offers a few points to parents on the fence about keeping the old crib or purchasing a new one:
• Check if the manufacturer or the particular model has had any recalls. Drop side cribs were a nursery staple for several decades, and not all brands or designs were recalled. You may likely have a crib that has never had structure or hardware problems.
• Examine the crib. Cribs are taken apart and put back together for multiple children or when given as hand-me-downs. Check to see if the hardware is sturdy. Poorly-designed hardware that broke and let the drop side fall was often a cause of many crib injuries or deaths.

If you plan to purchase a new crib, which model should you choose? All designs available are stationary, but convertible cribs have become popular. Once a child is too large for the crib, the furniture’s frame folds out into a toddler bed and also into a full-size or sofa bed.

A ban on drop side cribs went into effect at the start of 2011, and retailers, daycare centers, hotels, and secondhand stores have six months to a year to remove and replace all drop side models with safer designs. Retailers of baby furniture appear to be having the easiest time. Parents now shopping for cribs at chains and smaller baby boutiques will no longer see drop side models on shelves. Although this model, prior to the ban, was going out of favor for convertible furniture, parents shopping for a new crib can find safer models only in stores.

Those needing to replace a large quantity of drop side cribs, such as daycare facilities and hotels, may experience the most financial strain over the next six to 12 months. As all drop side cribs need to be gone, 59,555 daycare centers may need to spent $550 million to fully replace them with safer designs. 43,000 hotels and inns have six months to remove and replace all unsafe cribs.

Consignment and thrift stores are also restricted by this ban, and they need to make sure drop side cribs do not end up for sale. Although such secondhand stores have seen overall sales increases, taking drop side cribs out of circulation may reduce the amount of baby products offered. Parents, when looking to save on baby furniture, should still examine all products for safety hazards.

As many brands of cribs saw recalls this past year, other aspects of baby sleeping areas are being questioned. Recently, this has been crib bumpers. Added to cushion a child against the wooden sidebars, crib bumpers have caused 14 suffocation-related deaths over the past year, and Illinois wants to ban this product. Although crib bumpers have not been removed from stores, parents should consider alternative methods for cushioning their child.

Last year saw many recalls of drop side cribs, although they have been in use since the 1940s. The most prominent occurred at the end of 2009, with two million models being recalled from manufacturer Stork Craft. But, over the past decade, the association between infant deaths and drop side cribs is far closer and larger than a recall. Seven million cribs were recalled over the past ten years over 32 infant deaths from strangulation and suffocation. Because of these high numbers, the federal government has decided to impose a ban on drop side cribs by the end of the year, according to a recent article in the Washington Post.

This ban would forbid retailers of baby products and furniture from selling drop side models, and establishments that cater to parents, such as daycares and hotels, would also be banned from using them. Anyone caught using a drop side crib would face fines or penalties.

Why are drop side cribs now a threat? Aside from the statistics above, the design poses significant hazards resulting from the movable side. If not installed properly, the side can become detached and fall on the child below, causing the child to be pinned against the mattress and suffocate or be strangled to death. Additionally, failing hardware for the side also poses a hazard. Second hand cribs, in particular, are prone to hardware failures from wear and tear and, once the ban goes into effect, should no longer be sold or given as hand-me-downs.

Crib manufacturers, on the other hand, are looking for alternative designs to the drop side. According to the Washington Post article, one possibility is a drop gate with a folding side. This way, the side will stay in place and parents will still be able to have better access to their baby.