Will New Law Impact Sale of Games?
A law goes in effect on Feb 10 that requires all products -including toys and clothing - intended for use by children 12 and under to be tested for lead and phthalates. Items that have not been tested will be considered hazardous, and selling them will result in fines and possibly jail.
How much will this impact game publishers who will have to have game parts tested? Or will they just mark them all 13+ to avoid the testing cost? How will it impact the ability to purchase imported games in the U.S.? Will I ever be able to get that Underworld expansion for Return of the Heroes?
This law is retroactive, which means it impacts items that were manufactured prior to Feb. 10th that have not been tested can not be sold. Toys and clothing currently being sold in stores that have not been tested will be pulled from the shelves and sent to the landfill on Feb. 9th.
To be fair, manufacturers and retailers have known this law was coming for sometime now, so it is likely that much of the stock in big major retail stores have been tested. But what about small stores, that have items that were produced more than a year ago? Your favorite game retailer won't be allowed to sell you that copy of that game that was printed in 2005 before testing was required.
The law doesn't distinguish between selling my grandmother's doll to an adult collector, and selling my kid's outgrown snow boots at a garage sale.
It applies those extra copies of Nexus Ops you picked up for $5 and were planning to sell on E-bay or BGG Marketplace. It applies to my slightly used copy of ToE that I was thinking I might sell. Unless, maybe I can find proof that Flying Frog tested those minis and the dice for lead and phthalates.