In an effort to rid families’ homes of outdated and potentially dangerous baby items and furniture, Toys R Us and Babies R Us are encouraging consumers’ to pack up their old baby gear and exchange it for store discounts.
The Great Trade-In Event is taking place nationwide from Feb. 1 through Feb. 29. The annual promotion started in 2009 as a way for the children’s gear company to lure customers into its stores while also helping rid households of old and possibly unsafe products, including: cribs, strollers, car seats, bassinets, high chairs, infant swings, bouncers, travel systems, walkers, entertainers, playards and toddler/twin beds.
“Many items traded in over the past six years were missing parts or damaged, while others were decades old and showed obvious signs of wear and tear,” the toy company said in a press release.
In exchange for each old baby item that’s brought in, Toys R Us will give customers a 25 percent discount on a purchase of select new items. If you have a Toys R Us credit card, you’ll get an extra 5 percent discount if you use your card for a new baby gear purchase.
“We are extremely proud that through our Great Trade-In program, we have enabled parents and caregivers to remove more than 1.1 million potentially unsafe items from the marketplace,” Reg McLay, senior vice president of Babies R Us, said in a statement. “We strongly encourage parents to use this time to check their baby gear and trade in old items for new ones that meet or exceed current safety standards.”
If you don’t have an old baby item to trade, you can still take advantage of a 15 percent in-store discount.
One way to find out if you have unsafe kids’ items in your home is to check product recalls on SafeKids.org, which keeps a list of child-related recalls issued by a number of federal agencies. You can also click here to search baby and kid item recalls by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Do you have any recalled baby or kids’ items? What do you think of the “Great Trade-In” program at Toys R Us? Share your thoughts below or on our Facebook page.
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