My goodness, how can anybody keep up with the tide of stuff that has been recalled in 2007? Nobody will be surprised when tons of it shows up on eBay, in thrift shops and at flea markets.
We are entering key flea market season, when people start bargain-hunting for Christmas.
eBay issued a warning to sellers not to list recalled items.
Earlier this week, a check showed
111 listings on eBay for the Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway, which was recalled last month for being built with excessive levels of lead.
You could also find numerous Mattel items that the government has recalled.
When I looked, for example, at Thomas Wooden Railway's "Toad Braking Vehicle," which was included in the Sept. 26 recall, I found three of them listed for sale on the currently running boards.
Smart eBayers do what
this seller did: They have something like a baby sling for sale -- knowing that the model is NOT the one covered by a recall -- and they make a big deal about it on the listing.
The Injury Prevention Journal published
a study about recalled items finding a second life on eBay. Researchers randomly selected items from
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) press releases of
children's products that were recalled from 1992 to 2004. Then they searched 150 targeted auction listings
from eBay for 30 days. Here is what they found:
190 auctions contained or were suspected to contain a recalled children's item from the target list. Most of the recalled items were listed for sale from addresses within the United States, with sellers from Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and Ireland also represented. On average, six bids were placed on each recalled item, with 70% of auctions eventuating in a sale.
The study points out that the majority of items recalled in America have something to do with products that children use. The study also says the majority of thrift stores checked are selling at least one recalled item:
Upon examination of 301 thrift stores in the US, 69% of stores were selling at least one hazardous product. With the recent advancement of technology and the popularity of online auction sites, such as eBay, recalled children's toys have the potential to be resold at high rates. Parents may find the competitive prices and ease of use as particularly attractive features of online auction sites. To date, the safety of children's products auctioned online has not been evaluated.
There has been concern noted by the CPSC regarding the potential for online auction sites to perpetuate the use of recalled products by consumers.The CPSC promoted a "Recall Double Check", suggesting that both buyers and sellers check the recall status of an item before listing or bidding.eBay has a policy prohibiting the sale of recalled products, with violations potentially resulting in cancellation of the listing, loss of account privileges, or account suspension.
Taking on the Beauty Industry
Dove is once again "taking on the beauty industry" with another advertisement that urges parents to talk to their daughters before the beauty industry starts sending them the wrong messages. In its first salvo last year, Dove used the power of interview video viraling for its video "Evolution," which chalked up 12 million views
on YouTube alone.
Click here to see Dove's "Evolution" video.
Click here to see Dove's new "Onslaught" video.
Advertising Age says:
Dove's "Onslaught" features a close-up of a cute red-haired preteen
girl to musical refrains of "Here it comes" from U.K. group Simian's
"La Breeze," followed by a barrage of beauty-industry images and ads
featuring booty-shaking lingerie models, cheesy direct-response-style
pitches promising cosmetic miracles, scenes of plastic surgery,
time-lapse effects of yo-yo dieting and bulimia, all leading up to the
tagline: "Talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does."
I would love to hear what teens have to say about these ads.
If you need a Friday laugh,
here is a parody of Dove's "Evolution" video.
Online Election Resources
I know you are starting to get serious in your election coverage, and this year there are more cool election resources online than ever. I have shared a bunch with you already, and I will continue to dribble out my favorites.
There is another site I like called
TechPresident. The site focuses on the Web's treatment of candidates and shows
you which candidates are getting the most YouTube views. The site's social networking activity is also centered on politics.
Have you played on
YouChoose yet? It is the candidate section of YouTube.
Everyzing finds campaign-related audio and/or video from all over the Web and pulls them into one place.
Story Ideas on DotMoms.com
In
her personal time, my Poynter colleague
Julie Moos is running a really
nice site that is packed with story ideas about parenting and kids.
Click on
www.dotmoms.com, and you will find tons of links to interesting stories.
A 'Feel-Good' Feature Becomes a Controversy for Small Newspaper
The Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues has an interesting piece about a small-town newspaper that covered the
story of a family moving into a Habitat for Humanity home in
Shelbyville, Kent.
Click here to read about how the fight over illegal
immigration crept into what was supposed to be a "feel good" feature.
How 'Millennials' Change NewsroomsThis
month's
Radio-Television News Directors Association's Communicator magazine has
an interesting piece on the ways the so-called "millennial"
generation is changing newsrooms. What do Millennials want? What motivates
them? What do they hate about their boss?
The piece describes Millennials by saying:
Molly
Epstein, an associate professor of business at Emory University in
Atlanta, says [...] optimism still pervades the attitude of young Millennial
workers. Epstein describes the working Millennials as employees who see
themselves as special, with an expectation of individual attention for
the work done in the course of each day.
Many credit an older
generation of parents for imparting this sense of entitlement to the
Millennials. Often called "helicopter parents" for the way they
hover over their children, these baby boomer parents focused so much
attention on their kids, the children feel special and expect close
relationships with elders.
Remember the "Baby on Board"
signs? The Millennials were the tots on the other side of that warning.
Parents sheltered these children, stressing restrictions and boundaries
to stay safe and steer clear of trouble. As a result, Epstein says,
Millennials play by the rules and expect those rules and the authority
behind them to keep everything in check. The Millennial Generation
really feels comfortable approaching adults and asking for advice,
Epstein says. They trust authority figures and expect those in charge
will always do what's right.
Epstein also paints Millennials
as a confident bunch. Their comfort around those older and in
authority, coupled with the mentality that they deserve special
attention, allows them to ask for help -- and expect it. Millennials
are optimistic about their future and the world they're building and
confident they can achieve much in life. They expect parents, bosses
and peers to share that optimism and confidence.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's
Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story
excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as
original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly
from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided
whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends on the
accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and
inaccuracies found will be corrected.
When I worked for Landmark the unwritten policy was "don't...
