This category has a rule above all the others, and it is Metzee policy rather than advice: recalled goods and items with a safety part missing may not be sold, and that applies especially to anything for children. Prohibited items.
So the work starts before the listing.
Before you list, check three things
Recall status. Look up the model. Manufacturers publish recalls and a recalled item cannot be listed here, whatever condition it is in.
Completeness of anything safety-critical. Straps, buckles, fixings, locking pins, rail catches, instruction manuals for anything that must be installed correctly. An item missing one of those is not a cheaper item — it is one that may not be sold.
Age and dates. Many child-safety products carry a date of manufacture, and some carry an expiry. Say what the item is stamped with.
Car seats, specifically
Two things that are standard manufacturer guidance and worth stating plainly:
- A car seat carries a manufacturer expiry date. Find it and say it.
- A seat that has been in a crash should not be reused, even where nothing is visible.
If you cannot confirm a seat's history — bought second-hand yourself, given by someone you do not know well — say so, because the buyer is deciding on your word.
Then describe it normally
- Age and how much it was used
- Washed or not, and how
- Every mark, stain and tear
- All parts present, listed
- Manual included, or a link to the manufacturer's
Hygiene
Wash what can be washed, say what you did, and say what cannot be cleaned. Buyers in this category expect honesty about this and reward it.
Delivery
Bulky rather than fragile. Weigh before quoting, and collection is often the right answer for prams and cots.
More: how to sell on Metzee, pricing baby items.
Questions people ask
Can I sell a car seat at all?
Where it is not recalled, not expired, complete, and you can speak to its history. If any of those is a no, do not list it.
What if I do not know whether a model was recalled?
Find out before listing. If you cannot establish it, do not list it — ask first. What you can and cannot sell.
Does a missing strap just lower the price?
No. A missing safety part means the item may not be sold here.