Crib Hunting

Not that anyone really cares too much about buying/selling cribs, I found this interesting due to a recent recall with Graco and Simplicity cribs.

Now that many of us utilize craigslist and ebay it makes it easier and cheaper to buy used/like new large items. My wife and I bought a double stroller with a carseat and two bases for $125 on craigslist and bought a like new, but used crib for $75 on craigslist. We are in the age of buying used due to tighter finances and a struggling economy so revenues like craigslist make it more affordable to buy larger baby items.
However, we just learned that recently several hundred kinds of cribs made by Graco and Simplicity have been recalled. This is scary for us since we really aren't sure what brand our $75 crib is and we know for sure our daughter's convertible crib is a Graco. It seems as soon as you buy something it is recalled for some reason or another.
The recent recalling is because of a number of deaths due to suffocation because the side rails on these particular cribs are able to go up and down and have been doing so at the hands of the older infants/toddlers.
The brand Simplicity has been the subject to many recalls and is no longer in business as of 2010, however many people continue to sell used cribs and must be aware of this potential health hazard.

You should take the advice of several websites that offer advice about what kind of cribs would work best for you. There are many different options available now with cribs. Some cribs convert into a toddler bed, some have drawers under the mattress, some have both sides that go up and down, the options are crazy. I'm a guy and all these options give me a headache.

The best way to find out subscribe to Consumer Reports website (it costs only a few bucks a month) and it has several in-detail articles that offer their own safety reports about a variety of cribs. They are also a great resource for just about any other product available on the market. I have used them for vehicle purhasing and camera purchasing.

We will probably just stick to the cribs we have, but pay extra attention for any possible problems. I want to say that a bumper helps, but this has been proven false recently too so I guess the only option is to watch your children sleep for the rest of their lives so they don't harm themselves in any crib (I'm being sarcastic here).