Buying used baby gear in Canada: car seats, cribs and strollers, what to check

Babies outgrow things in months, so the used market for baby gear is huge, and most of it is a smart buy. A bouncer, a play mat, a bassinet in good shape or a well-kept stroller can cost a fraction of the price new. A few items are different. Some are banned from sale in Canada outright, and others, especially car seats, depend on a history you can’t see. This guide sorts them out, with the checks that matter for each and the Canadian rules behind them.

What you can’t buy or sell used in Canada

Health Canada lists products that can’t be sold, advertised or given away under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, and the ban applies to garage sales, second-hand stores and online listings just as it does to shops. Among them:

• Baby walkers. Canada banned their sale, advertising and import in April 2004, the first country to do so, because babies in walkers can reach hazards and fall down stairs. The ban explicitly covers second-hand sales.
• Traditional drop-side cribs. The Cribs, Cradles and Bassinets Regulations prohibited their sale from December 29, 2016, because their hardware can fail and leave a gap that traps a baby.
• Inclined infant sleep products. Listed by Health Canada as banned.

If you see these listed, they shouldn’t be, and they aren’t a bargain at any price. You can report a listing for a banned product to the site.

Car seats: the checklist

A car seat is a single-use safety device. One that has been in a crash may not protect a child in the next one, even if it looks perfect, and nothing about the seat tells you. That is why every Canadian authority puts the seat’s history first. Health Canada says not to buy a seat if the seller doesn’t know its history. Quebec’s SAAQ doesn’t recommend second-hand seats at all, and Parachute says a used seat is only an option when you know its full history, which in practice usually means a seat from family or a close friend.

If you are considering one, every item on this list has to be a yes:

1. The National Safety Mark is on the seat’s compliance label. It shows the seat is certified to Canadian standards. A seat bought in the US doesn’t carry it.
2. The labels are intact, with the model name and number and the date of manufacture.
3. It hasn’t expired. Look for the expiry or useful-life date on a label or in the manual. Transport Canada says these range from 6 to 12 years depending on the maker and model. If there is no date, contact the manufacturer with the model and manufacture date.
4. It was made on or after January 1, 2012. Transport Canada says a seat made before then may not be legal to advertise, sell or give away, because it may not meet current requirements.
5. It has never been in a vehicle during a collision, even a minor one, even with no child in it. Ask directly, in writing.
6. Every part is there: shoulder straps, chest clip, buckle, tether strap, lower anchor connectors, base (for an infant seat) and padding. Compare with the parts list in the manual.
7. The manual is included, or you can download it from the manufacturer for that model.
8. It works. The buckle latches and releases, the straps adjust smoothly, the chest clip closes, and the anchors and tether connect.
9. It isn’t recalled. Search the brand and model in Canada’s Recalls and safety alerts database and Transport Canada’s child car seat notices.
10. There are no cracks, stress marks or frayed straps, and it hasn’t been stored somewhere hot, wet or in direct sun for years.

Cribs, cradles and bassinets

A crib is used every day for a long time, so it is worth the extra minutes.

• Age. Health Canada says not to use a crib made before September 1986, and doesn’t recommend cribs older than 10 years, which are more likely to have worn, loose or missing parts and to be missing their warnings or instructions. Check the label for the date of manufacture.
• No drop side. If one side slides up and down, it is a traditional drop-side crib and can’t be sold.
• Slats. No more than 6 cm (2 3/8 in) apart, none cracked, loose or missing.
• Mattress fit. With the mattress pushed to one side, the gap should be no more than 3 cm (1 3/16 in).
• Corner posts. No more than 3 mm (1/8 in) high, so clothing can’t catch.
• Hardware. Every bolt, screw and bracket present and tight, and the assembly instructions for that model. Missing hardware is the most common problem with used cribs.
• Recalls. Search the brand and model in the recalls database.

Leave the extras behind. Health Canada doesn’t recommend bumper pads, pillows, quilts or sleep positioners in a baby’s sleep space, and playpens aren’t meant for unsupervised sleep.

Strollers and carriers

Strollers are one of the best used buys: they are expensive new and often lightly used.

1. Brakes. Set them and push. The stroller shouldn’t roll.
2. Folding locks. Unfold it and lean on the handle: the locks should click and hold. A stroller that can fold unexpectedly is dangerous.
3. Straps and buckle. All straps present, including the crotch strap and lap belt, and the buckle works. Health Canada flags strollers made before 1985 as unlikely to meet current standards.
4. Wheels and frame. Spin each wheel, check for wobble and flat spots, and look for cracks around the joints.
5. Fabric and canopy. Tears, broken canopy arms, mould from damp storage.
6. Compatibility. If you plan to clip in an infant car seat, check the adapters for your seat are included.
7. Recalls. Brand, model and year in the recalls database.

Premium brands such as UPPAbaby and Bugaboo hold their value, which also makes them a target for counterfeits. A “brand new in box” premium stroller at a deep discount, shipped from somewhere else, is the listing to be wary of. Buy one you can see and fold in person, and note that UPPAbaby’s warranty needs proof of purchase from an authorized retailer, so a used one usually comes without it.

Baby carriers and wraps: check every buckle and seam, the fabric for wear, and that the instructions are included. Follow the maker’s weight limits.

Other baby and kids’ items

• Playpens. A label with the maker, model and date of manufacture; mesh with small holes like mosquito netting and no tears; no straps or cords over 18 cm attached.
• High chairs. A working restraint with both a crotch strap and a waist belt, a stable base and locking wheels if it has them.
• Toys. No sharp edges or points, no loose eyes or noses, and no small parts for children under three. Search older painted toys in the recalls database; some have been recalled for lead paint.
• Children’s sleepwear. Loose-fitting styles should be polyester, nylon or a blend of the two, as Health Canada advises, rather than cotton or rayon.
• Helmets. Bike, skating and other single-impact helmets shouldn’t be bought second-hand: one hit can use up their protection without showing it.

Block-word list for parents

On any site that lets you exclude words, these hide listings for products that are banned or not recommended. They aren’t a safety check; they just keep the listings out of your way.

Use the quotation marks for phrases. How to exclude words on Marketplace explains how word filters behave on each site.

Price, searches and pickup

Price. Compare the same model on Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji, and check the current retail price. Big-ticket items like strollers and gliders are where used saves the most. Small items are often given away: search the free categories and local parent groups before you pay. See finding genuinely free stuff.

Searches. Use brand and model names (“UPPAbaby Vista”, “Bugaboo Fox”, “Graco 4Ever”, “Stokke Tripp Trapp”), and in French, “poussette”, “siège d’auto”, “couchette”, “lit de bébé”, “chaise haute”.

Pickup. Ask for photos of the labels before you go (date, model, the National Safety Mark on a car seat). Meet somewhere public where you can unfold, buckle and test things, pay in person once you have checked everything, and never send a deposit. Is Facebook Marketplace safe? covers meetups.

With Sift on a computer

Sift doesn’t check recalls, legality, expiry dates or crash history, and nothing on a listing page can. What it can do, in Chrome, Edge or Brave on a computer, is keep your searches tidy. Sift, a free browser extension for Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji, lets you:

• block the words above on both sites at once, as whole words or “exact phrases”, with accents ignored, and peek at anything hidden with the reason;
• set a real distance from your home, so a stroller two hours away doesn’t make the list;
• use Only free listings for free baby gear, without the $0 listings that really mean message for price;
• watch a search for one model (“UPPAbaby Vista”, “Stokke Tripp Trapp”) and get a notification when a new one is listed, as often as every 15 minutes on Kijiji and no faster than every 30 on Facebook;
• see price drops on listings you have looked at before.

Save it as a preset (“Baby gear, 20 km”) and switch to it from the popup. Furnishing the nursery too? Read buying used furniture for the bed bug check before anything upholstered comes home.

Brand names on this page belong to their owners. Sift is independent and not affiliated with them, or with Meta, Facebook or Kijiji.