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High Risk Thrift Shopping

By Amy E. Feldman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Think you're finding a treasure at a Thrift Shop? These government statistics might interest you.

Thinking of making like Macklemore and 'popping some tags?' In case you don't listen to hip hop, he means going thrift shop shopping. You can impress your kids with that knowledge; I'm sure they'll think you're cool. But be careful - a lot of the things you find there aren't so cool.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, many of the approximately 300 products that get recalled every year and can't legally be sold in retail stores wind up in thrift shops so this is what you need to know:

51% of thrift shops sell children' s outerwear with a drawstring at the hood or neck which can lead to strangulation. Avoid those.

20% of thrift shops sell hair dryers without protection against electrocution. Only buy those with large rectangular shaped safety plugs.

And 12% of thrift stores sell cribs that don't meet federal safety standards. Whenever you buy children's equipment like cribs, carriers, or playpens, check the CPSC website to make sure it wasn't recalled. But having done that, feel free to buy those flannel zebra jammies, second-hand and rock that.

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