Simply Check FAQs
How important is it to check items?
How can Simply Check help?
How do Seals work?
What products do you cover?
Is it private and secure?
How important is it to check items for recalls before selling or donating?
Exceptionally important. Hundreds of millions of individual products that have been recalled due to safety problems, remain in use. They are later given away or sold, most often without the product owner ever knowing that the item could injure or kill another person. Tragically, this lack of awareness about recalls results in thousands of preventable injuries and deaths.
The problem has gotten so bad that Congress passed a new law making it illegal to sell or attempt to sell any recalled product. Anyone who does, risks fines of up to $100,000 per recalled product and, in some cases, jail time.
The new law banning the sale of recalled products applies to everyone - marketplace sellers, large retail stores and even individuals selling items at yard, garage and rummage sales.
How can Simply Check help?
Simply CheckTM saves you time by checking your items against thousands of recalls issued since 1999 in seconds. Unlike traditional search methods, Simply CheckTM is based on highly structured data and complex algorithms that are specifically designed to replicate how humans evaluate products for safety and recalls.
If Simply CheckTM identifies potentially relevant recalls, it does not spit out a text-based list of results for you to read and click through. Instead, Simply CheckTM displays images and summary-level information that allow you to quickly evaluate each result. In addition, Simply CheckTM results include a special rating that tells you the likelihood a given recalled product is the same as the product you wish to sell. If you need more detailed information, just click.
After the initial check of your item, Simply CheckTM will continue to monitor for future recalls daily, and will email you if a potential problem is detected.
How do Seals work?
Once you verify that the product has not been recalled, a WeMakeItSafer Item Number is issued along with a bit of html code. You can print the Item Number on a sticker or hang tag, or copy and paste the html code into an online listing of the product. In either case, when potential buyers (and government investigators) see the WeMakeItSafer Seal, they know it has been checked for safety recalls. Clicking on the Seal will reveal a Recall Verification Certificate for your item.
The buyer can then either click a button next to the Certificate, or enter the Item Number at WeMakeItSafer.com to claim it and add the product details to his or her own account. WeMakeItSafer continues monitoring the item for free, and alerts your customer if it is ever recalled.
You will be able to see which items have been claimed and, if an item you sold is ever recalled, you will have the opportunity to send a special message to your customer via WeMakeItSafer.*
* Safety event messaging is currently only available with Pro Plan Plus accounts. Additional fees may apply.
What products do you cover?
At this time, WeMakeItSafer tracks information associated with US consumer product recalls as issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and child car seat recalls issued by the NHTSA since 1999. This includes more than 15,000 types of products. Some of the most common products covered are listed below. Hover on the question mark to see subcategories.
- Children's Products[?]
- Computers & Electronics[?]
- Hardware, Tools & Building Supply[?]
- Home & Garden[?]
- Motorsport & Utility Vehicles[?]
- Sports, Outdoors & Recreation[?]
- More[?]
See a list of the thousands of types of products covered, here.
Is it private and secure?
Yes! WeMakeItSafer will not give away, sell or rent your or your customers' personal information to anyone, ever! It's that simple. Please read our privacy policy for more information.
