While some corporate policies are strong, all four platforms—Craigslist, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Mercari—received Consumer Reports’ lowest rating for catching listings of unsafe or banned products before they go live
Consumer Reports recommends immediate and long-term changes to keep consumers safe and offers tips for parents shopping on these platforms
YONKERS, NY—Consumer Reports (CR) today released its evaluation of four leading consumer-to-consumer digital marketplaces—Craigslist, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Mercari—for how well these platforms help consumers avoid unsafe products, and whether they give sellers enough information to avoid listing recalled or banned products. Overall, the evaluation found serious shortcomings in each platform’s product safety controls, though some companies scored well in distinct areas, and some committed to make improvements.
Oriene Shin, manager of safety advocacy for Consumer Reports, said, “Parents should not have to be product safety experts to avoid dangerous products when shopping, including on secondhand platforms. Consumer Reports’ evaluation of popular consumer-to-consumer digital marketplaces reveals serious gaps in their ability to identify banned or recalled products, prevent them from being sold, and keep users informed about essential product safety information. To help parents keep their family safe, these marketplaces should implement the stronger safeguards we recommend.”
In reviewing the platforms for certain unsafe baby products that are effectively banned under federal law, CR found the products—drop-side cribs, padded crib bumpers, infant inclined sleepers, and infant in-bed sleepers—for sale on every platform.
All four platforms received CR’s lowest rating in the category assessing whether a platform catches an unsafe or banned product before a listing goes live. Facebook Marketplace stood out as the only platform where evaluators found listings for each of the four banned products. Infant in-bed sleepers—effectively banned in 2022—were the most widely available product overall. CR found 50 of the first 65 listings reviewed on Facebook Marketplace to be infant in-bed sleepers, compared with 12 of 400 on Mercari, 7 of 400 on eBay, and 2 of 49 on Craigslist. After finding 50 infant in-bed sleepers in the first 65 listings reviewed on Facebook Marketplace, evaluators stopped counting.
KEY FINDINGS:
CR also tested each platform’s listing process directly. When evaluators filled out a listing for a used car seat—which requires extreme caution, because secondhand car seats might have been in a crash, be expired, or otherwise have unseen issues that affect their safety performance—Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and Mercari provided no additional safety prompts; eBay required the evaluator to select “new” after uploading a photo, though the listing’s free-text description could still say the seat was used. When evaluators drafted a similar listing for a generator resembling a model associated with a recall, none of the four platforms required the generator’s model number, which could be critical to determining whether a particular unit was subject to the recall. None of the four platforms prevented the generator listing from going live.
Additionally, reporting a known banned product did not consistently result in its removal. Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and Mercari did not remove any of the products CR reported; eBay removed a reported padded crib bumper within 30 minutes, but did not remove a reported infant in-bed sleeper. EBay had the most comprehensive reporting process, including allowing consumers to specify their reason for reporting a listing and providing confirmation and status updates; the other three platforms offered no comparable option or process.
None of the four platforms maintained a comprehensive list of banned or restricted products before CR’s evaluation. Evaluators found partial lists only on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist, and only by navigating directly to each platform’s site rather than through its search bar; Mercari had no list available at all.
COMPANY RESPONSES:
CR shared its findings with each platform in July 2026. EBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Mercari engaged with CR to discuss the results; Craigslist did not respond. EBay and Facebook Marketplace updated their lists of banned and prohibited items. Facebook Marketplace also told CR it had reviewed its use of automated warnings for categories including car seats and generators; when retested, CR could not trigger this warning. Mercari committed to a future update that would allow consumers to report a product as “recalled or banned.”
“Our goal in sharing these evaluations directly with marketplace leadership is to drive structural changes across the e-commerce landscape,” said Johnny Mathias, director of corporate strategy and engagement for Consumer Reports. “While we are encouraged that platforms like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Mercari engaged with CR and began updating select policies, we need to see fewer harmful products for sale. Platforms are better positioned than individual consumers to understand the confusing world of safety hazards and should not shift the burden to consumers. These companies must build permanent safeguards directly into the listing process to protect families.”
RECOMMENDATIONS:
CR is recommending that platforms keep policy pages on banned and restricted products current and easy to find; add a dedicated “recalled/banned/unsafe” reporting option with updates for consumers on the platform’s review; proactively detect and remove banned or restricted children’s products; and give sellers easy-to-access information and prompts about potential listing concerns. Longer term, CR recommends that platforms implement automated validation and audits of safety information, and build stronger seller-level systems to guide consumers listing products for sale.
Given the volume of banned products CR found on Facebook Marketplace, CR is calling on Meta to prioritize these fixes—including adding a dedicated option for consumers to report a listing as banned or recalled, and removing confirmed banned listings marketplace-wide, not just for the consumer who reported it, within 24 hours.
CONSUMER TIPS:
What Parents Should Know Before Buying—or Selling—Used Baby Gear
Secondhand baby gear can help stretch a budget, but parents should be selective about what they buy and sell used.
- Know exactly what you’re buying. Ask the seller for the manufacturer, model number, and other identifying information, and check the product label for the date of manufacture. You need that information to determine whether the product has expired or been recalled.
- Ask sellers about the product’s history. How long was it used? How was it stored? For products like car seats, a seller who can’t answer those questions may not be able to give you the assurance you need.
- Check the product yourself. Search recall databases and the manufacturer’s website. Don’t assume the seller or the platform has already done this.
- Inspect it in person before committing. If it’s damaged, unusually worn, or missing parts, it’s okay to walk away.
- Be especially cautious with car seats and sleep products. Certain products—including car seats, cribs, crib mattresses, and breast pumps—are generally safest bought new.
- Sellers should do their homework. Sellers should check their own items against recall databases and avoid listing anything that has been recalled or prohibited.
For CR’s full guidance on buying and selling secondhand baby gear, see CR’s story.
See CR’s full evaluation, “Secondhand Marketplace Safety and Accountability” for more information.
This report follows CR’s February 2026 evaluation of business-to-consumer (B2C) platforms and CR’s November 2024 white paper, Marketplace Accountability in a Digital World.
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Media Contact: Emily Akpan, emily.akpan@consumer.org