美国二手玩具商们的悲惨际遇
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对于二手商品,我们曾经用不少委婉的词语来形容,如"个人闲置"、"九成新"。然而,在当前的经济形势下,这些二手货又有了一个新名称:"热销品"。如今，由于受到经济危机的冲击，美国人已经把购买二手货作为削减开支应对金融危机的一种新方式,他们热衷于购买曾经属于别人的廉价衣服、饰物等。二手商贩们赚钱的机会来了。
但是，在众多二手商人获利的同时，二手玩具经营者们却并不能如意。原因是国会制定了相关法律，二手玩具对于儿童来说是不安全的。
At a time when people are relying more on second-hand stores because of the economy, Marliyn Thrift Store manager Marliyn Seitz isn't celebrating.
I don't want to sell something that's going to put me in jail. And so, since there's just no way I could go through all this.
go through：经历；完成；检查 ；遭受
After a wave of highly-publicized tainted toy recalls last year, Congress stepped in, passing the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, aimed at protecting children. As part of the law, new federal lead limits take effect Tuesday, banning lead content beyond minute levels, 600 parts per million in any product for kids twelve and younger. Now it's not only illegal to manufacture lead-laced products, but also illegal to sell them, no matter when they were made. Stores could be fined up to $100,000 per violation .
Is this law have the potential of just putting you and many thrift stores out of business?
Yes, yes, and that's the bottom line.
The National Association of Resale & Thrift Shops claims some of the tens of thousands of second-hand stores across the country are preparing to shut their doors out of fear.
This has gotten so serious and it is so frightening because we serve consumers that sometimes have no other way to clothe their children.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission,the agency implementing the sweeping law, acknowledges while well-intended, the new rules are confusing.
With the economy the way it is right now, we all are concerned about safety. But we don't want to unnecessarily be impacting jobs and businesses.
The commission is allowing manufacturers an extra year to comply with testing requirements, but can't offer a reprieve for selling restricted products.So what does that mean for Marliyn Seitz?
Well, the......
In a classic "between a rock and a hard place"?
You aren't kidding. Right. That's a shame.
And I see my customers that really want these things and need these things.
You could wipe out a whole industry.
The law is supposed to protect kids. But Seitz fears her business may become an unintended casualty.
