Selling baby products online: safe sleep images, banned items and the documents to keep

A crib photographed with a soft blanket, a pillow and a bumper looks cosy. It is also the image US safety regulators have asked sellers to stop showing, because parents copy what they see. Baby products carry more rules than almost any other kind of product, and many of them are about images and words rather than the product itself.

This page covers what US law asks, what Walmart, Etsy, Amazon and eBay add, and what changes in Canada and the EU. Each rule links to the page we read it on.

What this page covers: nursery furniture, sleep products, feeding, bathing, carriers, strollers, baby toys and baby clothing.

The short version

• Show a bare sleep space: no blankets, pillows, bumpers or plush in a crib.
• Never call a product "for sleep", a "sleeper" or "safe for overnight" unless it was made and tested for infant sleep.
• Several products are barred outright on Walmart, Etsy and eBay, even when they are legal to sell elsewhere.
• Most baby products are children's products, so keep a Children's Product Certificate.
• Nursing pillows and crib mattresses have separate federal standards and warnings.

What is the safe sleep rule for baby product images?

Baby product images should show a bare sleep space. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has asked makers and retailers to stop showing blankets and pillows in cribs, because the image teaches the habit. Walmart goes further: products with images showing an infant sleeping in an unsafe position or place are prohibited.

What that means for your images:

• A crib, bassinet or play yard is shown with a fitted sheet and nothing else.
• A baby shown asleep is on their back, on a flat surface, with nothing soft around them.
• A blanket, pillow or plush toy is never shown in a sleep space, even as styling.

Clothing is a separate case. Seller guides that quote Amazon's image rules say kids' and baby clothing is photographed flat, off a model.

Which words should baby product listings leave out?

Baby product listings should never use "for sleep", "sleeper" or "safe for overnight" on a product that was not made for infant sleep. On eBay, products marketed to prevent or reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome are not allowed at all. A claim like that is the fastest way to lose a listing, whatever the product is.

Which baby products do Walmart, Etsy and eBay bar?

Walmart, Etsy and eBay bar these baby products, even though some are sold legally elsewhere:

• Walmart: crib bumpers, sleep positioners, inclined sleepers, infant pillows, and blankets or plush intended for sleep.
• Etsy: bassinets, cradles, cribs, inclined sleep products and crib bumpers for children under 3, teething items with small parts, infant neck floats, and upper-body outerwear with drawstrings for ages 14 and under.
• eBay: used cribs and used car seats, baby loungers, pillows marketed for sleeping, weighted blankets, swaddles and sleep sacks.

What does eBay ask baby product listings to include?

eBay allows a new crib only when the listing says it meets the 2011 CPSC crib standards. A nursing pillow listing needs a photo of its required labels and the line "This nursing pillow complies with the CPSC safety standard".

Which standards and documents do baby products need?

Nursing pillows and crib mattresses have federal standards, and most baby products need a Children's Product Certificate:

• Nursing pillows have a mandatory federal standard with required warnings (16 CFR 1242).
• Crib mattresses have one too (16 CFR 1241).
• Most baby products are children's products under US law, which means testing and a Children's Product Certificate. How the product is advertised is part of that test, so the images count here as well.

Keep the certificate and test reports on file before you list. Walmart and other marketplaces can ask for them at any time.

What does each marketplace add for baby products?

Walmart, Etsy, Amazon and eBay each add rules for baby products:

What rules apply to cribs sold in Canada?

Cribs, cradles and bassinets sold in Canada must meet the Cribs, Cradles and Bassinets Regulations, with warnings in English and French.

What must an EU baby product listing show?

An EU listing for a baby product must show the manufacturer, the product's identifiers and its safety warnings before the buyer pays.

How Commicorn helps

• A note when it matters. When your product is a baby product, the listing steps show a one-line note with Read more, which opens this page.
• Your label, as printed. On the Untouched product route your photo's pixels are never redrawn, so the labels and warnings on your product stay exactly as printed. That is the photo eBay asks for on a nursing pillow.
• You check every scene. Before you export, look at any scene that shows a crib or a baby asleep: a bare, flat sleep space and nothing soft. Make another scene if it shows anything else.

Questions sellers ask

Can I show a blanket in a crib in my baby product images?

No. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has asked sellers to stop showing blankets and pillows in cribs, and Walmart prohibits products with images of an infant sleeping in an unsafe position or place.

Can I sell crib bumpers on Walmart or Etsy?

No. Walmart bars crib bumpers, and Etsy bars crib bumpers for children under 3.

Can I sell a used crib on eBay?

No. eBay bars used cribs and used car seats, and allows a new crib only when the listing says it meets the 2011 CPSC crib standards.

Do baby products need a Children's Product Certificate?

Most do. Most baby products are children's products under US law, which means testing and a Children's Product Certificate.

Can I say my baby product prevents Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?

No. eBay does not allow products marketed to prevent or reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and a claim like that is the fastest way to lose a listing.

Before you list

Have the Children's Product Certificate and test reports on file, the required labels photographed for a nursing pillow, and every sleep scene checked for a bare, flat space with nothing soft in it before the listing goes live. On a borderline product, three things settle it: the federal standard for that product (16 CFR 1242 for nursing pillows, 16 CFR 1241 for crib mattresses), the marketplace's barred list, and in Canada the Cribs, Cradles and Bassinets Regulations, all cited above.