Was Target fined for just selling toys manufactured by other companies, or was this fine for Target branded items?

@cristiana:

cristiana: From the article:

The fine resolves allegations that from May 2006 through August 2007 Target imported and sold many toys like Happy Giddy gardening tools and Sunny Patch chairs with paint or other surface coatings with lead levels above legal limits, the CPSC said in a statement.

They were toys imported by and sold exclusively at Target. Product recall bulletin here: [www.cpsc.gov]

@cristiana: CPSC regulations state that the manufacturer, distributor and retailer are equally responsible for reporting unsafe products. As these toys were Target branded, they are the retailer and distributor, and depending on the arrangement with the physical manufacturer, could also be considered the manufacturer.

Incedentally, CPSC does not get to keep the money, all fines that are levied by the CPSC are turned over to the Treasury Department.

Here is what is sad. I actually used to like shopping at Target. A trip to Target was a special event since it was at least 30 minutes away from my home in BFE. They seem to have imploded!. I personally have not had a bad experience, but being an avid Consumerist reader I've avoided them and Best Buy like the plague. I mean really, some retailers know how to do it right. How bad is their upper management to do all this stuff that really hurts them?

Is it just me, or does $600k sound kind of low? How much does that come out to per lead tainted toy?

How much did the government spend to investigate then fine them? $700k?

@searonson: Probably very little as Target alerted the CPSC that the products exceeded the lead paint levels. The fine was for "knowingly" distributing products that exceeded lead levels and for not ensuring that the products complied with a mandatory standard. Target recalled the products, and teh engineers and lawyers at CPSC reviewed the case and determined that a fine was appropriate. If I had to guess, the cost to issue this fine was probably around $10K or less.

@topgun: I've had a few bad experiences at Target, most of which were due to other shoppers. But to be honest, I see little reason to stop shopping there when I get mostly enjoy the shopping experience.

Some bad articles on this site, which I read every day, are still not enough to make me stop shopping at a place where I've personally had a good couple of decades of trouble-free shopping.

@searonson: It may be as much as they spend on cash register tape in a month but then again, maybe they acted appropriately as soon as the issue was discovered.

Clearly the site should move it's hosting somewhere in Nevada.

When I become a mother, any baby/kid toys or bottles that say Made In China are getting a no-go from me. Screw that.

@topgun: Pretty much the only negative articles i have read about target on this site are about Schizophrenic pricing. Most of which are probably mislabelled items, as opposed to intentional bait and switch tactics.

My experiences at Target have always been good, and I find the store clean and the staff to be courteous and seem to know what they are doing. Even the shoppers at target are so much better than the average Walmart crowd.

Just like you, the target here is 20-25 mins away, and I actually look forward to going there every weekend. It is like a special trip. And I love doing it. I am actually thrilled to get a reason to go to target during the weekdays. And I think of all the articles on consumerist while I am there and just lovingly smile at it...

... I think I might have issues.

@AndroidHumanoid: Sharon? Is that you?

For "resolved allegations", read: "paid our fine for selling lead toys to children".

@MostlyHarmless: If you have issues, I definitely have issues. I loooooove Target. I moved and was sad that I had to move to a different Target store, and was doubly sad at the prospect that maybe the store wasn't going to be as good because I was moving closer to a city, and the Targets I'm used to were in the nice, clean suburbs.

I was very, very glad to find that my (new to me) Target is not only neatly organized, clean, very well-stocked, and not at all what I was dreading. Also, Halloween section is huuuuuge!

@pecan 3.14159265: I looooooove Target too. Mine is clean, well organized and easy to navigate. Rarely do I cuss in there, which is nice since I routinely find myself cussing most stores I'm in.

I take the stories on Target with a grain of salt and compare them to my own personal experiences with my local Target. Not enough to stop my shopping there. Walmart on the other hand... I avoid like the plague.

@AndroidHumanoid: My daughter and several of her friends have noticed that everything seems to come from China. They've begun to ask why, and it's been a point of both humor and teaching...

That said, I'd really like to see a list of the items in question. I know for a fact that some of our kiddie gardening implements came from Target in that period.

@pecan 3.14159265: "Also, Halloween section is huuuuuge!"

The real question to ask is how big their Easter section is in November, because it is never too early to stock up on plastic eggs and marshmallow Peeps. :-)

I'd still rather shop at Target than the competition. The pricing is fair, their Up & Up brand items are actually of good quality, they have clothes I wouldn't be ashamed to wear, and their product selection is much more tasteful.

Not to mention the fact that I've never once seen a woman shopping at Target while wearing curlers nor have I ever seen a mother spank her children in the middle of an aisle. The class of customer is vastly superior to what you might find at Wal-Mart, and therefore I'd gladly go out of my way to shop at Target even if it required me to drive additional distance.

As to their pricing issues that are common on this site, I question the validity of some of them. In some cases an old sign was left up, at other times it looks like someone purposefully moved a sale sign or placard from another item just so they would have something to submit to Consumerist. I'm sure some are legit, but some of them seem a little to staged.

@paco: I think by the time I have kids, "made in China" will be so completely the norm and they won't remember there being a time in which almost everything was made in the United Sates. Heck, I don't even remember a time in which nearly everything was made in the United Sates.

@topgun: I also don't think that the Target related Consumerist stories have been half as damning as the Best Buy ones. It seems like anyone who has their toys manufactured in China has been caught up in this issue of having them chock full of lead. It's been a poor decision of all these companies who do their manufacturing with factories they can't trust to use safe components, but to be honest, they've been pushed to do just this as a cost-cutting measure because of the "bargains" that we demand here. Target isn't the only offender in the lead toy parade by a LONG shot.

@MostlyHarmless: @pecan 3.14159265: You guys get to go every weekend?

I have a Target a couple of miles from my house, but I have to limit myself because every time I go, I know it's going to be at least a few hundred dollars spent. So it's almost love/hate. I love you Target, but you taketh away my moneyeth.

I also don't like weekends because in LA, Targets become WalMart crowded, though the clientele is still higher caliber.

@subtlefrog: Wow. I think the most I ever spent at Target in a single trip was $150ish. That too when I was buying furniture thingys for my apartment.

Sometimes I just go in, roam around for an hour, plan future purchases and fantasize about stuff in general. I might pick up some small things I realized I needed, but often, I just come out empty handed. Somehow it feels relaxing and soothing to be there and just window shop.

@MostlyHarmless: I think it helps that I only go every 2 months or so - so when I do go, I need to stock up on cleaners and then there's the inevitable crap and then oh yeah, I could use some granola bars, and personal care products (Mostly Harmless, you wouldn't believe the cost of feminine hygiene), and then there's the random this time I need sheets or a new small appliance or whatever.

Plus the clothes are cute, so I almost always look...

So even though if I went often, it likely wouldn't be that much, I still fear it. And really, I'd say average is more like $150 every few mo. Max was when I first moved to LA and needed to get my new apt set up. Craigslist & Target baby.

@subtlefrog: Ha! Actually I DO believe the cost of female hygiene, because i am creepy and curious that way, so I took a look around those shelves to see what all my female friends were cribbing about. I'd just say I am thankful that my "personal care" is limited only to a tooth paste, a shaving cream, and an all in one body wash. And tissues.

I bought so much crap off craigslist when I first moved here. It was all stuff that I needed and it was good for its price, but it was not something I wanted to keep for the long term. But I could not afford to buy those things new and retail. So recently I've been re-craigslisting them and buying new stuff.

@MostlyHarmless: We've done a lot of the same. I moved to LA with very little furniture - got rid of most of what I owned when I left Miami. I got here and hit CL. When BF and I moved in together, we upgraded to Ikea. Now our apt is less decorated in "early junk" as my mother calls it and now more "disposable eurotrash."

Stuff like a vacuum though - I hit Target. That seems creepy off CL - someone else's dirt? It's almost like buying used underwear. But not as gross.