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Six Retailers Announce Recall of Buckyballs and Buckycubes High-Powered Magnet Sets Due to Ingestion Hazard

  • Buckyballs magnet sets in gold, silver and black
  • Buckyballs magnet sets in blue-ish green-ish, red and purple
  • Buckycubes magnet sets in black, gold and silver
Name of Product:
Buckyballs and Buckycubes high-powered magnet sets
Hazard:

These products contain defects in the design, warnings and instructions, which pose a substantial risk of injury and death to children and teenagers.

Remedy:
Refund
No Remedy Available
Recall Date:
April 12, 2013
Units:

About three million

Consumer Contact

Barnes & Noble, toll-free at 1-800-THE-BOOK , www.barnesandnoble.com

Participating Hallmark retailers, toll-free at (800) 425-5627 or online at www.hallmark.com/recall-product/

Marbles the Brain Store, toll-free at (877) 527-2460  or online at www.marblesthebrainstore.com

ThinkGeek, toll-free at (888) 433-5788 or online at www.thinkgeek.com/buckyballs/index.shtml

Recall Details

Description:

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with six retailers, is announcing the voluntary recall of all Buckyballs and Buckycubes high-powered magnet sets sold by these companies. CPSC continues to warn that these products contain defects in the design, warnings and instructions, which pose a substantial risk of injury and death to children and teenagers.

Imported by Maxfield & Oberton LLC, of New York, N.Y., Buckyballs and Buckycubes consist of sets of numerous, small, high-powered magnets. These sets vary in the number of magnets included and come in a variety of colors. Individual magnets in the set are about 5 millimeters in diameter. Individual magnets in Buckyballs are spherical and individual magnets in Buckycubes are cube-shaped.

About three million sets of Buckyballs and Buckycubes have been sold in U.S. retail stores nationwide and online since 2010 for between $5 and $100.

Consumers should take the high-powered magnet sets and all associated individual magnets away from children and teenagers and contact the retailer from which they purchased the product to obtain instructions for their remedy:

These retailers have agreed to participate because Maxfield & Oberton has refused to participate in the recall of all Buckyballs and Buckycubes.

In July 2012, CPSC staff filed an administrative complaint against Maxfield & Oberton Holdings LLC, of New York, N.Y., after discussions with the company and its representatives failed to result in a voluntary recall plan that CPSC staff considered to be adequate to address the very serious hazard posed by these products. This type of legal action against a company is rare, as CPSC has filed only four administrative complaints in the past 11 years.<

CPSC has received 54 reports of children and teens ingesting this product, with 53 of these requiring medical interventions.

Remedy:

Consumers should take the high-powered magnet sets and all associated individual magnets away from children and teenagers and contact the retailer from which they purchased the product to obtain instructions for their remedy.

Incidents/Injuries:

CPSC has received 54 reports of children and teens ingesting this product, with 53 of these requiring medical interventions.

Importer(s):

Maxfield & Oberton LLC, of New York, N.Y.

Recall number:
13-168

Note: Individual Commissioners may have statements related to this topic. Please visit www.cpsc.gov/commissioners to search for statements related to this or other topics.

If you are experiencing issues with a recall remedy or believe a company is being non-responsive to your remedy request, please use this form and explain the situation to CPSC.
About the U.S. CPSC

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of injuries associated with consumer products over the past 50 years.

Federal law prohibits any person from selling products subject to a Commission ordered recall or a voluntary recall undertaken in consultation with the CPSC.

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