Campaigns
Speaking up for reputable toymakers and those who play with our toys.
Still Toying With Children’s Safety
Since 2018, we have been evidencing the sale of unsafe and non-compliant toys being sold by third-party sellers through online marketplaces. We originally started test purchasing toys as we were concerned the toys being sold by third-party sellers were unsafe.
Under current laws, online marketplaces do not have any legal responsibilities to ensure the safety of toys being sold by their third-party sellers despite facilitating the sale of the toys to consumers.
As there has been no regulatory action, we have continued to purchase and test toys sold by third-party sellers annually to raise awareness of the dangers with consumers, and to advocate for the introduction of legislation to close this loophole.
View our 2024 report
Click to open/download (4.8MB)
Six years since the publication of our first report, we have found that online marketplaces are still facilitating the sale of dangerous toys into the UK. We are calling on the new UK government to take urgent action to close the existing harmful legal loophole for good through the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill. We believe online marketplaces should be legally responsible for the safety of all toys sold through their platforms.
The latest toy safety investigation tested toys purchased from third-party sellers through 11 major online marketplaces in the UK. Our findings show that 85% of the toys we purchased are unsafe, posing a risk to children’s health and safety.
These findings are consistent with previous investigations and the high-level of non-compliance is extremely concerning. The government must act urgently put an end to these practices.
Update May 2025:Â Unsafe toys still on sale
At the start of 2025, we searched all online marketplaces to assess whether any of the reported unsafe toys were still on sale. In February, during a limited search time we found:
72% of seemingly identical unsafe toys were still available for sale
41% of these seemingly identical toys were still being sold by the same seller
We tested a selection of 25 of the seemingly identical toys still on sale across all 11 online marketplaces.
 100% of these toys failed testing and were unsafe for children to play with.
These findings continue to show the despite individual listings being removed from sale when reported in October 2024, unsafe toys are easily re-listed and made available to purchase – something we have also demonstrated through the ‘Crocodile Story’ below. Online marketplaces must do more to keep unsafe products off sale and taking down all identical lines.
Consumer Advice
Top 5 tips for buying toys online
Watch this video produced by Milton Keynes trading standards to understand the dangers of buying toys from online marketplaces.
The Crocodile Story
The BTHA has continued to monitor one product throughout the six years we have been investigating online marketplaces as it demonstrates many of the issues found with the online marketplaces handling of product safety issues.
The initial product was purchased from a third-party seller on Amazon in 2018 and, since then, its presence and availability on the Amazon online marketplace has been frequently checked and further samples have been purchased at regular intervals.
The product has failed EN7-1 testing six times, failed fire and furnishing once, and has been recalled on three separate occasions.
Despite this, third-party sellers have easily been able to re-list the product and it was even marketed to us as ‘Amazon’s Choice’. The toy crocodile has most recently been found on eBay in May 2024. The sample purchased also failed EN71-1 testing. Seemingly identical listings can be seen today across multiple online marketplaces.
View our reports
View and download the BTHA's online marketplaces reports.
2022 Report - Still Toying with Children's Safety
Published 21 Nov 2022
2021 Report - Still Toying with Children's Safety
Published 5 Oct 2021
2020 Report - Don't Toy with Children's Safety
Published 5 Oct 2020
2019 Report - Don't Toy with Children's Safety
Published 6 June 2019
Check for fakes and illicit goods before you buy online
Vistalworks have developed a new online tool which allows you to check products before you buy them and reduce the likelihood of harm. This technology is still in its development phase, which means it is currently restricted to a range of products on sale on eBay, Amazon and some independent weblinks.
Simply paste in a listing URL here and you will get an indication of whether the product appears to be legitimate or not:
