what exactly are the bouncy ball regulations

[glennborthwick]

Can anyone point me towards the definitive bouncy ball regulations with regards to health and safety, selling as a vendor and/or importation?

[Vendingwarehouse]

Sorry haven't a clue Glenn. Maybe Christian at ATN might know .

[cranedoctor]

think the main thing is all new stock needs a band on it with safety info & importers details. you can still sell & use old stock though. it more ****** to push the prices up & keep health & safety dudes in a job

[Atn]

Hi,

The shrink wrap band on the bouncy balls, has been an EU law for about 7 years now, the Uk has only signed up to the latest Eu ruling on the 19th July 2011, toy directive 2009/48/EU.

However bouncy balls are still a grey area, as marbles/balls/gobstoppers/gumballs are all excluded from this directive. As a 27mm bouncy balls is bigger than a 16mm/24mm gumballs yet the gumballs have no wrapping?!?!? But both come from the same machine, classified as a toy machine, not a vending machine, few words BIG DIFFERENCE.

However to be safe, it's best to have them shrink wrapped, and not only, EVERY SINGLE COLOUR OF THE BOUNCY BALLS HAS TO TESTED FOR TOXICITY. This is what will be required if and when any problems arise. A lot of importers choose to forget this small test, as you can imagine a box of bouncy balls has many colours, so proper testing costs are not cheap. Not only, if you choose to buy from a commercial seller in China (often cheaper) and not a factory, you can never guarantee 'hand over flame' that the balls are from the same factory, so technically on your second shipment you have to retest everything!!

It all depends how much you actually want to follow the law. The new toy directive is VERY VERY expensive, some of 3L products certifications, are now costing 8000 Euros. I am pretty certain VERY few UK importers are following any of the new rules. An example is, if you choose to import a product, the new legislation requires you to actually certify THE complete history of the product, from the raw materials to storage and transport of the finished product. The risk assessment of each product is very very complex, and thus costly. This is to ensure the production of the product is from the same factory every time, which 'should' use the same materials.

However I could go on for ages, try and keep it simple, if you're importing then speak to your local trading standards, get them to list you all the tests you need to do for that product, this way you're sure as 'you've been advised' by them, this is very important. One last twist, the law in the Uk is interpreted, so what Leicester trading standards saying might be very different to what Newcastle trading standards might require.

My recommendation is if you want to import to save money 'like years ago', don't do it, if you want to stay on the right side of the law, as that side of the law is very expensive property!

[cranedoctor]

just to follow on from Christian i would suggest that all operators have a label on their machines warning of Choke Hazard & not suitable for kids under blah blah blah this is very important if you do get an issue.
All our stock is 100% compliant & fully tested for each & every design & colour, we hold certification on file & also have extra insurance in place for these & other vending products.
we are still selling off stock that has no band also, this is stock that was bought before the directive & is still 100% legal to operate & sell. Like Christian says everything is a grey area, When a problem occurs & these no win no fee solicitors get involved the only thing you can hope is that your insurance is strong enough & that no-one is seriously hurt, most of what i have seen over the last 2 years is mainly people trying it on! & this is terrible for everyone.

[Atn]

The label on the machine, is compulsory as of 19th July 2011, however means little if product fails testing.

Insurance doesn't pay, if the certifications fail. Insurance companies have an entire department dedicated to not paying claims.

Operators must remember if it's too cheap, there's a reason for it! Average costings for products will be 35%-38% of the vend price for any fully compliant product.

[alicesmith257]

Bouncy Ball is loved by child, very much. But, I learn another use of bounce ball .When a ball bounces, different mathematical models can describes, as what happens. If the ball bounces in place several times, a geometric sequence or exponential model describes the maximum height that the ball attains in relation to the number of bounces. For any single bounce, a quadratic model describes the height of the ball, at any point of time.
light up ball

[popp665]

Post of the year so far

[alicesmith257]

Bouncy Ball is loved by Child, very much. But, I learn another use of bounce ball .When a ball bounces, different mathematical models can describe, as what happens. If the ball bounces in place several times, a geometric sequence or exponential model describes the maximum height that the ball attains in relation to the number of bounces. For any single bounce, a quadratic model describes the height of the ball at any point in time

[Snackmore]

Have I just had some drugs before I read that?