I can't help imagining the jailhouse conversation:....I robbed a bank, what are you in for? ... I sold defective shoes at a garage sale.

That great American staple of the free enterprise system - the garage sale - has gotten a lot more complicated. Used to be, holding a garage sale was as simple as posting a few well-placed signs, dragging your junk out on the driveway and watching the cash come in. But a federal law now makes it a crime to sell items that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled. While CPSC officials have educated the larger thrift stores about the new law, individuals are also on the hook if they sell a defective car seat, children's shoes or even a garlic press/slicer. "If you're selling a crib or a car seat, the responsibility is yours to make sure the CPSC has not recalled it and that it doesn't present a danger," says Dallas attorney Angel Reyes, managing partner of Managing Partner of Reyes Bartolomei Browne. "And remember, it's not just baby items. The government recalls products adults use too."

This is all particularly relevant because individual reselling has increased during the economic downturn. Reports the Wall Street Journal: Amid the recession, more sellers are trying to wring some cash out of their old possessions. Listings on Craigslist for garage sales have increased 60% in the past year, and another resale site, Tagsellit.com, has seen a rising trend, with 3,000 listings for tag sales in the month of June. Large-scale yard sales have actually declined as fewer people have moved in the weak housing market. But those who monitor the resale industry say that more sellers are trying to get cash for smaller-ticket items.

The sheer variety of products being recalled in a given year can make it hard to guess what products might be unsafe. The ten biggest recalls of 2008 included toys, cribs, electric blowers, cosmetic accessory bags and window blinds. But buyers and sellers who want to check for recalls can search on cpsc.gov, which offers searches by product type, company name, or hazard, among other categories, or on recalls.gov, a site that lists recalls by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and five other federal agencies. They can also sign up with the safety commission to receive recall alerts by email.