Is it legal to sell a used mattress in Germany?

This might be a dumb question, but does anyone know if it is legal to sell a used mattress in Germany?

In the States it's strictly illegal because of health reasons. A used mattress may be donated to charity (e.g., Goodwill) but never sold, at least not legally. Some people get around this by selling a used bed and then "giving" (wink, wink) the mattress to the buyer, but that wouldn't apply to the TT post below. I don't mean to pour cold water on that post, but seeing it made me curious.

Depends on what you used it for.

Does this said bed have any talents?

This is a piss take, right?

You can just give it to them instead since they

Hahahahaha. Awesome topic!

Your trying to pull a fast one right? Other wise I'd have to call BullS***, unless you can provide some proof. Even it it is a law in some backwater crapstate I
doubt they actually enforce it.. Just like the law about walking your pet elephant past a church on a Sunday, or chaining your pet alligator to a fire hydrant.
Or like getting nailed by the Feds for removing the big "Removal of the label is in violation of Federal law" label on all mattresses.

I can just picture this convo. at the local Jail..

Big Huge tattooed biker/body builder/etc: So watcha in for.. They got me for killing a man
Mattress Man: Oh, I sold a used mattress at my yard sale.

You can guess who's gonna be who's bitch by morning...

in some states in the US shops that sell used mattresses are required to sanitise them first, i believe. i don't think there are any laws for private sales

hilarious!
wow... mr paranoid DK who tells people they have to have this license or that or whatever is now doubting how certain things are enforced when he swears up and down for other things.

edit: here's the legal answer... at least according to a gov't website.

In Utah, it is INDEED illegal. My mother couldn't do it when she went Utah --> CA.

But you can sell your guns, no problemo.

In the south they just leave it on the front lawn (right next to the other "lawn ornaments") free to all. But then again american mattresses do not have any talent. american girls on the other hand..mmmmm

perhaps that's why some of the Southerners think it's legal/nothing wrong with it!
They're used to seeing them next to the 10 cars up on bricks or whatever else...

What do hotels do? Ok, you don't buy a room with a used mattress. But you rent a room with used mattress.
That's allowed?
Somebody ever had a look at the mattress in the hotel room?

No, I stopped wetting the bed a long time ago. Seriously though, if this is governed by state law in the US, there may be different regulations. Here's an example of state law in Delaware (so Darkknight will understand why his cousin got arrested). Again, my question is if anything similar exists in German law.

I think you are asking the wrong question. Normally everything in Germany is forbidden and then exceptions exist for those things that are allowed.

Perhaps you might want to rephrase your request?

Believe me, you don't want to look. We lived in 2 very nice Ferienwohnungs here for 3 months while we waited for our &*^%$ container to arrive from CA. My 3 year old son had only ever had ONE nighttime accident back home... but I guess he was a little stressed with the whole move thing (gee, really?) and had a few here. So we got to see the mattresses, since we had to change our *own* sheets (on a 100 Euro per night apt!!). Yeah, uhhh... USED is the appropriate word.

James, did you actually read that law before posting it? It doesn't actually outlaw sales of used mattresses alltogether. It simply requires they be sanitised before resale.

Your not really entering into the TT spirit are you?

Of course I did but it was late last night. My immediate concern then was to address those who didn't believe there are laws about this. To your question (a good one, although I would not write "simply"), my point would be how many people actually bother to have a used mattress properly sanitized prior to selling? This of course would cut in to the profit from said sale, and it isn't going to be worth that much money, right?

right, but you claimed it was illegal to sell used mattresses, not uneconomical. Perhaps you could show us a law from a state where it really is illegal. I'd be interested to see.

from the article that you pointed to.


it was a case of fraud. Nothing else.