As of right now there *is* a Magnet Import/Manufacturing Ban, we’re still in it to win it.*
[Edit 5/6/2015: Tenth Circuit Lifts Stay on CPSC’s Magnets Rule via National Law Review]
[Edit 4/19/2015: Two Cheers for the Tenth Circuit via Forbes]
[Edit 4/9/2015: Also reported on Westword, NY Times, Denver Post]
“The enforcement and effect of the Safety Standard for Magnet Sets is temporarily stayed until further order of the court.” On April 1st, 2015, at 4:50 pm MST the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals granted our Motion for Stay, which temporarily nullified the magnet ban. See the order here. We’d have told you on the 1st, but nobody would have believed it wasn’t an April fools joke.
Historically, stays of this sort are very rarely granted, since courts generally tend to maintain the effect of safety standards while they are being contested. It’s especially noteworthy that the Tenth Circuit granted the stay three hours after we submitted our 20 page motion requesting the stay.
It’s far from time to post the “Mission Accomplished” banner, but this is a giant and tangible indicator of momentum. The temporary but indefinite ruling represents the first judgment outside of the CPSC’s walls which affects US consumers. While we cannot speculate what the Court might be considering, if the Court thought we had a losing argument it seems unlikely that it would have granted the stay.
Although there is no active import and manufacturing ban as of now, that doesn’t mean we can return to business as usual. The continued threat of a ban is itself an impediment to business; magnet sphere companies in the US are necessarily cautious about purchasing large quantities of magnets which take months to manufacture. We simply cannot risk driving full speed in the dark without knowing if a wall lies ahead.
How long until we’ll be selling Zen Magnets again? Hard to say. If we do attempt to manufacture more magnets during this stay, the quantities will be moderate. We’ll know a lot more
Although we are not selling Zen Magnets right now (4/3/2015), we do have enough funds to continue fighting, thanks to wonderful supporters such as yourself. As of right now, neither the CPSC website nor the Federal Register accurately reflect that the ban is currently suspended.
Stay tuned at newsletter.zenmagnets.com.
Magnets must be respected, but need not be feared.
❤ Zen Magnets
* We don’t have enough Zen Magnets to sell, more accurately. Especially since we give away an average of 3 sets per day through the Zen Gallery and various contests. We’re saving the last of our best as fuel for passion and creativity. Star our emails and you’ll be the first to know when Zen Magnets are once again for sale. We do however still have Neoballs for sale at Neoballs.com, and we’ll continue shipping and selling until they are sold out.