Garage sales and summer go hand-in-hand. Great deals abound — even a few “steals.” That’s how I picked up a little-used year-old cordless electric mower for a fourth of the price of a new one.

But some items are illegal to resell in a store, an auction Web site or your front lawn as a result of the the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act signed by the president in August 2008.

The CPSIA does not require you to test your products for safety, but resellers cannot knowingly sell products that do not meet the new law’s requirements. What can’t be sold?

• Products that have been recalled.

• Toys and other articles intended for use by children, and any furniture, with paint or other surface containing coatings containing lead over specified amounts.

• Products primarily intended for children age 12 or younger with lead content over a specific amount.

• Certain toys or child-care articles that contain any one of six prohibited chemicals known as phthalates, which are primarily use as plasticizers.

• Other products that violate CPSC’s safety standards, bans, rules or regulations or otherwise present a substantial product hazard.

This is a lot to know. Each year, the CPSC recalls several hundred consumer products ranging from nursery furniture to toys and from clothing to power tools. To make it easier to determine what items and products can be resold, the Consumer Protection Safety Commission has prepared a “Handbook for Resale Stores and Product Rellers.”

Have you spotted — or unknowingly bought — any now-illegal items at garage sales or online classified sites?