Buckyballs Launches Save Our Balls Video Campaign

NEW YORK, July 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Maxfield and Oberton, the manufacturer and distributor of Buckyballs® and Buckycubes™, announced the launch of a video campaign to help educate consumers about their ongoing safety efforts and protest the actions of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120727/NY47911LOGO )

On Wednesday, the CPSC filed an administrative complaint against the company – the first time it has taken this action in eleven years – to try to compel Maxfield and Oberton to stop selling its products, effectively trying to put the company out of business, and asking the 2.5 million responsible adult buyers of the product to stop playing with them immediately and return them by way of a consumer recall.

"The CPSC's action is unfair and unjustified," said Founder and CEO Craig Zucker. "We are proud of the company we have built, the product itself, our safety program and our safety messaging, including our website, www.magnetsafety.com, our warnings – five in total– on the packaging and instructions, and in stores that sell our products," he said.

"Our products are marketed to those 14 and above and out of over half a billion high-powered magnets we've sold, CPSC has received reports of less than 24 cases of misuse of our products." 

Buckyballs® is the number one selling brand name in high-powered magnets – recently called America's "fave desk accessory" by the Washington Post (July 13, 2012); named "the next big thing in cubicle fidgeting" by New York magazine (July 16-23, 2012); and cited as "the most popular cubicle toy since the Rubik's Cube" by Bloomberg Businessweek (July 23-29, 2012).

"It is hard to understand why CPSC is trying to pry our balls from the hands of adult users, effectively putting us out of business.  We have launched this video in the hope that consumers will speak up and tell the CPSC that these adult-marketed, adult-focused products, when used correctly are perfectly safe."

Zucker reiterated, "We are deeply disappointed that the CPSC has decided to go after our firm - and magnets in general.  Magnets have been around for centuries and are used for all sorts of purposes. We participated with the Commission in an educational video less than nine months ago, so we are shocked they are taking this action.  We find it unfair, unjust and un-American."

The video is available for viewing at: www.SaveOurBalls.net as well as on the company's website, www.getbuckyballs.com.  In addition, the company encourages its customers and fans to contact the Chairwoman of the CPSC, Inez Tenenbaum, directly with their concerns at: www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/commissionertenenbaum.aspx or 301-504-7900.

Maxfield has worked closely with the CPSC on all its safety outreach and still seeks to resolve this issue cooperatively with continued responsible marketing steps and appropriate warnings to keep them out of children's hands.

CONTACT:  Andrew Frank (212-935-4539)

SOURCE Maxfield and Oberton