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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Elmo Scalpers Thrive On Internet

Associated Press

Parents whose local malls sold out of the hottest Christmas toys weeks ago are turning to scalpers as their last hope for that all-important gift under the tree. The Internet’s making it possible.

Pleading calls and desperate drives to distant stores used to be the last resort of parents searching for Pong or Cabbage Patch dolls in years gone by. But in a textbook case of the unexpected consequence of technology, powerful new search engines available online turned the whole of the Internet into one huge classified ad space.

Add UPS’s cash on delivery service, and a new market was formed.

Buying and selling has always gone on via computer. Every major metropolitan area has its own Usenet newsgroup - the Internet’s original bulletin board system - devoted to locals looking to sell or swap.

But with the advent of a search program called DejaNews developed in a garage in Austin last year, all that changed.

Now almost every search program allows users to comb not only the World Wide Web but also Usenet, a perk that got Dr. Fred Vincent a Tickle Me Elmo doll when they’re scarcer than hens teeth.

“I just went to rec.toys.misc and posted there that I was looking. There was a bidding war going on with second offers and counter offers. That’s how I found the one that’s costing me $100,” he said.

Jeremy Robert Wadhams, a high school senior in Bellevue, Nebraska, took the concept a step further when he decided to auction one of the dolls. His Web page now sports a Tickle Me Elmo sale announcement. To his surprise, bids for the cuddly toy have reached $200.