In the early days of the Sandbox, scalpers roamed the newsgroup. They tried to offer up what they believed to be rare newer 12" GI Joes for $10, $15 sometimes $20 over retail. Members of the group would pounce on the would-be scalpers alerting others to avoid their ridiculous prices, and often offering to trade or sell the same Joes at retail cost plus shipping.
Before it got any worse, one collector named Richard Knepper decided it was time to do something to defend against the scalper insurgency. In December of 1996, he posted the following:
"From: RIKnepper
Date: Mon, Dec 23 1996
I was thinking of putting together a list of people who'd buy currently available Joes for others at cost plus shipping. I'd post it periodically to the newsgroup. This should cut down on the "AA TRU Dress Marine - only $500" posts, and provide a service for those who are Targetless or "habe keine Schwartz" (TRU's are _everywhere_)
The list would give the email addresses of those willing to help, along with the Joes that are currently available. I figure that Joes that aren't on the shelf any longer are fair game.
Any opinions? Anybody interested?"
The response was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. It wasn't long before volunteers had signed up, as evidenced in this message posted only a few days later:
"From: RIKnepper
Date: Fri, Dec 27 1996
Here's the list of people who'll be willing to help others pick up Joes at cost plus shipping. GI Joe would be proud of all these folks who know the real value of a toy is not as an investment but the enjoyment one gets out of owning them. Though I havn't personally dealt with everyone on this list, they'll serve as good first contacts in your quest for those Joe's that don't make it to the stores in your area.
riknep...@aol.com (RIKnepper)
profess...@express-news.net (Robert)
R Sorrels (o...@worldnet.att.net)
Timothy.Pote...@moa.net (T Poterek)
ktchap...@ipass.net (KT Chapman)
awei...@foto.infi.net (D Weiske)
user429...@aol.com (User429908)
s...@ntr.net (SA Stovall)
anda...@unm.edu
ronj...@ipass.net (R Jack)
kmerk...@usit.net (K Merkley)
Some people have mentioned specific Joes that they'll sell, but in the interest of bandwidth, I'll just list what's been offered. Note that these folks are doing this to help out other _Collectors_ and resellers are not welcome.
Joes that can still be had at cost are:
KB MP (limited)
Target Generals (somewhat limited)
Target Admirals (limited)
CC Infantry (hair / skin colors may be limited)
CC SAS (hair / skin colors may be limited)
CC ODF (all types)
CC HALO (all types)
You can contact me with specific needs and I'll put out a call to the GI Joe Price Police. Thanks much."
The Price Police were now on patrol and doing their job. Here's an example of one potential scalper stopped in his tracks and turned to the force for good.
"From: Normandie
Date: Sat, Jan 11 1997
I first subscibed to this news group about 6 weeks ago and the first thing I did was try to scalp some new Joes I had picked up. I was new to the group and to collecting Joes. As you may suspect I was beat up pretty bad and responded in kind. My feelings were hurt and I did not understand all the hard feelings. Since then I have just sat back and quietly watched and read everyones postings. I slowly began to understand everyones fellings on this matter. Not only do I totally agree with you all now but I don't even buy the new stuff anymore. I have rediscovered my old Joes and have been going nuts getting as much vintage stuff as I can get my hands on.
I guess what I really wanted to say was, sorry to start off on the wrong foot. I am sorry for using bad language, and most of all sorry of depriving some great kid of getting a new Joe. Hope you all can forgive me.
Long live the spirit of Joe,
Dan"
One more thing was needed though. The Price Police needed a home, or as is the case with the internet, a homepage. Richard once again stepped up to the plate.
"From: RIKnepper
Date: Thurs, Jan 23 1997
The Price Police now has a web site, located at
http://members.aol.com/riknepper/gijoe/joe.htm
The Price Police are dedicated to eradicating scalpers of currently available Joes, and helping members of alt.toys.gi-joe better aware of current market values (as opposed to those listed in AFN&TR and White's)
You can join the Police (now nearly 20 strong!) using a webform on the site.
You can also rate your Joes using the on-line survey, and see the results in the 'Hall of Fame'
Check out the site and let me know what you think. Also, any suggestions for improvement would be appreciated. Thanks."
As of this writing, the hyperlink above is still live and the website online. There you will find the Price Police Charter:
* Sell currently available GI-Joes at cost plus shipping
* Help out other members of the Price Police
* Help out other readers of the alt.toys.gi-joe newsgroup
* Keep all usenet users informed of fair market values for GI-Joes
* Aggressively pursue and eradicate scalpers on alt.toys.gi-joe
It has been several years since the website was last updated. In the summer of 1998, Richard's daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor and he left the web to attend to the needs of his family. Today, there may be only a few Sandboxers who are aware the Price Police ever existed. Nevertheless, their legacy lives on. The Sandbox tradition continues to be to offer GI Joes and other 1/6 products for cost plus shipping. In some cases, Sandboxers have been known to offer some things for less than cost, or solely for the price of shipping, or altogether free. That is known as "Sandbox Karma", of which I'll write another time.
So the next time you wonder why Sandboxers are so fanatical about "cost plus shipping", remember it is in great part due to Richard Knepper and the Price Police.
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