Some things that hurt a hobby

[Plasticated Guy]

For those of you that don't know, my job is courtesy clerk in grocery retail. And part of the items that the general merchandise department puts out are toys. Part of the toys are Hot Wheels cars. At one point there was a glitch that resulted in a double order of these and four bins of them were set up near the checklanes. One day I noticed two people digging deep through bins and placing stacks of the cars into a shopping cart. I thought that maybe they were looking for a certain car that caught their eye or just looking in general.

Not exactly. I found out from one of cashiers that were at one of the self-checkouts across from the bins that these people were on the phone while looking for certain cars that were considered "rare" so they could resell them probably at a higher price. 

Doesn't moments like this hurt a hobby in some way? Wouldn't it cause prices to increase for the average consumer who collects with passion among creating other problems? 

[PowerPlant]

Not sure how people buying models/toy cars or whatever, no matter the reason, hurts the hobby. Once I buy something, I get to do with it what I want, including selling it for twice as much, providing someone is willing to pay for it of course. Sorry, but I don’t see a problem. As a model manufacturer, all I would care about is people buying my product. The only thing that can hurt any branch of business is merchandise not selling. 

[Mark]

"Rare" in Hot Wheels terms means they probably made "only" two million, as opposed to three or four million.  The hoarders/resellers have been doing that for many years.  This happens with "collectible" figures also.

Tactics range from checking stores every day (how much time/gas are they wasting?) to knowing someone who works at the store, and having them set aside the "good" items before they get on the racks.

Some stores (Target was one, don't know if they still do it) try to discourage hoarders/resellers by punching holes in the hanging card packaging to deface it, making it less desirable to collectors.

[Plasticated Guy]

Mark, that's basically what these two individuals were doing. They were still going at it after my shift was over, so I don't know what happened after I left the store. 

[bobthehobbyguy]

13 hours ago, Mark said:

 

Tactics range from checking stores every day (how much time/gas are they wasting?) to knowing someone who works at the store, and having them set aside the "good" items before they get on the racks.

I agree. I also doubt they are making very little from all the effort. In addition they are tying up there money till they can be sold.

[BlackSheep214]

Heh... reminds me of the days where Starting Lineups sports figures were highly sought after. We used to.go.on the hunt for that elusive superstar figure at Toys R Us, KayBee Toy and Hobby, JM Fields/Bradlees/Target, and other retail stores at the time.

Is it wrong? Does it really matter to you if you're not a Hot Wheels collector? No different than sports trading cards, Legos (yes, Legos. Once a certain subject is discontinued,  it's harder to find and pricey), even model kits.

[iamsuperdan]

Nah, that doesn't hurt a hobby.

 

What will hurt/kill a hobby is when the old timers are total jerks to the newbies.

[stitchdup]

Theres people like that in every hobby. How many of the recent hellcats were bought to stash away in the hope they are worth money in future. Then theres the guys that pre buy supercars just to sell on their place in the queue or sell the car without even driving it. They are the same as the guys going through the bins to find the rare ones. If it wasn't profitable none of these folks would do it so it must be good for the hobby. not for us buying them, but it drives up demand and interest

[Ace-Garageguy]

55 minutes ago, iamsuperdan said:

...What will hurt/kill a hobby is when the old timers are total jerks to the newbies.

It's been my experience that in any endeavor where there's a disparity in age and experience, there are old hands that seem to feel the need to dump on noobs.

Nothing unusual, just an unfortunate manifestation of one of the more negative aspects of human nature.

[Can-Con]

A good buddy of mine worked at Toys R Us back about 30 years ago. I remember him telling me about people doing that back then. They'd find out when the new shipment came in and hit the racks as soon as the store opened looking for the "treasure hunt" cars and any other rare ones. 

Hasn't seemed to have affected Hot Wheels in any way I can see.

[Can-Con]

, , , and I don't think anyone's gonna score a $175.000 Beach Bomb out of a discount bin nowadays.😁

[atomicholiday]

31 minutes ago, Can-Con said:

, , , and I don't think anyone's gonna score a $175.000 Beach Bomb out of a discount bin nowadays.😁

Love those old red lines!👍

[vamach1]

10 hours ago, Can-Con said:

A good buddy of mine worked at Toys R Us back about 30 years ago. I remember him telling me about people doing that back then. They'd find out when the new shipment came in and hit the racks as soon as the store opened looking for the "treasure hunt" cars and any other rare ones. 

Hasn't seemed to have affected Hot Wheels in any way I can see.

I collect all brands of diecast and there are certain cars I’ve never seen in the stores and only on Ebay or swap meets as people that see them buy multiples (as many as are on the pegs) to resell.  I have never bought more than three of the same car  -one to open, one to leave in the package and occasionally and extra one to trade.  Hotwheels encourages the high resale prices of certain editions by having conventions catering to the diehard collectors.  Personally I have better things to do than drive from store to store looking for cars that I know have already been picked over by an early bird shopper or someone with an inside connection.

[PowerPlant]

I don’t normally buy Hot Wheels, but I came across this today at my local supermarket, while grocery shopping, and I love this car, so I had to splash out eur 2.60 for it 😎 That said, not knowing much about this hobby, I imagine Hot Wheels maintain their value as collectibles only if kept in original packaging blister? Also, I am not looking to make a million bucks flipping the Mercedes, I’m keeping it for myself, but I am just curious how one determines potential future value with these, so much so to buy them all up as described in first post? Thanks in advance for any insight!

[BlackSheep214]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.hallsguide.com/price-guide-index/amp/

 

https://hwpriceguide.com/

Edited July 13, 2023 by BlackSheep214

[PowerPlant]

Thanks for the links! So, from what I gather, only the “treasure hunt” cars are worth anything, at least from the current lineup. I have not looked into older series. So, in that sense, if anything, Hot Wheels themselves encourage the rummaging activity mentioned in original post. It’s a challenge of sorts, I guess, and fair dues to whomever comes across one of these special edition cars, regardless of what they choose to do with it; keep it for the collection or resell it for whatever price it goes for on the secondhand market… which, from what I can tell, can be around 100 dollars or so. Either way, I definitely do not see this as something that could hurt the hobby. If anything, it makes it more interesting and attracts people to it. It certainly roused my interest for Hot Wheels and I now have a small collection going, which I can see spiralling rapidly out of control🙈 so, definitely not in it for the flipping game, but I can’t say I won’t be more vigilant about rummaging through Hot Wheels bins on the lookout for them elusive “treasure hunt” cars from now on 🤓

Edited July 13, 2023 by PowerPlant

[BlackSheep214]

Yup. It's the same with baseball cards - the whole market is flooded. Only chase cards hold value. I used to collect baseball cards and stopped collecting 25 years ago. Folks paying stupid money for high end baseball card packs. Dealers aren't any better charging ridiculous prices on single cards. 

I get it with older vintage cards from the eary beginnings, 50s thru the mid 90s then until the steroid era kicked in. 

 

[redscampi]

The unfortunate truth about any modern collectible made specifically to collect is that it's only value is artificially created. There is no historic, or intrinsic value to any of the many items made for the collector's market. Since any perceived value is created by artificial scarcity, it will inevitably collapse. Years ago my neighbor's wife was left holding dozens of worthless "rare" beanie babies, each in their clear plastic collector boxes.  A young co-worker of mine is busy collecting "exclusive" Funco-pop bobble head dolls.  How many young people do you know that have binders full of "Magic the Gathering" rare cards? - You can't give them away in most cases. A few astute folks may get some real money for these items in the short term, but mainly they'll all soon be decorating the shelves at your local charity organization.

Don't collect things for their potential monetary value - collect because you enjoy them.

[Rob Hall]

18 hours ago, PowerPlant said:

I don’t normally buy Hot Wheels, but I came across this today at my local supermarket, while grocery shopping, and I love this car, so I had to splash out eur 2.60 for it 😎 That said, not knowing much about this hobby, I imagine Hot Wheels maintain their value as collectibles only if kept in original packaging blister? Also, I am not looking to make a million bucks flipping the Mercedes, I’m keeping it for myself, but I am just curious how one determines potential future value with these, so much so to buy them all up as described in first post? Thanks in advance for any insight!

I've collected Hot Wheels since childhood in the 70s, always looking for interesting new releases, not a completist by any measure.  That 560 AMG looks sweet...one of my favorite '80s M-Bs, have to look for that one.

[Rob Hall]

On 7/11/2023 at 12:27 PM, Can-Con said:

A good buddy of mine worked at Toys R Us back about 30 years ago. I remember him telling me about people doing that back then. They'd find out when the new shipment came in and hit the racks as soon as the store opened looking for the "treasure hunt" cars and any other rare ones. 

Hasn't seemed to have affected Hot Wheels in any way I can see.

Yeah, I remember when the Treasure Hunts first appeared...my late brother was a night manager at a Wal-Mart, he'd go through the new shipments of HWs and keep the Treasure Hunts for himself... 

I remember going into a Target or Wal-Mart in the mid 90s and seeing two older guys that looked homeless that were fighting over Treasure Hunts in the toy aisle...

Edited July 13, 2023 by Rob Hall

[PowerPlant]

2 hours ago, redscampi said:

Don't collect things for their potential monetary value - collect because you enjoy them.

I could not agree more!

2 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

I've collected Hot Wheels since childhood in the 70s, always looking for interesting new releases, not a completist by any measure.  That 560 AMG looks sweet...one of my favorite '80s M-Bs, have to look for that one.

There are, fortunately, a lot of cars I’m not into, far from having to collect them all. I’d like to bag the 73 Porsche Carrera RS and that’s about it for this year’s run as far as I’m concerned. The Merc, if I gathered correctly, since I’m completely new to Hot Wheels (not counting hurling them down stairs as a kid 🙈), is a new edition. There is also a silver one, apparently, but this is the only one I could find. Definitely my favorite, along with the Magnus Walker Porsche 😎

Edited July 13, 2023 by PowerPlant

[bobthehobbyguy]

The  best rule of thumb is buy what you like, not becuase it might be valuable. First off if they tell you something is collectible it isn't.  Something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay. 

[BlackSheep214]

1 hour ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

The  best rule of thumb is buy what you like, not becuase it might be valuable. First off if they tell you something is collectible it isn't.  Something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay. 

Yup. I've grabbed a few HW in the past (loose and in blister packs) because I liked them as classic muscle cars.

 

Heck, I still have my old HotWheels and Matchbox cars from my youth years. I passed them down to my son when he played with them as a kid all the time. I still have them - including the original Thundershift track. LOL!

Edited July 14, 2023 by BlackSheep214

[Mark]

If the item in question has a bar code on the package, in general the value will drop off at some point.  Most times, the first reseller will come out ahead, but that's about it.

NASCAR diecasts are another example.  People who loaded up on those are finding out that current fans and "collectors" don't care who won some race twenty years ago.

[RSchnell]

7 hours ago, Mark said:

If the item in question has a bar code on the package, in general the value will drop off at some point.  Most times, the first reseller will come out ahead, but that's about it.

NASCAR diecasts are another example.  People who loaded up on those are finding out that current fans and "collectors" don't care who won some race twenty years ago.

I think that holds true with Nascar stuff in general. I see so much of that stuff at swap meets dirt cheap, with no buyers.