Over the last two years, the prices for used cars grew so quickly and so aggressively, that they actually created a wave of inflation that the rest of the economy is dealing with today. It turns out that miniature scale models are having their own, miniature version of this problem, too.
As the supply of Hot Wheels shrank through the pandemic, and more and more people had the opportunity to get into the hobby, collectors have started noticing that prices for their Hot Wheels are going up, according to a report from Jalopnik.
To be clear, prices for new Hot Wheels are the same as they were in 1982 – an astonishing feat in its own right, given inflation – at $1.29 for the most basic models. Mattel, though, does charge a little more ($7 to $15) for models under the “Car Culture” and “Team Transport” mode lines, which are targeted to collectors and adults.
Read: Warner Brothers Announces Live-Action Hot Wheels Film
During the pandemic, it was hard to find any of these models because of production issues, supply chain snarls, and other factors. But Hot Wheels can still be hard to find today, even though those issues have largely cleared up. That, collectors say, is because of resellers.
“Before the pandemic, I could walk into Walmart at 9:00 [p.m.], raid a pallet and get everything that I could ever want. Nowadays, no way,” said one collector called Frank, who spoke to Jalopnik. “I walk in and there’s now three people that have been waiting since 7:00 for the pallet to come out. I don’t know about you, but I have better things to do than wait for three hours every single night at a damn Walmart.”
Frank said that this kind of behavior started in the wake of the pandemic, as all kinds of people decided to start collecting. He adds that with the new influx of collectors and resellers, the Hot Wheels community has become much less collaborative.
“It would be really common for me to make a quick stop into Target or something, only to see another collector and just talk about what we found, or any customs we’re working on, for like an hour,” Frank explained.
Now, though, there are videos on YouTube that promise to teach watchers how to make $300 a month reselling Hot Wheels. While those claims are dubious at best, some collectors do say that reselling is a good way to offset the cost of their habit and mostly pay for their models.
Although Hot Wheels are by no means the only product affected by resellers – look at PS5s, sneakers, and more – the consensus among the toys’ collectors seems to be that the hobby has become less fun. That said, it can now be easier to find certain models online, if they’re willing to pay a little more.
