Hot Wheels are an iconic toy car, made since 1968 they have now produced over six billion cars, and over 20,000 unique designs. With that many cars out in the world you would be forgiven for thinking that there is no way anyone would collect these toys, but you would be completely wrong.
While the price of buying any of the new diecast metal toys has stayed pretty close to the original $1, for collectors certain specimens can be worth anything from $10 for a more common collectable to over $150,000 for something so rare that there are in theory only two in existence (this is the 1969 Beach Bomb, and there are claims that there are actually forty in existence).
Why Are They So Popular?
As a toy, they are cheap, fun and pretty much indestructible. Yes, the doors may get ripped off, and the wheels often ended up chewed by a younger sibling, but for the most part the worst that happened was a bit of wear and tear on the paintwork. This simple concept for a toy has been the cause of creative play for over 50 years and are completely gender neutral, making them an excellent gift choice for modern children who are otherwise bombarded with gendered toys.
However, as collectors’ items they are even more interesting. The company does produce limited edition, items designed to appeal to collectors more than children, which get snapped up pretty fast by passionate collectors and put into a hot wheels protective case in the hope that it will someday increase in value.
Despite the rather blatant marketing ploy by the company, the main focus for die hard collectors is on scouring second-hand shops, junk stores and online sites to find those rare cars that have been lost in a toybox for a decade or so.
Are They All Valuable?
Like any collectable, the collection is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay, and while at the moment these are a popular item, pre-1990 they were worth little more than the original purchase price in most cases.
There are people who are truly obsessed and aim to have every single model released, while others are looking for a particular subset. Again, knowing their audience well, the company has created different lines that bring back classics or fit certain subsets such as race cars. Some people appreciate this and enjoy having a complete collection, for others who are wanting to do this as an investment rather than for pure joy it is seen as a move that devalues their own accumulated investment.
If you are looking at getting to hot wheels as a form of investment you will need to do some research before you spend too much on it. There are a lot of people doing restorations of older models, and while you may initially see this as a good thing, a lot of the value in the original model comes from certain features of the paintwork, so any restoration will actually devalue to model.
Read More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Wheels
Generally you aren’t going to make a huge profit if you just buy whatever is out in the latest catalog, however if you have the time, energy and resources to spend a lot of time looking through old junk shops then you might be so lucky. If you want to get into this then you will need to pick your shops carefully. While the old dusty junk shop with stuff everywhere may look like the perfect place to score a bargain, that is really just good marketing. Most of the owners of these stores know exactly what they have, and what it is worth. They are also in the business to make a profit so if they find a rare collectable, chances are high that they will have already sold it on ebay.
However, if you go to a second-hand shop that is staffed by volunteers with goods that are donated and sold to help fund their activities, you may find yourself the recipient of a true bit of treasure. While you are unlikely (although never say never) to find something that is in pristine condition in its original box, finding something that is a true collectable quite literally in the bottom of a box of toys, is not so far fetched.
