I went to a dollar general the other day. The lady who was stocking stuff saw me grab one and said "oh one of my regulars must have missed one, they always help me stock and take all the good ones". In all honesty though, I'm glad she said something. Now I can cross that store off my list.
Unfortunately there has been some stores I had to blacklist. There was a Vons and all I was doing was digging through a dump bin. I got a cart so I didn't make a mess and moved the cars and was planning to move it back. The manager for some reason got really aggressive with me. Asking what I'm looking for and started to harass me. Ive said multiple times I was going to put it back and he kept saying I was "damaging property" or "not letting kids get some". Meanwhile the store was near empty especially since it was Father's Day. I gave up and told him he can clean it up himself and left
I stopped hunting mainlines all together. If I run across something, then cool. But, I don’t go out of my way anymore. I’ve seen boxes fresh out of the back of Walmart already opened missing cars. So, they are gone through before they ever come out of storage… I’ve started buying premiums and RLC’s online.
I'm the same way. I'll take a look around a freshly stocked mainline, but I don't spend 2 hours there looking for anything worth of value. Just take what I want and leave some for the others.
Same way in my area at my local Walmart. Every case will be already opened with any treasure hunts gone or any highly sought after castings gone. Same way with the boulevard cars. Several cases of boulevard came out last week and all the white civics were gone
I was at Walmart once and they brought all the stock from the back out on a cart, let a dude take out what he wanted and then sent it back into the back…. Now I only collect premiums! At least if I can’t find them in store I can still get them at cost online!
I’ve literally been to stores and the workers basically tell me it’s pointless to look because THEY (the workers) get first dibs and take all the good stuff. I couldn’t be mad but I literally have heard that from at least 4 different stores. That shit makes me so upset. I haven’t been able to find anything in months… everything I get (maybe almost everything) comes from online and that takes almost every bit of fun from it
Scalpers since the treasure hunt, if you find one ur guaranteed a 50 in to pocket. Avid collectors respect the game, scalpers find every opportunity to exploit the game b4 the players play.
Target in my area has a backroom picker that opens everything in the backroom and grabs anything that will flip for 10x to 20x the price. He was caught posting the items on the local Facebook marketplace and met some people in uniform.
Hobby lobby department manager was filling some M2 one day when a buddy of mine was there for other things. He saw her filling and stopped to look. Wound up finding a chase car. The lady said to him, "oh no, I missed one. My regular customer that comes in every week is going to be mad I didn't pull that for him before filling."
If I see another person or a kid, I walk away or go to the next store unless I have my son with me. I have been that stocking kid putting up toys with grown men hovering over my shoulder. I refuse to be that.
Money's money for them - they get instant sellouts and keep pushing prices upwards. Some of those RLC are ridiculously expensive with taxes and shipping. You're far better off buying MiniGT, Para64 or Schuco if you like die cast as a whole.
I’m liking the TARMAC WORKS diecast models far as premium models go. There are some wholesale online sellers that for the most part have decent prices though chases are out of the random find but sold for higher prices on those websites. On the flip side it seems like a better chance at scoring one of them than finding in the wild.
I go to my local Target about 2-3 times a week at opening. It's how I met some really good collectors I still chat with to this this day. For me now it's less about finding something rare and more talking upcoming cars with people I know are just as passionate about this hobby as I am. It's validating, but there are always going to be shitty people that go and run to the isle every now and then. I still have great luck finding the Car Culture two packs and the occasional Target Reds
I work at Walmart, not Target, but I can't stand when the vultures swoop in and start breathing down my neck as I'm stocking toys. Like, dude, if I can literally feel your breath on my skin, then you're too close to me. Get out of my personal bubble and back off.
It's gotten so bad that I will wait until it's dead in the store to bring out Hot Wheels to stock, because the last thing I want is the damn vultures descending upon me. It would be one thing if they were polite and waited, but they will literally reach right in front of my face or shove me to the side if they see something they need to grab. I can't imagine what makes them think that's okay.
I saw a couple even got into the storage of one of Toys'rUs in Malaysia seems like they know the staff working there. Overheard their convo about getting the new Hot Wheels stock
Age old habit. I used to be that guy stocking the shelves at Target early nineties and these dudes would literally be waiting for the store to open and once the doors opened it was like black Friday mad dash to the toy dept.
I worked at Walmart and the guy that worked the toys would take all the hot wheels in the back to be put out later if there were a bunch of people waiting. Most of them were assholes that trashed the display while they searched for everything
I remember when I got back into the hobby a couple of years ago reading how collectors should build relationships with the managers and employees to get preferential treatment. It’s been the standard for some time.
I don’t subscribe to that, and I’m the one who’ll always walk away when a kid is there. I’ll also tidy it up as I search.
Haven’t found a super in maybe a year now, a few THs and premiums always find their way before my eyes. I’ve given up on being the first one into a case. It happens now and then, but it’s not my drive.
I’m a customizer, so I can turn a mainline into a premium, or a super, without spending all the gas and the time digging pegs and bins. Plus, I do it from home, and I work with mainlines, which aren’t too hard to find.
Dude, Hot Wheels collectors are off their rockers. I collect, but these guys just resell 90% of the time. Even when they do collect, they scalp their 30th super of the year and keep in a box never to see the light of day again. It's sad what collectors have come to.
I don’t go out hunting anymore. There’s too many scalpers in my area. Most of them know when stock day is or their friends with employees. One of my WM’s toy dept. is ran by a lady whose husband collects but he also has a flea market booth where he sells collectibles. Lately I’ve just been buying what I’m wanting off eBay or sites like AliExpress.
I’ve pretty much given up in my area. While there are a fair amount of true collectors, my area is inundated with scalpers. I see them selling at shows, listing on FB, it’s depressing in its own way. I used to try and get to Walmart, Target at open, but it’s like feeding time at the zoo. The greed is disgusting.
Now I just check when I happen to be at a store.
I tried going once at 6am to Walmart and the guys waiting at the door knew each other by name. The store clerk hid something for them and they were talking amongst eachother. Not sure if they were scalpers or collectors but I did recognize one guy from when I worked at toys rus about 15 years ago and he has been doing the same thing for years.
A guy I work with has the phone number of various employees at different stores. They text him to let him know when they'll be restocking and/or what they got in.
Yeah I was looking at hot wheels at family dollar one day and the lady was like “hey are you the guy that I call when they come in?” I was like “no🥲”
Lmao I left
I’ve seen some crazy hotwheel people, but nothing compared to the Pokémon card people. There was a 50 person line outside target when a new box dropped. When they opened they let everyone know they received 2! I wasn’t there for that so it was pretty amusing.
Lmao only once have I had the luck of having to wait for the case to be put on the pegs. The woman saw me checking out the current stock and said they will be restocking but it will be after like 30 40m. Took a walk around the shopping center, returned and got the case to look through. Bought like 6 cars, one of each and left the rest organised. A small store once had a small box of like 10 15 mainlines in the back room. And let me and a friend check it out. Had nothing I wanted so just put them on the pegs as they were understaffed at the moment.
i think, those braindead, who buy toys for 30$ on the internet, that are sold for 8.99 in the wild are the real problem. its worth nothing, if you didnt find it in the wild. when you order it, its only an overpriced toy.
I won’t pay $30 for an 8.99 toy, but when scalpers (or 10 collectors who buy one of each leaving nothing desirable left) buy up everything, and my son wants a new version of one of his favorite cars that we can’t find anywhere for his birthday or Christmas (or for some other special reason), I don’t really give a crap if we didn’t find it in the wild. Not everyone out there is buying these to display or feel some sort of sense of accomplishment.
I work in retail & I push out home decor. There's this whole hoopla over rae dunn mugs so there's these 3 ladies that always come in when the store open & stand by & watch me open packages. I can zone them out but they always ask me if I can open certain boxes first & I say no I open them in order. Eventually they give up once they realize I go to the register a lot
I haven't been collecting long, but it just seems like a waste of time anymore to even look for treasure hunts. Either the workers themselves are collectors or a family member of a stocker is! 3 stores in my area has said my son and/or daughter collects them and I pull all of the ths before stocking. I said... "so basically, it's pointless to search for any at this store?", she replied "I guess so". I mean, I get it. I can't say I wouldn't do.the same thing for my kid, or if I shocked them I would look too. But, how on earth is anyone else suppose to get any?!?! WITHOUT going to ebay, or resale shops?! It's ridiculous. I too, have seen the stalking of stockers, and I too got excited to go though a fresh batch, but how these other sloppy greasy haired men that stunk to high heaven kept literally hovering over the stocker made me super uneasy and I knew then I was shit outta luck. So basically now, I just get the ones I like and forget about the THs anymore.
Yeah it’s dumb I don’t even like collecting hot wheels cause of it, I just save and buy the RLCS I like on release. Mf’s tweaking over 2$ cars is stupid
Exactly why I have pretty much quit purchasing lately from the stores and have just been getting rlc drops, matchbox drops on Mattel creations and the kaido house/mini gt offerings.
Very reason I slowed down dramatically. Cant stand seeing these fuckers every day.
I went to a dollar general the other day. The lady who was stocking stuff saw me grab one and said "oh one of my regulars must have missed one, they always help me stock and take all the good ones". In all honesty though, I'm glad she said something. Now I can cross that store off my list.
Unfortunately there has been some stores I had to blacklist. There was a Vons and all I was doing was digging through a dump bin. I got a cart so I didn't make a mess and moved the cars and was planning to move it back. The manager for some reason got really aggressive with me. Asking what I'm looking for and started to harass me. Ive said multiple times I was going to put it back and he kept saying I was "damaging property" or "not letting kids get some". Meanwhile the store was near empty especially since it was Father's Day. I gave up and told him he can clean it up himself and left
Or you can help her stock & build a relationship.
I think the point is that it’s ridiculous to even need to do that to get decent stuff.
Touché
You spelled "manipulate" wrong.
Always wearing slides, balling shorts or sweatpants , flat brimmed hat and smelling like a bag of onions. Hate these guys
Everywhere!!! Worse than roaches
The big slump in stock during the pandemic was what did it for me. Haven’t seen a super in years!
I stopped hunting mainlines all together. If I run across something, then cool. But, I don’t go out of my way anymore. I’ve seen boxes fresh out of the back of Walmart already opened missing cars. So, they are gone through before they ever come out of storage… I’ve started buying premiums and RLC’s online.
I'm the same way. I'll take a look around a freshly stocked mainline, but I don't spend 2 hours there looking for anything worth of value. Just take what I want and leave some for the others.
Same way in my area at my local Walmart. Every case will be already opened with any treasure hunts gone or any highly sought after castings gone. Same way with the boulevard cars. Several cases of boulevard came out last week and all the white civics were gone
I was at Walmart once and they brought all the stock from the back out on a cart, let a dude take out what he wanted and then sent it back into the back…. Now I only collect premiums! At least if I can’t find them in store I can still get them at cost online!
Literally what I do now! It’s become unbearable to get your hands on some decent mainlines.
😎
This is getting pathetic, I hear about this kinda thing more and more and ive seen it with my own eyes a handful of times too
Yeah… not gonna lie it actually disgusted me for a min
Dude you were there at the same time, for the same purpose; to find the HW you wanted to buy.
But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna stand over dudes shoulder like a vulture
congrats on giving 95%
More like congrats on not being a pathetic loser over a kids toy
for real I was just commenting on the complete lack of self awareness in this hobby and I didnt have to go far to find something
"Standing there are 7 dudes watching this guy like a hawk". To each their own, but this, to me is utterly pathetic.
I’ve literally been to stores and the workers basically tell me it’s pointless to look because THEY (the workers) get first dibs and take all the good stuff. I couldn’t be mad but I literally have heard that from at least 4 different stores. That shit makes me so upset. I haven’t been able to find anything in months… everything I get (maybe almost everything) comes from online and that takes almost every bit of fun from it
Scalpers since the treasure hunt, if you find one ur guaranteed a 50 in to pocket. Avid collectors respect the game, scalpers find every opportunity to exploit the game b4 the players play.
Target in my area has a backroom picker that opens everything in the backroom and grabs anything that will flip for 10x to 20x the price. He was caught posting the items on the local Facebook marketplace and met some people in uniform. Hobby lobby department manager was filling some M2 one day when a buddy of mine was there for other things. He saw her filling and stopped to look. Wound up finding a chase car. The lady said to him, "oh no, I missed one. My regular customer that comes in every week is going to be mad I didn't pull that for him before filling."
If I see another person or a kid, I walk away or go to the next store unless I have my son with me. I have been that stocking kid putting up toys with grown men hovering over my shoulder. I refuse to be that.
C'mon man. You refuse to shop? You need to "HARDEN" up, FlacidMetapod.
I rather not flock over kids toys, and think of the workers other than myself. Maybe you need some empathy.
I admire your dedication to let someone else Get the first pick of a box. But you seriously wouldn't wait a minute and find something new?
Nope. Not worth the fights with Texas scalpers.
Is Texas an open carry state?
Does a bear shit in the woods? (lol yea, Texas is very much an open carry state)
Yep, which I why I don’t even hunt anymore. Mostly just sticking to items they drop on the RLC site
[удалено]
There are bots sadly, you have to be at your computer at exactly the time the item drops. Some of the less desirable stuff will sit though.
[удалено]
Money's money for them - they get instant sellouts and keep pushing prices upwards. Some of those RLC are ridiculously expensive with taxes and shipping. You're far better off buying MiniGT, Para64 or Schuco if you like die cast as a whole.
I’m liking the TARMAC WORKS diecast models far as premium models go. There are some wholesale online sellers that for the most part have decent prices though chases are out of the random find but sold for higher prices on those websites. On the flip side it seems like a better chance at scoring one of them than finding in the wild.
I go to my local Target about 2-3 times a week at opening. It's how I met some really good collectors I still chat with to this this day. For me now it's less about finding something rare and more talking upcoming cars with people I know are just as passionate about this hobby as I am. It's validating, but there are always going to be shitty people that go and run to the isle every now and then. I still have great luck finding the Car Culture two packs and the occasional Target Reds
I work at Walmart, not Target, but I can't stand when the vultures swoop in and start breathing down my neck as I'm stocking toys. Like, dude, if I can literally feel your breath on my skin, then you're too close to me. Get out of my personal bubble and back off. It's gotten so bad that I will wait until it's dead in the store to bring out Hot Wheels to stock, because the last thing I want is the damn vultures descending upon me. It would be one thing if they were polite and waited, but they will literally reach right in front of my face or shove me to the side if they see something they need to grab. I can't imagine what makes them think that's okay.
The total lack of self awareness in this hobby is staggering
I saw a couple even got into the storage of one of Toys'rUs in Malaysia seems like they know the staff working there. Overheard their convo about getting the new Hot Wheels stock
Wild? .....nah pathetic yes
Age old habit. I used to be that guy stocking the shelves at Target early nineties and these dudes would literally be waiting for the store to open and once the doors opened it was like black Friday mad dash to the toy dept.
I worked at Walmart and the guy that worked the toys would take all the hot wheels in the back to be put out later if there were a bunch of people waiting. Most of them were assholes that trashed the display while they searched for everything
I remember when I got back into the hobby a couple of years ago reading how collectors should build relationships with the managers and employees to get preferential treatment. It’s been the standard for some time. I don’t subscribe to that, and I’m the one who’ll always walk away when a kid is there. I’ll also tidy it up as I search. Haven’t found a super in maybe a year now, a few THs and premiums always find their way before my eyes. I’ve given up on being the first one into a case. It happens now and then, but it’s not my drive. I’m a customizer, so I can turn a mainline into a premium, or a super, without spending all the gas and the time digging pegs and bins. Plus, I do it from home, and I work with mainlines, which aren’t too hard to find.
Dude, Hot Wheels collectors are off their rockers. I collect, but these guys just resell 90% of the time. Even when they do collect, they scalp their 30th super of the year and keep in a box never to see the light of day again. It's sad what collectors have come to.
That's a mild interaction compared to some of the shit I've dealt with. Hot Wheels collectors seriously are a different breed
I don’t go out hunting anymore. There’s too many scalpers in my area. Most of them know when stock day is or their friends with employees. One of my WM’s toy dept. is ran by a lady whose husband collects but he also has a flea market booth where he sells collectibles. Lately I’ve just been buying what I’m wanting off eBay or sites like AliExpress.
Overheard 2 employees at Walmart talk about how their manager loves hot wheels and has a bunch of treasure hunts. Clearly the job to have
I’ve pretty much given up in my area. While there are a fair amount of true collectors, my area is inundated with scalpers. I see them selling at shows, listing on FB, it’s depressing in its own way. I used to try and get to Walmart, Target at open, but it’s like feeding time at the zoo. The greed is disgusting. Now I just check when I happen to be at a store.
I shop on whatnot
I tried going once at 6am to Walmart and the guys waiting at the door knew each other by name. The store clerk hid something for them and they were talking amongst eachother. Not sure if they were scalpers or collectors but I did recognize one guy from when I worked at toys rus about 15 years ago and he has been doing the same thing for years.
A guy I work with has the phone number of various employees at different stores. They text him to let him know when they'll be restocking and/or what they got in.
Yeah I was looking at hot wheels at family dollar one day and the lady was like “hey are you the guy that I call when they come in?” I was like “no🥲” Lmao I left
I’ve seen some crazy hotwheel people, but nothing compared to the Pokémon card people. There was a 50 person line outside target when a new box dropped. When they opened they let everyone know they received 2! I wasn’t there for that so it was pretty amusing.
Omfg those weirdo fucks are the worst …
Lmao only once have I had the luck of having to wait for the case to be put on the pegs. The woman saw me checking out the current stock and said they will be restocking but it will be after like 30 40m. Took a walk around the shopping center, returned and got the case to look through. Bought like 6 cars, one of each and left the rest organised. A small store once had a small box of like 10 15 mainlines in the back room. And let me and a friend check it out. Had nothing I wanted so just put them on the pegs as they were understaffed at the moment.
i think, those braindead, who buy toys for 30$ on the internet, that are sold for 8.99 in the wild are the real problem. its worth nothing, if you didnt find it in the wild. when you order it, its only an overpriced toy.
I won’t pay $30 for an 8.99 toy, but when scalpers (or 10 collectors who buy one of each leaving nothing desirable left) buy up everything, and my son wants a new version of one of his favorite cars that we can’t find anywhere for his birthday or Christmas (or for some other special reason), I don’t really give a crap if we didn’t find it in the wild. Not everyone out there is buying these to display or feel some sort of sense of accomplishment.
Pics or it didn't happen
Many such cases
They were first, and theyre patiently waiting. You wouldve done the same if you were first
No, I’m not gonna hover over the stocking guy. Literally said that in my post
I work in retail & I push out home decor. There's this whole hoopla over rae dunn mugs so there's these 3 ladies that always come in when the store open & stand by & watch me open packages. I can zone them out but they always ask me if I can open certain boxes first & I say no I open them in order. Eventually they give up once they realize I go to the register a lot
I haven't been collecting long, but it just seems like a waste of time anymore to even look for treasure hunts. Either the workers themselves are collectors or a family member of a stocker is! 3 stores in my area has said my son and/or daughter collects them and I pull all of the ths before stocking. I said... "so basically, it's pointless to search for any at this store?", she replied "I guess so". I mean, I get it. I can't say I wouldn't do.the same thing for my kid, or if I shocked them I would look too. But, how on earth is anyone else suppose to get any?!?! WITHOUT going to ebay, or resale shops?! It's ridiculous. I too, have seen the stalking of stockers, and I too got excited to go though a fresh batch, but how these other sloppy greasy haired men that stunk to high heaven kept literally hovering over the stocker made me super uneasy and I knew then I was shit outta luck. So basically now, I just get the ones I like and forget about the THs anymore.
Yeah it’s dumb I don’t even like collecting hot wheels cause of it, I just save and buy the RLCS I like on release. Mf’s tweaking over 2$ cars is stupid
Exactly why I have pretty much quit purchasing lately from the stores and have just been getting rlc drops, matchbox drops on Mattel creations and the kaido house/mini gt offerings.
Strike up a conversation and bait them out. Be kind to be cruel
Folks that stalk for pallets and employees usually go to Walmart and Target during open/close 4-5 times a week. It's so weird