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Hot Wheels are one of the most inflation-proof toys in American history

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31–40 of 79 posts

Re: Hot Wheels are one of the most inflation-proof toys in American history

#31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is pretty evident across the board. I loved my toys as a child so i kept a lot of them. Plastic was way better. The one they have now is super shitty. I go to toys r us and I am disappointed constantly. I'm ready to pay a decent price, there is just nothing worth (beside lego probably)

Modern Transformers are amazing. Way better than in the '80s. You have to buy the collector-targeted stuff, though. The current line is called Legacy. If you are willing to pay, the Masterpiece line is also excellent, and there are fantastic third-party transformers as well: these have lots of metal, ratcheting joints, complex transformations, and usually cost over $100, up to $300. I will plug https://tfsource.com/…

The problem with collector models is that they break way more easily. Also $300 means I can buy stuff the caliber of Soul of Chokogin ( https://live.staticflickr.com/5553/15149130081_124d4867f0_b.... ), which is super high quality. Or I might as well buy some of the power ranger mechas from my days, to inspire some interest in mechanics.

My daughter did fall in love with a small Gundam SD she built "oh I have an action figure too now!!!", but she of course want to play with it, she doesn't love the fact that's just in the display case.

Re: Hot Wheels are one of the most inflation-proof toys in American history

#32
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is pretty evident across the board. I loved my toys as a child so i kept a lot of them. Plastic was way better. The one they have now is super shitty. I go to toys r us and I am disappointed constantly. I'm ready to pay a decent price, there is just nothing worth (beside lego probably)

if you want great toys i recommend shops that stock old toys. they of course come at a premium, but the quality is generally much better. places like mandarake in tokyo come to mind, but there are many out there.

I used to play a lot with the power ranger mechas and those made from Bandai are incredible quality, unless you are up for the modern metal ones, but those cost SO much.

Re: Hot Wheels are one of the most inflation-proof toys in American history

#33
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is pretty evident across the board. I loved my toys as a child so i kept a lot of them. Plastic was way better. The one they have now is super shitty. I go to toys r us and I am disappointed constantly. I'm ready to pay a decent price, there is just nothing worth (beside lego probably)

Tomica is another choice.

WOW, some stuff here looks amazing, thank you!

Re: Hot Wheels are one of the most inflation-proof toys in American history

#34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is pretty evident across the board. I loved my toys as a child so i kept a lot of them. Plastic was way better. The one they have now is super shitty. I go to toys r us and I am disappointed constantly. I'm ready to pay a decent price, there is just nothing worth (beside lego probably)

Modern Transformers are amazing. Way better than in the '80s. You have to buy the collector-targeted stuff, though. The current line is called Legacy. If you are willing to pay, the Masterpiece line is also excellent, and there are fantastic third-party transformers as well: these have lots of metal, ratcheting joints, complex transformations, and usually cost over $100, up to $300. I will plug https://tfsource.com/…

Sorry I forgot to mention, independently of my comment, that suggestion is good, I saw a bunch of cool designs.

The funny thing is that everything that actually looks good is marketed at collectors.

The problem is also that my children are still young, so I need stuff with some resistance, somewhat.

Re: Hot Wheels are one of the most inflation-proof toys in American history

#35
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is pretty evident across the board. I loved my toys as a child so i kept a lot of them. Plastic was way better. The one they have now is super shitty. I go to toys r us and I am disappointed constantly. I'm ready to pay a decent price, there is just nothing worth (beside lego probably)

if you want great toys i recommend shops that stock old toys. they of course come at a premium, but the quality is generally much better. places like mandarake in tokyo come to mind, but there are many out there.

Anything around Canada (or north america)? Does mandarake ship to Canada?

Re: Hot Wheels are one of the most inflation-proof toys in American history

#36
post #13

Experiencing inflation in my lifetime has been interesting. When I was a kid in the 80s, a quarter meant a Hershey's bar or a game of Pac-Man. I remember my dad telling me that when he was a kid, Hershey's were a nickel, and a lot larger. Of course I didn't believe him. Then over the years candy just jumped up in price every decade. 50 cents, then 75, then it stalled at $1 for a long time it seemed, to today's $1.50.…

You have to post the inflationary measure of the nickel at some basis of purchasing parity. I'm not sure either chocolate or arcade games can do it. It's quite likely both have undergone huge expected shifts in the basket of goods informing inflation. The decline of metal money plays a bit here too. I was really shocked when I realised that the only coins I am using feed meters and buskers. I haven't withdrawn money…

One unexpected side benefit of having left the Old Country is that (the smallest folding denomination being larger than 1) coins are actually worth something: small shop purchase, short taxi ride, quick snack, etc.

Re: Hot Wheels are one of the most inflation-proof toys in American history

#37
post #7

We have hot wheels from my brother-in-law’s childhood and the cars made ~30 years ago are much higher quality. All metal, better axels, just feel more hefty. The new ones are mostly plastic and the axels are like cheap paper clips. They weigh significantly less. I see this as an example of “shrinkflation” - ostensibly it’s the same product at the same price, but it’s clear that inflation has caused it to become shitt…

If you want similar toys that are higher quality, I highly recommend Japanese Tomica. They also usually have doors that open. Loads of variety. I believe in the US you can now buy them at Walmart, but they're not too difficult to order from Amazon JP either (just make a new Amazon account with your same or different email as the US or wherever account and confirm the seller ships globally).

Tomica is also 4 times more expensive.

If you want really high quality there’s even nicer german brands (Siku), with rubber wheels and all.

All made in China though :/

Re: Hot Wheels are one of the most inflation-proof toys in American history

#38

Can't say the same about LEGOs. The LEGO company just raised prices 10-25% across the board. Glad to see Hot Wheels resisting the temptation to gouge customers and stay timeless. Top-selling LEGO sets (those between $20 - $70) got hit the hardest with inflation this year. Looking at the newly released sets coming out Jan 1st, there are several new sets priced at $30 that would have previously been $20, so you could a…

I absolutely want Lego to raise the prices if that means they don’t compromise on quality.

Re: Hot Wheels are one of the most inflation-proof toys in American history

#39
post #27
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The knockoff brands have issues fitting together due to lower tolerances and QA issues. [1] [2] LEGO bricks are built to a completely insane tolerance for a children's toy. 10 micrometers, according to the company. Have you ever found a single LEGO piece that was defective and didn't fit into another one snugly? I've been playing with them for 25 years and I don't think I've found a single one. IMO, LEGO is expensive…

Good points about tolerance. LEGO wasn't a nerdy toy though; it had the same mass-appeal that minecraft did/does. Also this LEGO ad from 1981: https://imgur.com/xwAsW56

This ad was the subject of a debate a few years back about what's happened to LEGO in general - it's large scale shift to licensed properties, and specifically the introduction of specific girl-targeted LEGO sets.

This seems like the best article I could find on it: https://mashable.com/archive/girl-1981-lego-ad-found

Also, there is this really great monologue on LEGO from Community, delivered by Michael K. Williams that is delightful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVCOAFKjaoY

Re: Hot Wheels are one of the most inflation-proof toys in American history

#40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern Transformers are amazing. Way better than in the '80s. You have to buy the collector-targeted stuff, though. The current line is called Legacy. If you are willing to pay, the Masterpiece line is also excellent, and there are fantastic third-party transformers as well: these have lots of metal, ratcheting joints, complex transformations, and usually cost over $100, up to $300. I will plug https://tfsource.com/…

The problem with collector models is that they break way more easily. Also $300 means I can buy stuff the caliber of Soul of Chokogin ( https://live.staticflickr.com/5553/15149130081_124d4867f0_b.... ), which is super high quality. Or I might as well buy some of the power ranger mechas from my days, to inspire some interest in mechanics. My daughter did fall in love with a small Gundam SD she built "oh I have an acti…

I'm not talking about model kits: I'm talking about high-quality toys. In my experience toys from Hasbro's Masterpiece line, as well as toys from third party-companies from like FansToys and Mastermind Creations easily exceed the build quality of Bandai.

For example, comparing my FansToys Stomp ( https://tfsource.com/fanstoys/stomp/ ) to my DX Chogokin Macross VF-1J, there's no contest: the FansToys is more durable, better articulated, with a more interesting transformation. It's just a better toy. I have Daltanius and other SoC toys as well, and they are fine, but they seem primitive in comparison to, say, Hasbro's MP-44 Optimus Prime.

Having said that, they are not children's toys. For kids I would recommend Studio Series ( https://tfsource.com/hasbro/transformers-studio-series-86/ ).

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