5 Reasons Why You're Better Off Not Collecting Hot Wheels

And that goes for anything in life, including hobbies. I have been collecting Hot Wheels for many years now. And I've gone through many phases, some better than others. I haven't stopped because it's still mostly a fun activity for me. But it's by no means perfect.

I've talked about the downsides of this hobby before. At some points, I've even been obsessed with it. But it helps to realize these shortcomings. You'll grow as a collector and ultimately feel even more rewarded. I will list the five reasons you're better off not collecting Hot Wheels.

Money

All the reasons I'll list here are interconnected. But money, or better put, the lack of it, is often time the greatest enemy. Regardless of your approach to the hobby, it can be costly to keep up with it. "But Dragos, Hot Wheels Mainline cars are only $2 or $3 a piece!" That's right, but how many of them is enough? Will you stop at 50 cars or 100? I've seen some people in recent years who bought 500 Hot Wheels within the first two months since they started collecting. And that quickly adds up to over $1,000. Of course, it's all relative in life.

If you make six or seven figures a year, you won't mind. But if you earn less than $10,000 a year, you can start seeing the problem. And it gets even worse if you only like Premium, Super Treasure Hunt, or Red Line Club models. When I interviewed Andy Goodman, I realized his collection of over 40,000 cars was worth more than his house.

Time

We all know that time is money. You should be aware of the amount of hours you'll spend on this hobby during a year. Add the time used for hunting, organizing, studying, socializing, and documenting the collectibles, and you might lose it. I still need to do the math, but I'll do it for the sake of this study. I visit one or two stores weekly for Hot Wheels items. That adds up to about two hours per week, over 100 of them yearly. Organizing takes less, about two hours per month, so 24 hours a year.

Studying the market and going through the news and the archives takes just as much time as hunting. Socializing adds up to another 50 hours every year. Documenting implies taking photos and videos, posting on social media channels, and keeping track of your collection. Think another 50 hours. That adds up to just over 320 hours or 13 days. I'm not even a hardcore collector, and Hot Wheels still takes almost 4% of my time each year.

Space

This one might not be as obvious to you if you don't already have a significant collection. But your computer desk won't be enough once you get into it. So, organizing a suitable space for your Hot Wheels will take money and time. You need time to find the proper display, order it, and set it up.

Then, you must find the appropriate arrangement for your car, filtered by color, make, or theme. And then we need to talk about the money. A display big enough for 100 vehicles will cost 10 to 20 premium models. The more Hot Wheels you have, the more you'll spend on display solutions.

Fear of Missing Out

Here's another aspect you might need to be aware of at first. The fear of missing out, or FOMO, is quite the disease. It has driven people to spend fortunes on snake oil or hoarding unnecessary items. And if you think about it, Hot Wheels are not essential to your survival as a human being. With every new set that comes out, there's always the fear that you won't find it in a store near you.

And then you'll have to pay extra to get it from scalpers or other collectors. It's even worse with Super Treasure Hunt and Red Line Club models, and Mattel is the only real beneficiary here. If you want a healthy relationship with your hobby, you must keep the FOMO in check. Otherwise, it will slowly consume you to the point where collecting will not be fun anymore.

Social Stigma

"You're 30 and still buying toy cars? What are you, a 5-year-old?" I've heard this several times before, and needless to say, I've no longer kept in touch with those people. My father, who is a coin collector, has had his doubts about my hobby, too. But he's come to appreciate it since. Most adults will say it's a silly thing to do but won't see their shortcomings. I've asked other collectors about their experience with this problem and found comfort in their answers. People who care about you will support you regardless of what they think about Hot Wheels cars.

My wife has promised to set up a room for my collection when we can afford a house, and my family and friends always bring me diecast cars on my birthday. Social stigma can be painful if you let it get to you, and that's precisely why you shouldn't give it too much thought. As I said, collecting Hot Wheels is not all fun and games. But if you're aware of the downsides, it will still make you happy at the end of the day.