Collectors voice frustration as Malaysian retailers mark up basic Hot Wheels, turning a hobby of luck into exploitation
COLLECTING Hot Wheels was once a niche and artistic hobby cherished by many car enthusiasts.
Today, however, Malaysian collectors are raising concerns that the joy of the hobby is slowly fading due to what they describe as unfair and exploitative retail practices.
A user who identified himself as a long-time Hot Wheels collector shared that the appeal of the hobby once lay in luck and fair pricing.
“You go to a store, dig through the pegs, and if you find something cool at retail price, that’s part of the fun. If you don’t, you move on,” he said.
That experience, he claimed, is now being undermined by retailers themselves.
According to him, some stores are hand-picking licensed or “real car” mainline models from fresh stock and repricing them significantly higher than the standard retail price.
“I’m now seeing stores themselves hand-pick licensed or ‘real car’ mainlines and reprice them higher. It’s no longer just scalpers — the retail industry is making it worse,” he added.
He highlighted that basic mainline models, which typically retail at around RM10.90, are being sold for as much as RM19.90 after being labelled as “Special Edition – Real Car”, despite not being Premiums, Treasure Hunts or Super Treasure Hunts.
“This completely removes the fairness from collecting. It’s no longer about luck or timing; it’s about whether someone behind the counter decides a car looks valuable,” he said, adding that such practices defeat the very purpose of the hobby.
Other collectors echoed his frustration, drawing parallels with the Pokémon card scene. User Rickywalls137 commented that Pokémon cards — once a core childhood memory for 90s kids — are now largely collected for resale.
“It’s just about the money and not about the fun of hunting for the cards. Pretty sad,” he wrote.
Another user shared that he had since given up on Hot Wheels altogether, opting instead to collect brands such as Pop Race and MiniGT, which he felt were more solid, heavier and truly worthy of a collection.
