Wow.

"Suitable punishment"? For behavior on a toy-based message board?

This isn't "suitable punishment", it's the very definition of disproportionate retribution.

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I've watched this thread and kept my mouth shut. I must tell you, I hate every selfish ebay selling "collector" out there. Grow up! Seriously...if there is a limit..obey the limit. Quit [LASER BLAST] about having to deal with the limit. This is the one reason I love and hate working retail. I can take a case of Hot wheels and not put them out. I can sit on McFarlane hockey figures till I feel like putting them out. There is nothing worse that 30-50 year old guys crying because they can't find their little toys. Half of them horde them anyway and try to sell them on Ebay...screw em. I got this guy that comes in everyday with a new lie about why he is buying Hockey figures. Either it's for his nephews or a cousin or some crap. He tries to buy them by the case. I just don't put them out. Period. I stock them at a later date so everyone gets their fair share. I hate the fact that he feels he needs to explain the situation every time. I don't care. It's always a sob story because he thinks I will magically hold a case for him.
I also hate the collectors that come in and ask me to try to find the item at another location and they have the item number. (it's usually hot wheels guys) I tell them they come randomly packed and they are going to have to find out themselves...or they call and ask for a specific car. We don't dig through stuff...so they are out of luck there too.
To be honest...transformers collectors and Joe collectors that I have run into are not like this.

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That makes me wonder just what it is about McF and Hot Wheels that makes collectors of those act like that...especially Hot Wheels. Sure they're cool...but they're just little cars.

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And I'm sure to them Joes and Star Wars are just plastic soldiers and aliens.

I will say this, I can't imagine trying to be a Hot Wheels collector and being a completest. Imagine dealing with the stereotypical collectors and Mattel distribution.

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Why do you think they're so aggressive?

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Indeed, and then there are the mystery cars...how can you truly be a MOC Hot Wheels completist if you don't even know what you're getting?

For collector types, chaosx's post reminded me that we haven't seen "The Man In Denial" listed. This is the guy who, when prompted by another adult as to why he's alone in the toy store off-season and buying toys, will make up ANY excuse as to why he's there (aside from the truth, which is that he collects toys himself), especially if the inquisitor is a cute gal.

Suitable Punishment should be, whenever he is in public, to wear a sign on his front and back that says "TOY COLLECTOR" in bold letters. Hmmm...maybe a flashing LED sign would work even better...

Alternate Suitable Punishment would be to be prominently featured in a pic on peopleofwalmart.com...on the action figure aisle, with an armload of toys.

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Based on my own experiences, the die-hard Hot Wheels collectors are the absolute, categoric WORST.

I've shared a few Hot Wheels stories on this board, but I don't think I've ever shared this one. But it speaks to what ChaosX has had to endure.

When there was still a K-Mart on this side of Tucson (it's now a Lowe's, blast it) I would, as part of my usual "rounds" go in and check on the action figures, and then the Hot Wheels. I collect SOME Hot Wheels. I'm not a die-hard fanatic. Generally, the more peculiar a car, the more inclined I'll be to pick it up. I never once asked (or demanded) for cases to be brought out of the back.

So one day I was in there, and one of the regular toy department clerks stops me while I'm checking the cars. "Please wait here, I have something for you." I had no idea what this was about. She went into the back, and returned moments later with several TREASURE HUNT Hot Wheels cars (for those who don't know, these are highly limited "chase" cars. There's only twelve in a year, and I think the packing ratio is something like one in every four cases or some such).

The average die-hard Hot Wheels collector would quite likely commit any number of atrocities to get his hands on these. For myself, I've never knocked myself out to get Treasure Hunts, but if I HAPPEN to see one, I will get it.

And here I was being presented with several of them. And the clerk said, "I've seen you in here before, and you're always courteous to the employees. We get some seriously rude and nasty people in here demanding that we bring cases of Hot Wheels out of the back, or demanding that we hold the Treasure Hunts for them. I'd rather they go to someone like you."

So -- nice guys don't ALWAYS finish last...

New one...

The Illiterate Buyer: The Illiterate buyer is very, very excited to purchase your wares. So excited, in fact, that he has completely forgotten how the English language works. Despite the fact that you have spelled out your conditions in no fewer than three places in your for sale ad/auction, the Illiterate Buyer will message you asking you to do the exact opposite of whatever you've stated. He will also make sure none of the letter-groupings he uses to convey his requests accidentally form actual words. If you stated that you will only ship to the US and Canada, don't take paypal, and that the figures you're selling are loose, he will message you with, "Hai, plz snd mee ur pp addy 2 snd u moneez 4 u 2 mayl 2 Austrelea. R ur figeurs MOC?"

Suitable punishment: Being forced to eat a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary.

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Speaking of stocking problems. I get kind of pissed when I walk into my local Walmart and see nothing but a scraggely collection of peg warmers, and then walk to the back of the garden section, where the keep there toy stock at this particular walmart, and 15 plus palletts all with boxes marked hasbro. Why don't they just put it out so I don't have to stare at them?

This is me, too. I just pick up ones that I think are cool, like I've been doing since I was 3. And I'm a sucker for vintage track sets.

It’s a shame that the weird/overbearing/etc. guys are the ones that serve as the stereotype for Hot Wheels collectors. It’s like it’s something that normal collectors don’t touch with a twenty foot pole. That said, I wonder why the Hot Wheels property draws in so many bizarro "collectors". My first guess is that most of those who "collect" Hot Wheels are just doing it for money, or rather, the hope of a huge return on a tiny investment.

Really, there is so much product and so many different levels of product for Hot Wheels, I don’t even see how Mattel keeps up with it all. I halfway think they don’t, and just leave that job to the die-hard fans. You’d HAVE to be crazy to try to follow all their product, especially in recent years.

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This is completely unrelated to the topic (its a good topic!). Have you always used the phrase "that said" in the middle of saying something. I'm not saying its bad or anything, its just weird to me. I have never heard that phrase used until just a few months ago (in the anime Moribito), now I'm hearing it everywhere. Maybe I've just never noticed it before, but since hearing it used repeatedly on that show I notice it everywhere.

We now continue with your regularly scheduled programming...

edit: Wow, within 5 minuted of writing this I've seen it used again in an article linked to in this thread.

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I had a similar instance at TRU the weekend the RoC figures came out. I was grabbing some fodder (not nearly clearing out the pegs) and the clerk was stocking them as I was checking the pegs. He saw I had a few (but none of the "rare" figures) and asked if I had the TRU exclusives. He told me he only puts out 1 of each at a time even though they come in a case by themselves. I passed on them at the time (they didn't do anything for me even though I picked up Firefly a few weeks ago). It just seemed really cool that the guy was willing to do that for a customer.

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I think this guy on peopleofwalmart.com just about sums up what i have heard about Hot Wheels collectors:

http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/?p=7456'

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I say it often as well.

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That said, I use it too...

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