Yesterday I walked into a rural grocery store and walked by the seasonal section. I like the seasonal section in this store. There are always Hot Wheels. And yesterday was no exception. A fresh 4-sided shipper and a small dump bin. And a little bit further down, this:
An unopened basic shipper! These moments don’t happen often, but they are sure fun when they do. I asked the seasonal manager if I could go through it, and she graciously opened it for me:
It was finally ending. My Super TH drought that has plagued me for a long time was coming to a close. Sure, that 4-sided bin was hit before me, and the small dump bin definitely wasn’t fresh, but I was going to find my first 2018 Super in the wild. I started to dig.
I thought the drought was going to end last week. In a total rarity, I came across this at Walmart near my house:
One shipper was hit overnight, but a couple of other collectors and I were given permission to open the second. Lots of fresh cases in that bin. Tons of great models. No Supers.
Since my luck wasn’t good there, it was going to be good here:
Trays that were put out that day, but looked to be hit. That dump bin was packed full, but there was no way I was going to dig in. No time, and frankly no desire for that kind of messy dive. But full of Zamacs and other goodies.
Now I know as you read this, I need to qualify it a bit. I am not hurting for Supers. Mattel sends them to me to preview for you. Mainly to show you what the model looks like properly, and not via sites and feeds that show stolen items.
Incidentally, the actual topic of stolen Supers was addressed at the Mattel Q&A at the Convention. It’s right at the beginning:
Anyway, I have the Supers. And I have even pulled a couple from the Case Unboxings I do. So no, I am not making this a deal about me. I am last person to feel sorry for.
But that is the point. Supers are really more about finding than acquiring. Sure, some Supers, like this year’s Audi, are musts no matter what line they are in. But honestly, if Mattel took that Tooned Mustang Super and put it in Car Culture, what do you think the response would be? Or what if the Fiat 500 were made into a mail-in. Still a Super, but just put together 20 cardbacks and mail-in for it. Honestly, how popular would it be?
Truly, Supers are less Super and more TREASURE HUNT! It’s in the same. They need to be rare. You need to be frustrated. That way, when you do find one, it is a thrill. Or, you can change your entire life and drive to Walmarts all night to dig through fresh bins. I don’t criticize those that do it, as it is their choice. And if you want to, no one is stopping you. That is why I don’t like to criticize those that do. They want to make it a major part of their lives, so be it.
But they can still be found. A client of mine has a 10-year-old son way into Hot Wheels. He wants to find the Supers. He and his dad go out on weekends and look. They’ve found a ton. They put in the time and it works.
I am short on time. Between my real job and this blog, store visits are infrequent. But I have had luck. In fact, my last Super find was at this exact rural grocery store. It was the last Super of 2017, and it was a bit random:
It was a thrill when I found it, and it was going to be a thrill to end the drought today. At the same store even!
Alas, no Super. The drought continues. It is just going to make that next find that much sweeter. I will let you know when it happen.
Why not make supers even harder to find
Grown men hassling walmart employees for fancy coloured toy cars that get sold online for 10-20x retail value
LIKE FOR FUCKS SAKES
It don’t matter to me if I find a super treasure hunt or not as long as I keep finding new hotwheels at the store’s, the flea market, car shows, and toy shows I will be happy. The only time I’m not happy is when I go to a bunch of store’s in one day and I don’t find any new hotwheels at all than I’m upset. Otherwise as long as I find new hotwheels than I’m happy. The last super treasure hunt I found at a store was back in May at my grocery store and it was the cruise bruiser super treasure hunt from last year. Since I only have gotten super treasure hunts at the flea market, at car shows and at toy shows. So it has been a while since I found any super treasure hunts at any store’s. I’m hoping and praying i get lucky this weekend and get a super treasure hunt in my case at the hotwheels K-day event this Saturday.👍
I have never found an STH in the wild, since restarting my collection a couple years ago. I have gone to Walmart, Target, TRU before it closed, Dollar General, and the occasional car parts store. I have bought them from eBay but only for years passed. I have found TH’s. The drought is in Houston!
Last one I found was the Datsun 620 pickup, and it was indeed a thrill. Looking through my excel spreadsheet, I see I’ve found a grand total of 9 Supers in the time I’ve been collecting, which works out to perhaps just over 1 per year on average, though I seem to remember finding probably 3 of those in one year a while back. There have been Supers I’ve wanted to find so bad it almost hurts, but as much as it pains me to say it, it is probably a good thing they’re so hard to find. Having said that, I’d probably sell my soul to get that RS6 Avant.
Not a fan anymore! I have many older STHs but that was before regular THs hit the pegs. I have found newer ones, my last at a Kday event. I came home put it up on my IG feed and traded it for a beautiful custom and a opened two car premium set. The last before that was the Nova wagon. I kept that one because of the casting. The older ones I have started with the first Camaro TH. I have a few complete sets. I have numerous Tail Dragger THs, a black Friday sale netted me 10 or so I traded 1 or 2 but still have most of them. Their burried in my vault (my closet) so they haven’t been posted yet. Hopfully at some point I’ll get them up so I can get some stuff I’ve been wanting. Until then I’m comfortable keeping them. If I come across them in the wild yes I get that thrill for a moment but unless it’s a cast I like it is most likely going to a new home. I don’t enjoy the craziness they bring to the hobby. I once thought about grabbing them and using them as wheel donators but on second thought decided that would only make them more scarce. My IG is @phillywheels if you check it out maybe at some point they’ll be there or my profile page. I post as much as I can, I post all my recent finds and customs. I try and put up my older stuff as I pull it out. I do have lots of consolidating to do so tune in maybe you’ll see something you must have and we can deal.
I think its funny that you think Supers are hard to find. You find scores more than most of us. Im lucky to find 1 or 2 per year.
Exactly. That is the main reason I don’t talk to employees and make back room arrangements. What is fun about that? I hunt. The thrill is finding them in the wild on your own. Sure I could probably get 50-60 a year instead of 20 or so, but they just wouldn’t be that special.
Stupid topic. Try to find a $TH in an European country… 0 $TH in a year. And I’m talking about 15 senior collectors. I found 1 in 2017. Tell me about hard to find. It’s like hearing the nerd student crying cause haven’t studied before getting an A+++ in the exam.