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Selling your Childhood Hot Wheels Collection

March 29th, 2024

So, you’ve finally dug your old Hot Wheels out of your basement, attic, or storage, but you’re now wondering if these little gems have any value, and, if so, how can you find out.  Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place.  REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY is the premier appraiser and buyer of the original Redline Hot Wheels that were released by Mattel in the Spring of ‘68.

REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY has been hunting down original one owner Redline Era Hot Wheels Collections for over three decades.  I’ve purchased collections from not only in the continental U.S., but also literally all over the world!  You may be wondering how purchasing collections from all over the U.S. and world is done.  Well, I’m about to tell you…

Back in the early Nineties and all the way up to when the internet and eBay specifically took over, I was only buying collections that I could drive to.  This meant that I would drive no further that about an hour or two in any direction from where I lived at the time.  My original territory back in the day was the Delaware Valley.  The Delaware Valley combines Southeastern PA, Central and Southern NJ, and parts of Delaware.  As you now can see, my options were somewhat limited at that time, and I had to depend on all my basic marketing strategies to bring collections in.  My main weapon was a simple classified ad in the “Antiques & Collectibles” section that I would place in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Needless to say, it worked fabulously, and here we are three decades later still on the “HUNT.”  I haven’t utilized a classified ad in over twenty-five years as print advertising has really gone away; and is a waste of time and marketing dollars in my opinion.

The Process

The first order of business when that call or email comes in is to determine the approximate retail auction value of an individual’s vintage Hot Wheels collection.  Owners of these special collections always want to know first and foremost the value of their Hot Wheels and all the accessories, if any, that go along with it.  There are always track sets, buttons, and cases with every collection I appraise and purchase.  A lot of sellers will typically mention a Redline Price Guide they either purchased or looked at.  I’m fine with this as the more information the seller has at their disposal, the better informed they tend to be.

 

Selling a childhood Hot Wheels collection

Most sellers do a really nice job when sending their cars but this gentleman went over and above.

I always want the seller to be well informed prior to them making a decision to sell.  Once I finish my detailed appraisal, I schedule a call with the seller to go over the details, both good and bad.  Sellers want to know what Hot Wheels are worth and which ones have little if any value.  Condition plays the largest role in individual value of a Hot Wheels car.  This approach has always been well received and greatly appreciated by the seller, as it seems I’m the only one in the hobby that takes the time to do this.  I really think it’s the fair and honest thing to do, so in the end, everyone can go their own way feeling good regardless of the outcome.

Once the appraisal is completed, and the informative phone call is finished, the offer is made.  Once accepted, which most times is the case, the next step is the “Putting Both Parties at Ease” stage of the process.  This is one aspect I’ve had to work on over the years due to being robbed one time in 2016 from an individual in Oklahoma.  I won’t go into details but it’s why I do things the way I do.  Being stolen from is not a good feeling and one I try to avoid moving forward.  My method of purchase is so both parties are protected, feel confident, and are assured of getting paid (SELLER) and receiving the collection (ME).  This is how it works:

  1. Professional Appraisal
  2. Informational Phone Call
  3. Offer Made
  4. Offer Accepted
  5. Exchange of Mailing Addresses
  6. Shipping Details – USPS Priority Flat Rate
  7. Picture of Check & Addressed Mailing Envelope Sent to Seller
  8. Coordination of Shipping for both Seller and Buyer
  9. Tracking Information Shared
  10. Confirmation of receipt of Package (collection) & Check
From a childhood Hot Wheels collection

Featured treasures from the Oneonta, NY Collection

This has proven, over the past eight years, to be the best and most reasonable way of completing the deal.  If you’re still wondering what your Hot Wheels are worth, then look no further.  Send me a text, call me on my cell, fill out an Inquiry Form, or email me directly.  I’m always happy to talk with those who are in possession of the greatest toy ever produced, Mattel’s Hot Wheels!

Thanks for reading and be sure to stay tuned for more blogs and Redline Archeology YouTube Channel videos of my latest finds.  Happy Hunting!

 

If you have the old REDLINE Hot Wheels and are thinking of selling them, Look No Further!

You now ask yourself the age old question,  “How do I sell my old Hot Wheels?”

Here at REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY, we will appraise your collection, at NO COST and NO OBLIGATION, and make the highest offer in the hobby for your cars, if they are from the years we are looking for, 1967 – 1977.

With almost 30 years of diggin’ up original one owner childhood Hot Wheels collections from the sixties and seventies, REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY is the only place to have your old Hot Wheels appraised by one of the most successful collectors in the hobby, Bob Young.  Bob has now authored two books:

 

REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY: A History of Diggin’ Up Original Hot Wheels Collections and REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY 2: The Dig Continues

 

Available on AMAZON, Barnes & Noble and now WALMART!

Call us anytime @ 856.912.2463 or visit us @ www.RedlineArcheology.com

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Are Your Hot Wheels Worth Money?

March 5th, 2024

The question I get asked most often when initially discussing someone’s childhood collection of old Hot Wheels, “Are my Hot Wheels worth money?”  My textbook answer that I normally default to is, “Some are valuable Hot Wheels and some are not so valuable.”  Basically, it all comes down to what I call the “3Cs,” which are, in my humble opinion, the main factors in determining value when appraising the old original Hot Wheels:

  1. CONDITION
  2. CASTING
  3. COLOR

I get approached, on a fairly regular basis, by owners of these special gems called Hot Wheels asking me through email, text message, and direct phone calls, “Are my Hot Wheels worth money?”

Individuals will sometimes reference a Redline price guide or recent listings on eBay expressing that they know the value of their cars and overall collection based on their research.  Unfortunately, more times than not, they do not factor in the 3Cs when researching their Hot Wheels collection.  They typically place a value on their individual cars being factory fresh or minty, which is rarely the case.

Redline Archeology Hot Wheels 3Cs for determining how much a Hot Wheel is worth

The Redline Archeology 3Cs for determining a Redline’s value.

The most rare, valuable, and most expensive Hot Wheels cars in the hobby are basically prototypes or limited release cars like the Purple Olds 442 and the infamous Rear Loading Beach Bombs.  They are extremely rare and are almost never discovered in original childhood Hot Wheels collections.

There are all kinds of Hot Wheels identification guides online and in print.  Everyone has their own opinions on value, so, in essence, nothing in this hobby has ever been written in stone when it comes to each car’s individual value.  Most price guides are out of date by the time they go to print anyway.  They are typically used as a reference for a car’s true existence and its value years ago.  I rarely look at any price guide online or in text.  I’ve been at this for over three decades and can basically tell a car’s approximate value in the first thirty seconds of seeing a car.

The oldest Hot Wheels cars were produced in 1967 and had this date stamped on their bases.  Hot Wheels were officially released to the public in the Spring/Summer of 1968.  Many of the original 16 cars released in 1968 are still being reproduced to this day and express the year 1967 on their bases.  This has proven a bit confusing to the general public and novice Hot Wheels collector.

With the hundreds of collections I appraise each year, educating the owner/seller is a very important aspect of my process.  Educating them on what cars are the most valuable in their collections seems to be most important, and they really appreciate this particular information.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been sincerely thanked for taking time, being patient, and offering up a lot of information most others in the hobby just won’t do.  Trust me, it goes a long way and is the most responsible thing you can do as a collector/buyer for the owner/seller.

So, are your Hot Wheels valuable?  Are you holding onto one of the rarest and most valuable cars ever seen in the hobby.  Chances are the answer to both questions is YES!  I have unearthed over 40,000 cars in my career and so many cars that were never known to exist in the hobby over the last 32 years.  Some skeptical collectors still question some of the cars to this day.  Mainly because they do not own them. 😉 Many of my incredible discoveries are out there just sitting in someone’s collection as I type out this blog.  Chances are, that you – as a collector of the redline era Hot Wheels – own cars that I brought to the hobby through my diggin’.  That’s a FACT!

If you’re considering dusting off your old Hot Wheels from the Sixties and Seventies, and want to possibly sell them, you certainly need to look no further:

REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY is “The #1 NAME in HOT WHEELS COLLECTING”

Until next time… Happy Diggin’!

 

If you have the old REDLINE Hot Wheels and are thinking of selling them, Look No Further!

You now ask yourself the age old question,  “How do I sell my old Hot Wheels?”

Here at REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY, we will appraise your collection, at NO COST and NO OBLIGATION, and make the highest offer in the hobby for your cars, if they are from the years we are looking for, 1967 – 1977.

With almost 30 years of diggin’ up original one owner childhood Hot Wheels collections from the sixties and seventies, REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY is the only place to have your old Hot Wheels appraised by one of the most successful collectors in the hobby, Bob Young.  Bob has now authored two books:

 

REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY: A History of Diggin’ Up Original Hot Wheels Collections and REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY 2: The Dig Continues

 

Available on AMAZON, Barnes & Noble and now WALMART!

Call us anytime @ 856.912.2463 or visit us @ www.RedlineArcheology.com

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A Day in the Life of a Redline Archeologist

December 14th, 2023

Collectors and people alike always ask me “How do you consistently do it?”, “How does it work?” and the question most frequently asked is…“What’s a day in the life of a Redline Archeologist look like?”

Well, since everyone is so curious what it’s like to, well, be me for a day, I’m going to let you all in on a recent day in the life of this Redline Archeologist.  I’d like to say that this is not a typical day, but it truly is.

The date:  Friday November 24, 2023.

The location:  Somewhere in New Jersey.

The day started out like most days in this entrepreneurs’ life.  Wake up (hopefully 😉), brush teeth, shake the cobwebs from this 60+ body and mind, shower, coffee, and then check my email.  This is where most days get interesting.  Because of my passion for digging up the Redline Hot Wheels for over three decades, I get a lot, and I mean A LOT of emails daily, from not only passionate collectors like me, but also from fans. Yes, fans. I know it’s hard to believe, but I do have a fair number of followers in the hobby.  My two books on Amazon continue to do well and stay in the TOP 100 in the Collector Category for published books consistently, year after year. At last count, my YouTube Channel has over one thousand followers.  Doesn’t sound like a lot, but it does to someone like me who just wants to share all of my tens of thousands of discoveries over the years with fellow collectors who are in this wonderful hobby for all the right reasons.

Ok, let’s get back to my email account.  On this glorious day, I received an email from five individuals wanting to get their childhood memories (collections) of old Hot Wheels appraised and possibly sold.  As general practice, I responded immediately and accordingly.  Two of the individuals sent group shots and three did not.  The three that did not send pictures, I always respond with two options for sending me pictures:

  1. Direct email
  2. Text message to my cell phone
  3. Overhead group shots
  4. In Focus
  5. Well lit

This way, I normally get pictures of their collections sent to me sooner because of the texting option. Basically, it’s when it’s truly convenient for them.  I never ever rush anyone into sending pictures to me of their collections because I don’t want anyone to ever feel pressured at any step along the way.  There is a method, to what some call “My Madness.”  I just call it my Hobby or “JOBBY.”

Another text. Another find!

I consistently request additional pictures of the more desirable or rarer cars within each collection if there are any in the original group shots.  This normally can delay the appraisal process by a few minutes and sometimes up to weeks and is totally dependent on the individual owner.

On this glorious day, I also received a text message from an individual at 9:38am EST locally that wanted to meet me at 1pm EST to look at, appraise, and possibly sell me his childhood collection of the old Hot Wheels that we call REDLINES.  He was located in Northeast Philadelphia. As a side note, I always get pictures or Facetime with locals when meeting.  Also, I ALWAYS meet in a public place.  It’s call “Street Smarts.”

We agreed to meet at a local Starbucks halfway between him and me.  One o’clock rolled around, we met, I looked over the small collection of two dozen cars and the stack case, then agreed on a price.  The day was soon to get better.

I returned home around 2pm EST and as soon as I pulled in the driveway, a FedEx truck pulled up in front of my house and a collection I worked on for about two weeks finally showed up from Phoenix, AZ.  Sixty cars, three twelve-car Rally cases and sixty collector buttons.  All in phenomenal, lightly played with, condition.  Highlights of this collection are as follows:

  1. Three MINT Hot Pink CARABO’S
  2. Aqua Black Roof White Interior BOSS HOSS
  3. Hot Pink White Interior US PORSCHE 917
  4. Hot Pink SUGAR CADDY
  5. Orange Mantis, TNT BIRD, + FERRARI 312p

Another incredible find; all in a day’s work.

Not only had two really nice original collections come home, but a third from Arvada, CO was scheduled to be delivered this exciting day as well!  When it RAINS, IT RAINS REDLINES!  Needless to say, this collection reared its beautiful head of forty-seven Redline Hot Wheels with a few Johnny Lightnings mixed in as well.  The highlight of this collection was a GOLD Classic Cord in really nice condition.  For some reason, these Classic Cords always seem to show up in original collections in un-played with condition.  I never owned one as a child, but I guess they just weren’t that popular back in the day.  Maybe they didn’t hold the track or just weren’t as fun as say, hmmmmm, a SHORT ORDER! (My FAVE REDLINE 😉)

My phone began to “DING DING DING DING DING” repeatedly for the next 15 minutes as a slew of pictures were being texted to me from the owners of the three collections that I requested pictures of earlier this day.  My work was really cut out for me this day as sometimes it is in this great and fun hobby of ours.  I got out my pen and note pad and got to work on the appraisals.  My appraisals normally take a day to complete.

A great, yet typical day’s bounty.

You’ll need to stay tuned (and subscribe) to my REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY YouTube Channel as I have begun a really cool series of videos coined, “A Day In The Life Of A REDLINE ARCHEOLGIST” where I’ll go over the aforementioned collections along with many others that are on deck.

So, at the end of this day, I now sit here, with my favorite bottle of wine opened, and my favorite girl – my wife – toasting the wonderful memories that were just brought to light and soon to the collector hobby for all to enjoy.

😉  CHEERS

 

If you have the old REDLINE Hot Wheels and are thinking of selling them, Look No Further!

You now ask yourself the age old question,  “How do I sell my old Hot Wheels?”

Here at REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY, we will appraise your collection, at NO COST and NO OBLIGATION, and make the highest offer in the hobby for your cars, if they are from the years we are looking for, 1967 – 1977.

With almost 30 years of diggin’ up original one owner childhood Hot Wheels collections from the sixties and seventies, REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY is the only place to have your old Hot Wheels appraised by one of the most successful collectors in the hobby, Bob Young.  Bob has now authored two books:

 

REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY: A History of Diggin’ Up Original Hot Wheels Collections and REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY 2: The Dig Continues

 

Available on AMAZON, Barnes & Noble and now WALMART!

Call us anytime @ 856.912.2463 or visit us @ www.RedlineArcheology.com

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The “CRAZIEST & RAREST” Finds of My Career

April 22nd, 2023

People always ask me, “What are the most valuable and rarest car(s) you have ever found in a collection?”  I always have to take a step back and gather my thoughts and think about all the collections and amazing cars I’ve uncovered over the last thirty years.

Over the last three decades I always wondered what my collection would have looked like today if I had kept all the cars that I’ve dug up.  I would definitely need two museums to house the collection for sure!  My collection to date only has about a dozen cars in it.  I only keep what I like and have always been much more driven to hunt down the cars in their original collections and capture them in the wild.  In other words, I’m passionate about the “Hunt” and finding the original one owner collections in people’s basements, attics, and storage lockers.  This is what truly motivates me, not the collecting part.

So, let’s get to the juicy part of this blog: the rarest and craziest cars of all the thirty-five thousand plus cars I’ve discovered to date. The top of the heap, the rarest of the rare, the craziest of the craziest, and the unknown or never known to exist cars.  This is almost starting to sound a bit like a suspenseful drama or horror story.  😱

For me, finding variations of interiors, rare colors for a casting, and just plain rare cars is pretty commonplace with the amount of collections I discover.  Occasionally, I’ll come across an original one owner collection of Redline Era Hot Wheels® that just blows me away almost as soon as I lay my eyes on it, whether in person or in the myriad of pictures sent to me via text messaging or through email.  I always make a point to gather the provenance on every collection I appraise and/or purchase. ALWAYS!!  This is so important to me in gathering all the proper and accurate information that continues to move the hobby forward.  Over the years, with my learned line of questioning, I’ve uncovered over two dozen original one owner collections that either directly or indirectly originated from a former Mattel employee back in the Sixties and Seventies.  I just purchased one recently from a nephew of a former Mattel employee of the Sixties and there were some amazing, crazy, and rare cars found within.  A few examples of these cars that were found within the sixty-eight-car original collection are as follows:

  1. White Enamel Camaro with White Interior US
  2. (2) Jack Rabbit Special “Track Test Cars”
  3. Green Mod Quad “Track Test Car”
  4. Naked Police Cruiser

Here it is. The rare Custom Continental Mk III

Regarding finding an original collection, whenever I hear from the sellers or original owner(s) mouth that there was a connection with a former Mattel employee and the “Factory Store” my eyebrows immediately raise, my heart rate goes up, and I begin to sweat just a little bit.  This time was no different and I had the pleasure and honor of seeing this particular collection and these cars first-hand before striking a deal with the owner.

So, what are some of the craziest and rarest cars I’ve ever found? Well, I’m glad you asked because here we go: (drumroll please, Maestro) In over thirty years and tens of thousands of cars later, here are what I consider the BEST OF THE BEST in the crazy world of Redline Hot Wheels DIGGING:

  1. ORANGE Classic Cord (YES, I have witnesses, and someone out there still owns this car!)
  2. BROWN Custom Camaro
  3. BLACK Roof Magenta Custom Continental
  4. RED Classic Woody (Fully Customized to look like a “Huckster Truck” and from a Mattel Employee collection)
  5. KIDNEY BEAN Camaro (Probably one of the nicest ones in the hobby)
  6. LITE GREEN Custom Camaro with a BLACK METAL BASE (Yes, it’s not toned, it’s black metal)
  7. WHITE ENAMEL Custom Camaro with WHITE INTERIOR US

Lucky Number Seven: the crazy custom white enamel Camaro.

Number seven has always been lucky for most of us, but there you have it folks, the cars I consider to be the “TOP 7” cars ever discovered in my career in original one owner collections.  Trust me, there are plenty more simply amazing, crazy, and rare cars that absolutely could make this list and blow your mind, but I could be here all day and the list would be tremendously longer.  Maybe I’ll save that list for another day and another blog.

Please be sure to check out my YouTube channel, then Like, Subscribe and hit the Notifications button so as not to miss any of my future discoveries!

 

If you have the old REDLINE Hot Wheels and are thinking of selling them, Look No Further!

You now ask yourself the age old question,  “How do I sell my old Hot Wheels?”

Here at REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY, we will appraise your collection, at NO COST and NO OBLIGATION, and make the highest offer in the hobby for your cars, if they are from the years we are looking for, 1967 – 1977.

With almost 30 years of diggin’ up original one owner childhood Hot Wheels collections from the sixties and seventies, REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY is the only place to have your old Hot Wheels appraised by one of the most successful collectors in the hobby, Bob Young.  Bob has now authored two books:

 

REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY: A History of Diggin’ Up Original Hot Wheels Collections and REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY 2: The Dig Continues

 

Available on AMAZON, Barnes & Noble and now WALMART!

Call us anytime @ 856.912.2463 or visit us @ www.RedlineArcheology.com

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My Favorite Part of the HUNT

December 19th, 2022

As most of you know by now, my love of Hot Wheels® began in the Summer of 1968.  A truly magical time for me and so many others.  The Sixties were a time of discovery for this son of a World War II veteran.  Outside play was always on my and my friends’ minds.  Well, most of them anyway.  There was always that one kid in the neighborhood who never came out to play.  To this day, I never understood this, but I think every neighborhood had at least one.

Riding our bikes, fishing at the local pond/lake, stickball, street hockey, football, basketball, and anything else that kept us busy outside was on the docket for the day.  Sadly, where I grew up, the weather didn’t cooperate a lot and that meant spending a fair amount of time inside.  Eventually the release of Hot Wheels in ‘68 turned those gloomy, rainy days into sunshine filled ones.  Boy, did we enjoy our time inside with these little amazing gems.  Outside was still king in our very energetic minds, and every day we prayed for sunshine.

If you’ve read either of my books (Redline Archeology: A History of Diggin’ up Original Hot Wheels Collections and Redline Archeology 2: The Dig Continues), you may know what the driving force behind my passion of diggin’ up the original Hot Wheels, known to the collector world as “Redlines.”  Not only were sports on the forefront of our minds as little boys, but for this aspiring archaeologist, digging up whatever I could find in the dirt at the schoolyard or in the woods that surrounded my neighborhood was truly the main driving force behind what I do in this wonderful hobby of ours.

I remember telling my mom that all I wanted to be when I grew up was an archaeologist who digs up old dinosaur bones.  Period and End of Story. My mother wasn’t having any of it.  She would shut me down immediately and always stressed that I could “never make any money digging up old dinosaur bones.”  Well, I wasn’t having any of it at that time, so I just kept digging and digging anyplace and anywhere that called my name.

A sample of arrowheads uncovered in Camden County

A sample of arrowheads uncovered in Camden County, New Jersey.

To this day I still have six indian arrowheads and spearheads along with a few other Indian artifacts I discovered as a 12-year-old in the playground at my first school, Parkview Elementary.  One day I stumbled across an old Lenni Lenape campsite along a stream called Signey Run in the woods behind the elementary school.  This was confirmed as such by the town historian to my parents at the time when we visited the local library and presented all the items I had dug up.

Lenni Lenape campsite on the banks of Signey Run behind Parkview Elementary School in Stratford Township, New Jersey

Needless to say, I had a few other quite impressive dig sites that I’d like to revisit one day that I know hold many historic treasures dating back to the seventeen hundreds.  I would probably have to cut through a lot of red tape to even be given access in some of the towns where I know there are historic dig sites.  To this day, it weighs heavily on my mind, and I know that one day I will visit each of the respective town halls and ask to speak to someone that would listen to this fifty-year-old story.

So, the question of the day is, “What is my favorite part of the Hunt?  What do I love about diggin’ up the old Hot Wheels.  Well, most people assume or think that I am a very passionate collector of the old Hot Wheels.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  What my most favorite part of the hunt and what drives me to do what I do at the highest level in the hobby, is, well, “THE HUNT!”

An original owner set unearthed by your favorite Redline Archeologist.

I just love finding the original one owner collections that haven’t been dusted off in over five decades, in their original state.  I do not buy off of collectors nor do I purchase off of auction sites.  I’ve found some of the most incredible cars and amazing collections over the past 30 plus years and there seems to be no slowing me down.  The “Hunt” and the ultimate “Capture” are what keeps bringing me back time and time again.  It’s like hitting a hole in one in golf every time.   As time goes on, it seems like I’m bringing more and more cars and collections to the surface and collector hobby every day.  Most, if not all of you who read this, probably have a car or many cars in your collection that were originally unearthed by yours truly, at one time or another.  To date, it’s conservatively estimated that I’ve uncovered over 31,000 Redlines since 1992 when I began this journey.  Let that sink in for a minute.

Surprisingly, my personal stash of Redlines is only around 50 cars at any given time, and eventually they will all be placed in the right collector’s hands, as well.  We all have a passion built into our very own DNA.  Mine just happens to be diggin’ up old stuff, especially the REDLINE HOT WHEELS.  The Hunt goes on…

 

If you have the old REDLINE Hot Wheels and are thinking of selling them, Look No Further!

You now ask yourself the age old question,  “How do I sell my old Hot Wheels?”

Here at REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY, we will appraise your collection, at NO COST and NO OBLIGATION, and make the highest offer in the hobby for your cars, if they are from the years we are looking for, 1967 – 1977.

With almost 30 years of diggin’ up original one owner childhood Hot Wheels collections from the sixties and seventies, REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY is the only place to have your old Hot Wheels appraised by one of the most successful collectors in the hobby, Bob Young.  Bob has now authored two books:

 

REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY: A History of Diggin’ Up Original Hot Wheels Collections and REDLINE ARCHEOLOGY 2: The Dig Continues

 

Available on AMAZON, Barnes & Noble and now WALMART!

Call us anytime @ 856.912.2463 or visit us @ www.RedlineArcheology.com

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