| Sometimes, the unexpected things you did not envision happen when you’re already heading back. It’s no surprise, but rather not what you thought would present itself when things are winding down..
Earlier this evening, without knowing what was really happening, there was a mini marketplace event happening at the Ayala North Exchange. The place is a mixed-use twin tower building with small business shops and food establishements occupying the first two levels of the building. But has enough space temporarily occupied by these gift shops. |
From afar, if you are into diecast collecting, you will definitely see it. A wall of hanging racks featuring uncommon Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. Mostly, they are licensed cars, aching to collectibles rather than an attention-grabbing general audience when you really see it in person.
It’s not what you see at the recent MIAS event; the week before that is where the actual sellers with reasonable prices are. It’s side-by-side with an independent Bandai seller that carries Gundam kits of various scales. But for someone with little to no knowledge of what the actual difference between a decent reseller and this one will definitely make you stop and just observe what they’re carrying.
They have the cheaper ones in a bin that they are selling for far less than the cost, but obviously, when you see the quality of beat-up cards and the type of Hot Wheels cars they have, you’ll just feel turned off.
It’s a Scalper, not a Reseller
These “specialty shops” charge twice for the average cost of the diecast model they have in stock. Not even close to what you’d expect when you go to Shoppeseville Plus in Greenhills, or if you have ever attended a car show where most actual resellers are carrying the same amount of diecast cars they have.
When you’ve been into collecting diecast cars for so long, you've learned a thing or two that interesting models are not the “hype,” but the true market value it sells in the secondary market.
Also, you don’t need to have FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) like those expert armchair experts in local groups spitting out the “investment value” versus the real fun in appreciating them for the design and craftsmanship when you finally open them to see how well the tactile feel of holding each model, not in their sealed cards and protecto cases to hang them as they collect dust on your wall.
Not-so Decent Prices
There are far better resellers out there who would only earn a fraction of what they are selling, versus the FOMO prices that you see in this store. If the cheap bin they had has a decent amount of selection for old models and fantasy cars.
You’ll really know they are not charging you a Hot Wheels car that hangs on their rack 2x the original price. The way inflated prices give you red flags that this is not a reseller, but a scalper preying on individuals who don’t really know the actual market value for the models this shop is carrying on their display.
But if you are desperate and you have the necessary funds to burn, it's all up to you to get what you can’t find anywhere. Personally, I’d rather not be carried away by the challenges of not finding that specific model that you “NEED” than what you really wanted, as in this age, collecting should be focused on getting what really makes you open up the card and enjoy the model.
They have some Tuff Selections, no pun intended. But their prices are really not worth spending for the models they have when there are actual resellers out there that will offer you a better deal. They have been at the Ayala North Exchange since Monday, and will be leaving on their last day this Wednesday.
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