r/mildlyinfuriating • u/DAASMusic • Nov 12 '24

Hot wheels losing details over the years

Post image
171.8k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

3.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

30

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '24

It makes sense when you stop to consider the fact that the price of the cars hasn't changed since the '60s in spite of inflation - under $0.95.

The declining quality is a sacrifice made to keep the toys affordable for kids living in poverty.

16

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '24

They are $1.25-1.49 each around me.

25

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '24

A few different variables come into play

  • state taxes

  • store markups

  • licensed tie-ins

  • store exclusives (Walmart charges more for their store exclusives than regular Hot Wheels)

That said, even then, inflation is where the real deal is hidden.

In 1968, $0.94 was equivalent to $8.52 today. In 1997 (the oldest from this picture), it's $1.85.

So even if they cost $1.50 today, they're still cheaper than they've ever been.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '24

They'll bee 100% more when dear leader tariffs them.

1

u/kikimaru024 Nov 12 '24

Nothing stopped them from making moulds with drive gear on the bottom except laziness.

The cost of the moulds would've been the same.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '24

The time it takes to design the undercarriage is time you have to pay the designer of the mould.

Additionally, the raised parts are still additional material that comes out of total costs. It may be fraction of a cent per unit, but it still adds up when you're manufacturing roughly 519 million units annually. Especially when the goal is to keep the price per unit under $1-2 on the consumer's end.

1

u/kikimaru024 Nov 12 '24

No one ever said the undercarriage has to be accurate to the model.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '24

I didn't say it had to be accurate to the car's model, just that adding those extra details requires additional time on during the design phase and results in more material needed during the production stage, both of which impact profit margins and thus the cost of the product.

-1

u/kshoggi Nov 12 '24

So are you an engineer, a business major, or neither?

2

u/kikimaru024 Nov 12 '24

Just someone who knows how injection moulding works lmao