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| Diecast Availablity in Your Area | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 1 2015, 04:28 PM (748 Views) | |
| cody6268 | Mar 1 2015, 04:28 PM Post #1 |
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Minivan
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I figured I'd just see how diecast availability differs based on location. Where I live in Bluefield, there are no Toys R' Us or Target stores, and the only small hobby shops in the area carry only RC and model train stuff. The main big diecast-carrying chains in my area are Kmart, Big Lots, Ollie's, Tractor Supply, Walmart, Family Dollar, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Food City, Hobby Lobby, and Tuesday Morning just off the top of my head Food City carries Hot Wheels in every checkout lane, and carry some Ertls, Cars (the deluxe ones) as well as a couple HW and MBX playsets in their toy aisle. Walmart has Maisto (non premium lines are rebranded as Adventure Wheels), Hot Wheels, M2 Machines, Nascar, Matchbox (Sky Busters and mainline), Jada, Cars, low end Ertl and Auto World. As of last time I went, there weren't any Auto Worlds, around a dozen Matchbox Caterham Superlights (and not much else Matchbox, save a couple 5-packs and a Gee Bee SB), around a little over a dozen M2s, plenty of Maistos, some Jadas (they didn't have any Hero Patrol models (only Jada line I personally buy I wanted, so I didn't pay attentionHot Wheels, and plenty of the Cars/Planes movie models. When I was 10 or so, Walmart had much more than they do know. They had practically a whole aisle of HO scale stuff at that time! Kmart seems to only carry Hot Wheels (mainline and premium), Maisto , and Matchbox, plus some cheapo stuff. As with most stores, Hot Wheels is plentiful, and Matchbox is scarce if there at all. They used to carry the HO scale and the teeny-tiny Norscot, but they don't anymore Family Dollar in my area usually carries Hot Wheels, cheapo stuff, and nothing else, except this Christmas, one Family Dollar had Skybusters, and last Christmas, one Family Dollar had an old batch of Matchbox. Dollar General carries Matchbox, Maisto, Hot Wheels, Bburago, and cheapo stuff. I last visited one over a month ago, and mine did not have the most recent batch of Matchbox, just more of the batch everyone else had at Christmas. Dollar Tree is a hit or miss. The selection varies widely. They do seem to carry Maistos constantly, but they have carried Matchbox and Hot Wheels about a year ago. Tuesday Morning is a hit or miss. They sometimes carry diecast, and sometimes don't. The first time the local store opened, the toy aisle was full of Corgi Collectibles. They had Siku 6 years ago. They currently have plenty of HW playsets currently, as well as some Matchbox sets as well. Ollie's is a hit or miss too. They had Hot Wheels from their opening in Summer 2013 in my area, until Christmas, when they finally ran out of Decades and Jukebox cars. This Christmas season they also had Matchbox Real Working Rigs and Hot Wheels Boulevard. Big Lots has carried HW and Matchbox in the past. Since the nearest one in my area is a half and hour away, I don't go to it that much. In fact, I probably haven't visited the store in 3 years. Magic Mart usually carries Matchbox, Hot Wheels, and Maisto. Sometimes, Matchbox completely dries up. When I visited two weeks ago, they just so happened to have the most recent batch including the Mustang SSP. Tractor Supply has gone downhill since they opened in 2006. They used to carry several Breyer Horses, and had a good selection of nice Ertl at Christmas. Now, the Ertl selection at Christmas is mostly their juniorized toy lines intended for little kids. They have a Collect and Play shelf which carries a pretty good selection, and has included JL and Tomica. Hobby Lobby, which just opened this past spring, is by far the best store for premium diecast in my area. They carry ONLY M2, Auto World, and Greenlight (only IndyCar, Hot Pursuit, County Roads and film related), as well as AW slot cars. The John Deere dealership, which used to be known as Conn's John Deere, and is now Meade Tractor after a buy-out, has plenty of stuff I've never seen locally except for there. They have some 1/64, as well as 1/50 Prestige editions. A lot of antique stores carry vintage diecast, but their prices are highway robbery. I prefer the flea market, which I attend in the spring and summer months, where I usually spend less than $20, and get all kinds of great vintage diecast. I wouldn't exactly call the local rescue squad a source of diecast, but they do sell an Ertl 1950 Ford Panel Van as a benefit model. Availability often is slim in most stores, and sometimes I find myself ordering online (which is how I obtain most of my vintage diecast) to obtain a specific model. |
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| Stampede | Mar 1 2015, 05:13 PM Post #2 |
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Team Canada
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The stock up here in Western Canada used to be on par with those in the USA, about 5-6 years ago. Now, it is inconsistent (and non-existent) at most, with stores occasionally receiving stock (once or twice a year) if they're lucky. The main stores in my area are Toys R Us, Target, and a bunch of other smaller stores that really don't have too much. Toys R Us used to be the best place, as half the die cast aisle used to be Matchbox (and the other half Hot Wheels) that were recent models. Now, they have one end cap of Matchbox, and it's stock from 1-2 years ago. The same applies to Hot Wheels, although there is a slightly larger selection. Target used to be good when it first opened, stocking very recent releases of Matchbox and Hot Wheels. All that went down the drain, and while they've had good stock once or twice, it wasn't enough to keep them afloat. Now they are pulling out of the Canadian market entirely, so there goes that. Walmart is a forty five minute drive from my location, and it is a hit and miss. Occasionally, great stock appears (both Matchbox and Hot Wheels), and other times, nothing is there. With Greenlight starting to appear, I should make the trip there, but frankly, I'm not holding my breath. Until a Walmart opens in my city in 2016, the forty five minute drive awaits... A two hour drive leads me to Mastermind Toys, which carries an excellent selection of Siku at very reasonable prices. From what I have heard, they do restock regularly, so that's walkways a treat, But, the drive is why I do not visit often as of right now. As a result of these factors, most of my die cast comes from trips to the States, where the stock is much more consistent at basically all stores. Online purchases (namely Greenlight) also play a large part, but with the tanking Canadian dollar, both are not looking very likely. The culmination is that I am not on a hiatus now, which is a good thing, so I can now exhibit self-control over my spending. But that will go out the window in a month when a relative heads over to Asia, with a large list that I have given them ![]() |
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| Barracuda68 | Mar 1 2015, 05:48 PM Post #3 |
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I'm hungry
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Here in mount Vernon Ohio we have ... Wal Mart, pretty good at putting out hot wheels. Not so much for any other brands. We did get more new M2 Drivers cars recently. Kroger, same old stuff. Which is 2014 J, K cases. Dollar stores, never have anything good. CVS, don't think they even sell cars anymore. |
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| W Gee | Mar 1 2015, 06:20 PM Post #4 |
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Station Wagon
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Mastermind and Siku... while I've never used it , Mastermind covers up to the first $15 shipping costs on purchases over $60 shipped in Canada . As Siku' s go, its not hard to spend $60 on one or two and their pricing is really fair |
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| Douglas | Mar 3 2015, 07:31 PM Post #5 |
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SUV
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I live in a fairly large metropolitan area, I did a quick count of the stores within a 30 mile radius of me, and counted a dozen each of WM and Target, and that is just the ones I know of and have been to. There use to be quite a number of Kmart around here, but I'd have to drive about 40 or 50 miles to get to one now. TRU, has 4 stores left, there were more, but they closed some, 2 of the 4, the two better ones, are in too congested of areas, and quite a ride for me through the city. There are plenty of the Dollar General, and Family Dollar all over the place, but only a few Dollar Trees that I know of, Big Lots seems to have reduced the number of stores here over the last 5-6 years, and they don't have close out prices anymore, not like they did 10 years ago. Drug stores don't restock too often. Don't know of any diecast hobby shops left in the area. Anyway, 30 miles might not seem like too far, but it's a big city, with tons of traffic, so it's a chore to go those farther distances, so it's not like I can get around to many of them very often, usually only if I happen to be working that day out in that direction, I'll stop in if I get a chance..... But even with all these stores, I typically just visit the ones closest to home mostly, some of those big box stores I only get to once or twice a year, and most don't seem to restock very often anymore anyway, so I don't see that much new stuff either, not like the 90's or early 2000's. |
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| GothicCarsUrban | Mar 3 2015, 10:32 PM Post #6 |
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SUV
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Wal-Mart: Fair for Retros, Cool Classics and Pop Culture cars, marginal for M2 Machines and AWs, MBX and Jadas, not great for mainline HW, was great for Boulevards, HW 100%s, Fresh Cherries and JLs when they were still made. Shopko: Terrible for everything, but was not bad a few years ago when Hot Wheels Garage, HW Classics and Larry's/Wayne's garage were still around, they carried Playing Mantis JL, Zylmex, Racing Champions, Road Champs when they were still around Bi-Mart: Horribly small selection, but has been decent for Retros, M2s and mainline HW when I've gone. Coastal Farm & Ranch: No Ertl Collect & Play, mainline Ertl trucks and equipment decent, M2 Machines marginal Target: Terrible for everything Toys-R-Us: Fair for Greenlight, mainline HW and Auto World, fair for JL, Boulevard and HW 100% when they were still around Fred Meyer: Average for mainline HW, M2 and MBX, only place other than More Of Everything (to be discussed later) that still has Boulevards on the pegs, Retro, Cool classics and Pop Culture still early issues, was the last big-box place here that had Majorette when still available here. Albertsons: Typical overpriced and scalper ravaged supermarket selection Eugene Toy & Hobby: Good for Cool classics and Retros, and for mainline HW St. Vincent DePaul: Varies by store and visit. Frequently has a wide array of Summer castings, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Yat Ming and Zylmex, sometimes Playart, Majorette, Corgi, Tootsietoy, Tomica, etc. Goodwill: See St. Vincent DePaul Value Village: Only one store, otherwise see St. Vincent DePaul Salvation Army: Not good for any diecast. Teen Challenge Northwest: Was horrible with only "pancake cars" for *years* until I went by and got 4 bags of vintage playworn mixed brand diecasts for $2.99 each. Hollywood Treasures Antiques: Excellent availability of vintage and collectible diecast, often has slightly imperfect Franklin Mint large scale for $20 and up or decent for $40 and up. Varies by visit and inventory Trash-n-Treasures: Fair selection, best for Lesney, Ertl farm toys, 1/24 banks, 1/18s and redline to modern Hot Wheels. More Of Everything: Name is accurate, has almost everything with a lot of no-longer-available stuff, takes special orders on days that the boss is there, best place in my area for Auto World (seasonal) "Jeff on Ginger Street": Garage sale vendor, good for Lesney and collector line (but not 100%) HW. Edited by GothicCarsUrban, Mar 3 2015, 10:35 PM.
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