Like Pokemon and other trading cards, Hot Wheels cars are collectible items with a major fanbase worldwide. Collectors often look for the rarest Hot Wheels cars and will spend years building their collections.
Where to buy Hot Wheels?
You can buy these tiny detailed toy cars at most major stores across the United States. There are also online hobby stores that often have some rarities in their collection. You can, of course, buy Hot Wheels directly from Mattel too. Other places to buy these cars include Target, Walmart, eBay, and even Facebook Marketplace.
9 Best Places to Buy Hot Wheels
Without further ado, here are seven of the best places to buy Hot Wheels, both online and offline:
1 – Target
Target sells pretty much everything you could need for your home. This includes everything from kitchen appliances and living room furniture to toiletries and, yes, Hot Wheels. In fact, Target has a large section explicitly dedicated to Hot Wheels cars. This means that it sports a nice variety of these toys. These include seasonal models, specialty releases, and collections released that year or in previous years. Also, it doesn’t just sell the cars. You can also buy track pieces and sets from their vast collection, making it a great stop next time you consider expanding or starting your Hot Wheels collection.
2 – Walmart
Walmart is probably the best place to buy Hot Wheels offline. It boasts an extensive array of Hot Wheels car models that vary according to season. It also carries specialty models and sets. You can also buy individual track pieces and entire track sets from here. You can find anything from cheaper models to, if you are lucky, rare specialty sets at the store.
3 – eBay
As any Hot Wheels collector worth their salt knows, eBay is the best place to find rare and vintage car models and specialty sets. In fact, eBay is a collector’s haven — sporting everything from Pokemon collectibles to Magic the Gathering and Yu Gi Oh cards. So, the online auction site’s collection of Hot Wheels toys is understandably vast and ever-growing. Suppose you are not just looking for cool, cheap models to gift someone and trying to add a rare goodie to your set. In that case, eBay is hands down the best place to head to, especially if you are looking for vintage rarities unavailable elsewhere.
4 – Amazon
Amazon is another fantastic online store from which to score rare and specialty Hot Wheels. The online retailer sells thousands of Hot Wheels toys, including individual track pieces, entire track sets, specialty models, seasonal and annual releases, and much more. If you are trying to build your Hot Wheels collection from scratch, Amazon is one of the first places to check out.
5 – Best Buy
Best Buy is also an excellent place to buy single Hot wheel models and sets online and offline. The prices are a tad in the higher range compared to other retailers. But they carry a good selection of seasonal and specialty models and tracks.
6 – Toys R Us
Toys R Us is a good option to buy seasonal and annual releases online. Sadly, their options are a tad limited, but you can still find most current models there.
7 – Mattel
Online stores and offline retailers aside, one of the best places to look for Hot Wheels models is with Mattel themselves. Since they are the manufacturers, you can get the best prices for your toys right at Mattel Company’s online store.
They have a varied collection, from seasonal releases to specialty sets, individual track pieces and sets, and even spare parts. Unfortunately, their stocks include only current models, so if you are looking for vintage or rare collectible Hot Wheels, the best options are still Amazon and eBay.
8 – Wheel Collectors
If you are a serious Hot Wheels collector, Wheel Collectors’ online store is worth visiting. Their listing includes hundreds upon thousands of cars, individual parts, and track sets. Their Hot Wheels collection is divided into Basic and Premium. It contains models from multiple series like Redline Club, Retro Entertainment, Pop Culture, ID Cars, Boulevard, Garage Series, Racing Series, etc.
9 – Facebook
The Facebook Marketplace is relatively new to the scene, but that doesn’t mean you can’t score some great collectibles from there. You can buy, sell, and even trade items at the Marketplace.
Like eBay, it is a great place to look for rare and vintage Hot Wheels since collectors often frequent them. You can also find specialty sets and spare parts here. The collection is varied and keeps growing, so you need to watch for when something extraordinary goes online.
Bonus: Diecast Republic
Diecast Republic is a hobby store based in San Antonio, Texas. It features an extensive collection of collectible cars, including but not limited to Hot Wheels models. It features most of the current models and seasonal sets. They also have quite a few premium car models. Diecast Republic also has an online store, but their brick-and-mortar hobby superstore is worth a visit.
Ananyaa Bhowmik is a neurodivergent and queer pop-culture journalist with the Wealth of Geeks. She has previously worked with brands like Sterling Holidays, Myntra, Bajaj, and the Loud Interactive. She is an independent scholar, cat parent, and performance poet. Her areas of research and interest focus on and around digital marketing, Canadian indigenous history, queerness in media, and pop-culture and fandom studies.
