Hi all,

The latest Red Line Club (RLC) offering of the Blue Bus was both a huge success for the Hot Wheels Collectors.com (HWC.com) folks, and at the same time, a huge disaster for many collectors who didn't get the chance to order. I'm not going to address either one of those issues in this article. But I am going to address a few observations that I've had in the aftermath.

The first thing that struck me in recent days is the divisiveness. There are two distinct camps in this one. For the sake of this story, I'll call the camps Got and Didn't Get. And as I write this, the powers that be are looking for help with possible revamping of the RLC. And this revamping is really bringing out strong points for both camps. Let's peer into the war rooms of each group.

First, the Gots. The majority of those who managed to get online and buy the bus are pretty happy with the way things are. No limits on memberships, no increase in production numbers, no changes to the scheduled ordering times or days. And the subgroup of the Gots, the resellers, is even happier. They have their hands on arguably the hottest exclusive of the past few years. And they are going to make a killing at auction with them. And as expected, some of these new Gots have been Didn't Gets in the past. And since they are now Gots, they feel a bit superior. Funny how crossing over to the other side changes people. I think the change is temporary. At least I hope so.....

Next, the Didn't Gets. As expected, the Didn't Gets are the most vocal. The majority is calling for big changes. Higher production numbers, limits on household memberships, rotating ordering times and days. And there is a subgroup within the ranks of the Didn't Gets as well. I've read messages by some folks who have been lucky enough to find multiples of other hard to find cars this year, and refused to trade any because the value wasn't high enough, demand that the Gots trade extra Blue Buses for cost. These folks were Gots in one battle, and are now Didn't Gets, and their actions as Gots are coming back to haunt them. Funny how crossing over to the other side changes people. I think the change is temporary. At least I hope so.....

As with any conflict, there are some neutral folks. I'll call this group the Rest Of Us. This group is comprised of small factions of the Gots and the Didn't Gets. The Gots part of the Rest Of Us feel that although they ordered a bus or buses, some changes are needed. The majority of this minority feels that increased production of exclusives will help solve the problems. The Didn't Get part of the Rest Of Us feel that it was the luck of the draw. By circumstance, either self induced, or induced by an outside source, they missed out.  But they are OK with that. There will be other exclusives. These Didn't Get group of the Rest Of Us is the smallest minority of the whole batch, but are more than likely the best collectors as well.

A friend of mine recently called these new exclusives the E-Treasure Hunt. And he's 100% correct. The battles in stores over exclusive cars are now fought on a new battleground. The twist is that instead of stalking doors or building relationships with live personnel in stores, the resellers have figured out ways to buy their way into a large number of exclusives with multiple user names and addresses. If anyone didn't see this coming, then you are either very new to the collecting world, or are wearing blinders.

Are changes needed to the way this new E-Hunt is marketed and distributed? I don't know. Will changes be made? Again, I don't know. Will any of this little rant change peoples minds or thought processes? Probably not. I don't know what group you are in. It's really none of my business. I know what group I'm in, and I'm happy with myself. Are you?

--Joe