In Hot Pursuit of Childhood Dreams

(Val) It’s been a busy week here on the home front as we gear up for the holidays. Thanksgiving looms, and Christmas is not far behind. It’s amazing to me, because it feels like we just celebrated these holidays just a short while ago. While we enjoyed the fun-filled months of racing season, all those good times sure make the time pass quickly.

So now we focus on the great American holiday of Thanksgiving and all that it entails. Spring and Caleb will be joining our family, as will my brother and sister-in-law. I haven’t even begun to clean the house or prep anything, but at least my menu and grocery list are down on paper. It’s a start anyway.

One of the reasons I haven’t begun to prepare is because I’ve been so busy doing other things. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve been haunting toy stores, Target and eBay in search of hard-to-find toys.

A couple of weeks ago, Cars was released on DVD and since then, a whole new set of diecast cars have shown up on the market. The new “supercharged” cars include all the old favorites, plus a few new paint jobs. Spring and I have spent a lot of time trying to track down a complete set for Caleb for Christmas, and we’ve done pretty well, but it has become a lesson in frustration.

Why is it that toy companies like to produce limited quantities of items and force parents to go searching for them for their kids? If they know an item is going to be popular, such as the infamous Tickle Me Elmo, then why not make enough to go around? They are going to make a killing in profits, so what do they have to lose? It’s just ridiculous. It all started with those ugly Cabbage Patch Dolls, and has progressed to Elmo, PlayStation 3 and even these little Cars diecast toys.

The thing that is so frustrating is the whole eBay deal. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been buying and selling on eBay for years, and I’ve made some amazing profits in the process, but these people who have multiple copies of the most sought-after items confound and exasperate me. How is it that they can get their hands on 20 Cruisin’ Couples: Radiator Springs McQueen and Sally diecast cars when we have yet to see a single one in a store? Something stinks in retail, that’s for sure.

Yes, people are camping out for days to get their hands on the newest PlayStation for the sole purpose of selling it on line to make a profit, and I can understand that. What I can’t understand is why people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for them, but hey, to each his own. What it comes down to is that for parents like Spring and I, who just want to get a complete set of cars for her son Caleb, the whole thing is just irritating. Why doesn’t Mattel just make enough to go around and rake in the dough instead of letting all the eBay profiteers cash in like they do? Or is it possible that Mattel is actually selling this stuff at auction themselves in order to inflate their own bottom line? It wouldn’t surprise me if some of the sellers are actually Mattel employees who are paid to auction off “hard to find” items to make big money for their employer. Conspiracy? Hmmmm.

Whatever the truth, it’s just nuts to keep up with the chase. They are just little cars that only crazy people pay big bucks for. Folks like us aren’t going to pay $30 for a Hot Wheels-sized toy just to hand it over to a six-year-old who only wants to race Radiator Springs McQueen against Dirt Track McQueen to see who is the fastest!

Trust me, we’re not the kind of materialistic parents raising materialistic children who have to have the biggest and best, latest and greatest of everything that comes out. Our kids are not label babies who wear whatever logo apparel is popular this week. We don’t shell out top dollars for iPods and GameBoys and all that stuff. These are little $4 Matchbox-sized cars for heaven’s sake!

So listen up, Mattel: We’re not buying it anymore. It’s like when we got caught with a piece of gum in grade school and our teacher told us that if we didn’t bring enough to share with the whole class, we had to leave it at home. Don’t tease our kids with your toys if you’re not going to make enough to satisfy the demand because we’re finished with trying to chase them down. Target and Toys R Us have both told us how stingy you’re being with shipments, so if you can’t play nice, get out of the sandbox, take your pail and go home.

As for me, you won’t see my Fabulous Hudson Hornet with the cool decals and my Lightning McQueen with the Radiator Springs paint job on eBay because I’m not out to make a buck. I just want to get down on the floor and play cars.