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When people bought multiple hot wheels for their collection,I'd vacuum pack them all in a row..They said they were going to leave them that way all sealed and protected from moisture and chips.,.but still visible.I used to gather up old busted and beat up ones..say 5-6 at a time and sell them as a "redline wrecking yard".People would pull them out as they needed parts to restore others.5-6 busted up old cars would net about $40-50.Fairly decent ones with some "play"(minor paint chips,bent axles..all parts there)go for about $25-35.Mint go $$!
For those not "knowledgeable"..redlines were the first to come up,with "redwall stripes"(as whitewalls) on the wheels.They were produced in 1968 to about 1971..mostly the more normal copies of production cars at the time with custom mods(hood scoops,etc)..like mustangs,amx,cougars,mavericks,lincolns,etc..with a few full custom ones(that kind of copied car models).Anyway..If you run across the hotwheels at garage sales..pick up the ones with the red sidewalls.bear in mind that if the bottoms of the cars look shiny and elaborate with showing mufflers and things..those are probably newer reproductions and not worth much on ebay.The older bases were rather plain and dated in the late '60,early 70s(The repros are dated those years also!..but shiny bottoms..the most common repro I've seen is the 1956 Chevy Nomad wagon..dead giveaway on that car)
I had the privilege to go through a bag the other day at Deseret thrift store that one of the elderly ladies bought "for her grandchildren to play with".I told her "You gotta be kidding!"..there were 11 "redline" series cars in there..worth over $300+..

Those kids now will get the 50 NON-REDLINES to chew on..

while her son sells the RLs on ebay.
That's one of the biggest scores of old hotwheels I've ever seen..for $10.
Okay..back to dehydrated foods..
The views and opinions expressed by this person are his own and not the general consensus of others on this website.Realityguy