There have been many different series and toy lines through the years that Mattel has released for their Hot Wheels brand. If you are an avid collector of Hot Wheels toys or simply have noticed them hanging on the shelves of stores and supermarkets, then you may have come across some Hot Wheels boxes marked with a “Factory Sealed” sticker.
What does this really mean?
Mattel releases Hot Wheels toys at the end of the year in a large set. These sets contain every single mainline Hot Wheels toy release from throughout the entire year, including all of the colors and different releases and these are marked with a “Factory Sealed” sticker on the box.
The factory sealed sticker on a Hot Wheels car/set is to let the buyer know that the item has never been opened so they can expect the set/car to be complete from the factory and missing nothing. This also means the items inside will be in absolute perfect condition (if the sticker is still attached and the box never opened).
Essentially the Factory Sealed sticker lets people know without a doubt that the item is still 100% original and in original condition.
You can learn more about Factory Sealed Hot Wheels toys throughout this article, as well as some other interesting information pertaining to the toy line.
What Does Hot Wheels Factory Sealed Mean?
As mentioned earlier, Factory Sealed refers to a sticker that is placed onto certain boxes of Hot Wheels toys. This sticker indicates that the toy originates from a set released by Mattel, known as a Factory Set, which includes every single mainline Hot Wheels release from throughout the entire year.
Mattel seems to do this in order to sell off their extra stock as well as to provide fans of the franchise with another chance at collecting all of the cars that they wanted but were unable to attain throughout the year.
The mainline Hot Wheels cars include every single store exclusive car, mail in cars, regular treasure hunts, and super treasure hunts, and will most likely include any other new mainline series’ that Mattel decides to introduce in the future.
These cars also come in every color and variant that was released that year.
All of these cars that can be found within a factory set produced by Mattel will be marked with a silver “Factory Sealed” sticker on the box. So, if you ever find a Hot Wheels box marked with this sticker you now know where it originates from and what its purpose is.
Does A “Factory Sealed” Sticker Impact The Toy’s Value?
One thing that seems to be a point of contention with collectors of Hot Wheels cars is whether or not the silver Factory Sealed sticker impacts the overall price of the product. While there is no answer that is set in stone, most collectors will say that a Factory Sealed sticker decreases the value of the car.
This does not have anything to do with the quality of the car itself or anything like that, but rather the fact that most collectors will display the toy while it is still inside of its box. Having a large silver sticker on the box may ruin the uniform appearance that many collectors are going for, and many have stated that they prefer spending the extra on a box without the Factory Sealed tag on it so as to keep their collections pure.
Some of the decreases in value may also be attributed to the fact that collectors would rather have the limited run versions of the car that do not have the Factory Sealed sticker on the box because they are considered “rarer”. This is because the toy was purchased before it was re-released within the factory set at the end of the year.
Of course, this all depends on the collector. There are collectors out there that could not care any less about whether or not the box has a silver Factory Sealed sticker on it, and may even prefer the Factory Sealed variants of the Hot Wheels cars due to the significantly lower price and the fact that they know the item is in perfect condition.
Are Factory Sealed Hot Wheel Sets Worth Buying?
If you have missed out on one of the various releases throughout the year and are interested in picking up all of the mainline Hot Wheels cars all at once, then grabbing a Factory Sealed set of cars is definitely a good decision.
Being able to purchase all of the Hot Wheels mainline cars at once is a great way of saving time and hassle. Instead of needing to search constantly for the cars that you are missing in your collection for that year, you can simply purchase the entire set all at once and get everything that you need.
Not only can you quickly build up your collection by purchasing an entire Factory Sealed set, but there are also some mainline cars that were released that year that are worth quite a bit. Getting a hold of these cars is a great way to bolster collections and even make a bit of investment should you intend to sell off the cars to other collectors at a later date.
Getting a Factory Sealed set is also great for collectors because you can rest assured that the boxes for each Hot Wheels car will not be damaged. One thing that really stinks is walking into a store and finding a car that you need for your collection only to realize that the box of the car is damaged or in poor shape.
In short, the Hot Wheels Factory Sealed sets are definitely worth buying and there are many reasons for grabbing these sets at the end of the year.
Whether you are a hardcore collector or simply a fan of the toys, Factory Sealed sets are a great way to build up your collection and get the cars that you desire.
Conclusion
Now you know what Hot Wheels Factory Sealed means.
Factory Sealed Hot Wheels cars are a great way to pick up some mainline releases that you may have missed throughout the year, and finding these releases is quick and easy due to the silver holographic sticker on the front of the toy’s packaging.
While some collectors may stick their noses up at the thought of owning Factory Sealed items, these are a great means for obtaining the cars that you want or need and may not have had a chance of getting a hold of earlier in the year.
They also come in boxed sets including every single mainline release, so you can get every car from that year all at once!