Hot Wheels, and the Fabric of the Universe

I was surfing through the Treefrog Treasures forum board (which I highly recommend doing) and came across a link to an article from Bloomberg News about toy costs going up.

I walked into Wal-Mart the other day and looked at the Hot Wheels (Not a huge collector, but when I see one I like, I'll buy it), and they had raised the price to $1.09.  Whoa there!  A Hot Wheels car is $1, no more, no less.  That's like an undeniable rule of the cosmos.  A standard toy car goes above $1, and the planets are likely to get all out of whack.  Cats and Dogs will start being friendly, men will understand women, and general chaos will undoubtedly ensue.  A standard Hot Wheels car does NOT cost more than $1.  But there it was, staring me in the face.  $1.10 for that poorly painted, plastic bodied miniature purple Dodge Challenger.

I did what any principled person would do.  I walked away, refusing to spend that extra ten cents, lest I cause Mars to come crashing into Earth.

Toy prices are going up.  I tend to think of it as a good thing.  In some cases, it will force companies to re-invent the wheel, looking for new avenues to create their product.  Our new metal figures are produced all in the U.S., and now TSSD is doing an all U.S. made set for their upcoming O.K. Corral.  Yes, prices will go up, but other things like production time might decrease, and quality control will increase, and you'll feel good about putting your money into companies that are supporting the U.S.

And yes, after spending $9 on kitty litter, I decided that ten extra cents for that little purple car wasn't going to ruin the fabric of the Universe.