Well, here we go again.  Another friend of mine says he is giving up collecting.  I had a lot of mixed feelings about Axle's announcement.  My first thought was, "He'll quit the site and I'll never hear from him again."  Selfish huh?  But the people I have met and continue to meet in this hobby are the best part about collecting as far as I am concerned.  Sure it's nice to find a new release, but I honestly don't care if I get it when it is released or six months later.  I don't care if I get every variation or not (although I like getting the rare ones for the Museum because that it the only chance some people will get to see them).  I didn't always feel that way.  I shopped all the time and wanted to have everything as soon as it was released.  And I was lucky to be able to do that years ago because the scalper population was very small where I lived.  Not so now.  I'm lucky if I find something on the pegs six months after it has been released.  But it doesn't matter to me now.  My friends are the most important thing about this hobby.
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So when Axle said he was going to quit I just knew I would be losing a friend.  I was sad, and then I was majorly ticked off.  I was always taught not to give up without a fight...not to let the "turkeys" get ya down.  I have a massive stubborn streak (although a friend once told me it was determination, not stubbornness) and I hate to let the bad guys win.  I always cheer for the underdog(s).  But in this case some of the underdogs are helping the bad guys win and the good guys give up on this hobby.  I love these little cars.  But one of the reasons I collect them is their cost.  Even if I could afford to pay scalper prices I don't do it for the simple reason that it helps perpetuate the cycle.  We've all heard it before - scalpers would not exist if there were not collectors willing to buy from them at exorbitant prices.  Are the scalpers ever going to go away?  In my opinion no.  There are too many people out there who have more money than time, who figure its not worth the effort to find the cars themselves when they can pick them up for twice to twenty times the cost, who have to be the first one on the block to get each new release and its worth whatever it cost them to claim that fleeting moment of fame, etc.  So some collectors are helping to ruin it for all of us.  Those who surrender to this way of thinking are as much our enemies as scalpers.  And they miss out on the joy of finding the cars on the pegs themselves.
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I don't plan on ever giving up this hobby...because that's what it is - a hobby.  My life does not depend on having each new car as it is released or even on having each car released since I began collecting - that is never going to happen.  But I figure I can wait till August to get a January release and be just as happy when I find it as I would have been in January.  And since all of my friends are the best part of this hobby I don't plan on ever quitting - besides how would N and C carry on a Museum with die cast and memorabilia from only a limited time period.  That is one good thing about collecting a variety of brands - I can almost always find something I don't have.  And don't think I have no idea what it is like to be discouraged.  I have found only three first editions on the pegs so far this year - and each one was found after someone sent me the car in the mail.  I know what its like to find nothing for months, I have just decided not to let it get to me or ruin my enjoyment of this hobby.
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So Axle, whether you have decided to quit collecting just Hot Wheels and will continue to collect another brand, or if you have decided to throw in the towel on the entire hobby altogether, I still EXPECT to hear from you on a regular basis.  I get the most eccentric email from you and would hate to download the mail and not see something with your address on the sender line.    :-)    Trish