New Hot Wheels Optimus Prime Figures Flip Overnight

News

By RC Staff

23 May 2024

Earlier this week, Transformers fans had the opportunity to pick up something special: an officially licensed Hot Wheels Transformer based on Optimus Prime. This was a big deal as collaborations between Hasbro and Mattel are pretty rare. If you were too slow or didn’t hear about them ahead of time, you’ve missed your chance to buy; these are all sold out. Now resellers are having a field day by flipping them for more than double what they retailed for.

Hot Wheels Transformers Optimus Prime

So, what’s all the hullabaloo about? Is this just a toy, or something more?

Well, it is just a toy, but it also isn’t just a toy. The Hot Wheels Optimus Prime Transformer figure represents the first major collaboration between Hasbro and Mattel, and joining two fandoms as massive as Hot Wheels and Transformers is bound to attract attention.

The Hot Wheels Optimus Prime figure is 1:64 (known as a “WST” scale to Transformers fans) die-cast figure depicting the Autobot Optimus Prime. It can transform from Prime’s iconic big rig form into a towering robot based on his Generation 1 appearance.

The toy is made from Mattel’s ZAMAC alloy, and features many moving parts, attachable hands and blaster, and moving wheels.

At a 1:64 scale, the Hot Wheels Optimus Prime figure stands just over 3 inches tall in robot form, and about 1 inch tall and 3 inches long when transformed into a truck.

The packaging has been carefully designed to allow display in either form. The Hot Wheels Optimus Prime figure cost $80, and was first made available through the Mattel Creations website on May 21. A Red Line Club membership was not required to make a purchase.

Hot Wheels Optimus Prime Resells

Naturally, resellers had their eyes on this drop from the get go. Both Hot Wheels and Transformers fans are well-known for being big spenders, and an opportunity like this would be too tempting for most to pass up.

Better yet, Mattel limited this sale to three figures per order. Most major drops will only allow one item at a time, so this larger limit set the table very well for resellers to profit.

Right now, the Hot Wheels Optimus Prime figure is reselling for about $150. Ahead of its release, early presales were going for upwards of $200.

Bottom line? Lots of profit, especially if you snagged three. In a best case scenario, a reseller could walk away from this release with $200 or more in profit in a few minutes.

We like the way that sounds. If you do too, subscribe to our newsletter to learn about other flips like these. This is not the first time we’ve covered a Hot Wheels flip; check out our articles on last year’s 510 Treasure Hunt cars and the 2023 Super Treasure Hunt set to learn more.