Welcome to another edition of the Ebay Insanity Price Index! The concept of these posts is that I look up the best price I can find on eBay for a diecast and then I compare it to the highest price I can find for the Exact. Same. Product. Today we consider a fantasy casting: Hyper Mite. Premiering in 2001 and designed by Mark Jones, the Hyper Mite has been released in multiple variations and in a significant amount of special edition lines (Since ‘68, Halloween 2012, Easter 2013). It was apparently featured in the “classic” toy-ad-as-video-game Hot Wheels Velocity X, which you could play on your Gamecube in the early 2000s. Video game review site IGN summed it up with just one syllable
“Bad”
Despite all the special editions and video game “fame” however, the Hyper Mite seems to be running out of steam, with not much of note lately. In fact, I wasn’t even aware it existed until putting together this index. The Hyper Mites here are Pearl Orange (it was also available in black) basic mainline editions released in 2009.
Low:
$1.39 +3.25 shipping = $4.64
Even with 30% off, this still seems high to me, honestly. Yet in comparison to the highest asking price, it’s the bargain of the century.
Jeez, not even free shipping. On the plus side you can finance it for ........
$834 for 6 months
Of course, you could simply purchase it outright for:
$5000 +3.00 shipping = $5,003.00
Oh, and no returns.
This one has actually been up for awhile, but I’ve yet to see any apparent reason for the ludicrous asking price. Even if they are hoping for someone stupid rich (with a complete ignorance of the market) to throw 5 grand their way it still baffles.
A few special editions of the Hyper Mite (such as the Since ‘68) genuinely do command more than a buck or two. The most valuable of which is a 2 pack from the 2003 Hot Wheels National Convention. The cars celebrate 10 years of Mark Jones design.
A signed version is here for $63.40
While the cheapest unsigned version is currently $33.99 OBO
In terms of the 2009 Mainline, however, we have
$5003 - 4.64 = $4998.36 Difference
For those who want to know what the listings have actually sold for, the last one to sell was this one on July 7th. And, yes, that is a final sale price of one single penny.
So, essentially, if you are a fan of the 2009 Hyper Mite you can purchase one off eBay right now for anywhere from 1 cent to $5000.
It’s your call.
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