WEBVTT 00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:08.289 Thanks for watching! All right. So for the first 00:00:08.289 --> 00:00:10.529 time ever, Ricky and I are going to be having 00:00:10.529 --> 00:00:13.250 a guest here on Hobby Talk. And I'm very, very 00:00:13.250 --> 00:00:16.010 excited. Now, I am making this little intro before 00:00:16.010 --> 00:00:19.109 our interview because I just want to make sure 00:00:19.109 --> 00:00:21.829 that I cover a little bit of good information 00:00:21.829 --> 00:00:24.710 about what to expect ahead. Because when it comes 00:00:24.710 --> 00:00:26.609 time for the interview, I want it to be more 00:00:26.609 --> 00:00:29.250 conversational than kind of an interrogation 00:00:29.250 --> 00:00:32.469 of just Q &As. So who we are going to be interviewing 00:00:32.469 --> 00:00:34.369 is somebody that we already kind of discussed 00:00:34.369 --> 00:00:37.070 just fairly recently here on Hobby Talk. and 00:00:37.070 --> 00:00:40.369 that is collectors md and that is somebody who 00:00:40.369 --> 00:00:44.250 is taking the extra step in the hobby and looking 00:00:44.250 --> 00:00:47.170 out for other people within this space because 00:00:47.170 --> 00:00:50.530 so many people myself included think that this 00:00:50.530 --> 00:00:52.929 hobby has turned into a means of gambling and 00:00:52.929 --> 00:00:55.539 so many people have an addiction to gambling 00:00:55.539 --> 00:00:57.439 believe it or not whether that's sports gambling 00:00:57.439 --> 00:00:59.719 whether that's going to the casino gambling whether 00:00:59.719 --> 00:01:01.979 that's scratch tickets gambling lottery tickets 00:01:01.979 --> 00:01:05.079 whether it's sports cards pokemon cards for that 00:01:05.079 --> 00:01:09.500 matter right so this person has developed a platform 00:01:09.500 --> 00:01:13.680 to kind of be that help for people in this hobby 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:16.620 for the people that need help with their breaking 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:20.019 gambling issues. And I'm really, really excited 00:01:20.019 --> 00:01:22.200 to kind of peel back the curtain and see what 00:01:22.200 --> 00:01:24.280 this person has to offer this hobby, how they 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:26.819 came about, how they got into it and what their 00:01:26.819 --> 00:01:29.780 aim goal and what they see themselves doing in 00:01:29.780 --> 00:01:31.920 this hobby down the road. I have my background 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:33.560 in clinical mental health counseling. That's 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:35.719 what I was doing before I opened Murph's card 00:01:35.719 --> 00:01:38.680 town. So I'm very, very intrigued by this topic 00:01:38.680 --> 00:01:41.019 on hand. So I think there's going to be a fantastic 00:01:41.019 --> 00:01:43.239 conversation ahead of us. And both Ricky and 00:01:43.239 --> 00:01:45.180 I are very, very excited. So without further 00:01:45.180 --> 00:01:48.109 ado, let's transition. to our interview with 00:01:48.109 --> 00:01:52.049 Collectors MD. All right. We have our, Ricky, 00:01:52.129 --> 00:01:54.950 our first ever guest here. Yeah. And we are very, 00:01:54.969 --> 00:01:58.450 very excited to introduce Collectors MD. However, 00:01:58.629 --> 00:02:00.549 before we dive into anything, before Ricky and 00:02:00.549 --> 00:02:03.469 I kind of give our thoughts, opinions, and ask 00:02:03.469 --> 00:02:05.269 away our questions, again, I mentioned this in 00:02:05.269 --> 00:02:07.269 the intro, which I made separately. I want this 00:02:07.269 --> 00:02:09.129 to be more conversational than kind of like an 00:02:09.129 --> 00:02:11.229 interrogation of just pounding you with questions 00:02:11.229 --> 00:02:13.370 and you just giving us answers. But first, before 00:02:13.370 --> 00:02:15.250 we get into anything, please introduce yourself. 00:02:15.669 --> 00:02:18.409 Who are you? What are you doing? And how did 00:02:18.409 --> 00:02:21.689 you kind of get into this whole space? yeah well 00:02:21.689 --> 00:02:23.889 first of all thanks for having me guys uh really 00:02:23.889 --> 00:02:28.469 appreciate it um Ricky had reached out to me 00:02:28.469 --> 00:02:32.389 about uh you know collectors mb and how he felt 00:02:32.389 --> 00:02:35.110 like it was uh something that the hobby you know 00:02:35.110 --> 00:02:37.949 was missing and introduced me to uh to Murph 00:02:37.949 --> 00:02:41.069 so um you know checked out a few of the episodes 00:02:41.069 --> 00:02:44.129 and just really excited and glad to be here so 00:02:44.129 --> 00:02:46.830 wanted to thank you guys first before diving 00:02:46.830 --> 00:02:49.939 in you're so very welcome And I apologize to 00:02:49.939 --> 00:02:52.099 the audience as well. As I told you guys, I'm 00:02:52.099 --> 00:02:55.500 a little bit sick. So, you know, if my voice 00:02:55.500 --> 00:02:58.599 is a little bit hard to hear, understand, forgive 00:02:58.599 --> 00:03:04.719 me. With that, my name is Alyx. I started Collectors MD 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:08.419 just over three weeks ago, which is pretty crazy 00:03:08.419 --> 00:03:12.139 to say, because it's been an absolute whirlwind 00:03:12.139 --> 00:03:18.319 to this point. Just an overflow. of of dms and 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:20.699 people reaching out just expressing their support 00:03:20.699 --> 00:03:24.680 and admiration so i am super grateful uh for 00:03:24.680 --> 00:03:28.300 all of the people who have been advocating for 00:03:28.300 --> 00:03:31.919 this movement and um you know i'm just really 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:34.699 excited for the opportunity to continue to spread 00:03:34.699 --> 00:03:38.199 that uh message and awareness around uh collectors 00:03:38.199 --> 00:03:42.889 md and why it is so incredibly important for 00:03:42.889 --> 00:03:45.909 the hobby and for other hobbies that involve 00:03:45.909 --> 00:03:51.810 collecting. With that, I am based in New Jersey. 00:03:52.009 --> 00:03:55.469 I have been in the hobby for about five, six 00:03:55.469 --> 00:03:59.169 years. I've been collecting my whole life, whether 00:03:59.169 --> 00:04:05.039 that be memorabilia growing up, obviously. um 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:08.979 Pokemon and the Chicago Bulls era with Upper 00:04:08.979 --> 00:04:13.199 Deck and Fleer Topps collecting basketball cards 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:16.939 things like that i grew up in the 90s so um you 00:04:16.939 --> 00:04:19.980 know i had the opportunity to open packs with 00:04:19.980 --> 00:04:23.420 my dad and you know have a lot of nostalgic memories 00:04:23.420 --> 00:04:29.569 tied to that And so fast forward to post-graduation, 00:04:29.709 --> 00:04:32.790 post-college graduation, I started to get heavy 00:04:32.790 --> 00:04:35.350 into collecting sneakers. And so for the better 00:04:35.350 --> 00:04:39.769 part of my 20s, I was, it's ironic that one of 00:04:39.769 --> 00:04:43.970 the posts here says curate, don't accumulate. 00:04:44.410 --> 00:04:46.490 And then as you can see on the left, you see 00:04:46.490 --> 00:04:51.730 all the sneakers. Yeah, so I collected sneakers 00:04:51.730 --> 00:04:53.829 and it got to a point where it was just like. 00:04:54.350 --> 00:04:57.629 I mean, you see the few I have left behind me, 00:04:57.689 --> 00:05:01.509 but it was overwhelming, the amount of sneakers 00:05:01.509 --> 00:05:04.550 that I had. And it happened so quickly. I didn't 00:05:04.550 --> 00:05:08.149 even realize that I was turning into, you know, 00:05:08.149 --> 00:05:11.949 an obsessive hoarder as my girlfriend at the 00:05:11.949 --> 00:05:16.310 time, now my wife, would call me. And so, you 00:05:16.310 --> 00:05:18.209 know, it got a little bit out of hand and I had 00:05:18.209 --> 00:05:22.680 no other choice but to start downsizing. You 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:26.800 know, the pandemic came and a buddy of mine reintroduced 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:30.319 me to the sports card hobby. And so I found a 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:36.279 really, you know, I think healthy mix, you know, 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:38.740 at the time that made a lot more sense for me 00:05:38.740 --> 00:05:41.839 just in terms of scratching that itch as a collector. 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:45.220 Because, you know, obviously sports cards take 00:05:45.220 --> 00:05:50.350 up a lot less space. You know, just as lucrative 00:05:50.350 --> 00:05:53.389 and exciting and actually more exciting because 00:05:53.389 --> 00:05:56.110 you don't know what you're actually buying into 00:05:56.110 --> 00:05:59.189 when you're buying a box of cards as opposed 00:05:59.189 --> 00:06:02.029 to a pair of sneakers. And so I kind of pivoted 00:06:02.029 --> 00:06:05.290 my attention to the sports card hobby. And I 00:06:05.290 --> 00:06:08.930 was involved in breaking and, you know, doing 00:06:08.930 --> 00:06:11.720 the whole. breaking thing with a brand called 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:14.199 Bogo Breaks and a few of my buddies that I had 00:06:14.199 --> 00:06:17.579 grown up with. I had spoken about this with some 00:06:17.579 --> 00:06:22.139 of the guys on these other podcasts within the 00:06:22.139 --> 00:06:27.959 space. And, you know, it got to the point where, 00:06:27.959 --> 00:06:30.199 you know, I had to make a decision. Do I want 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:33.519 to pursue this full time or, you know, do I want 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:35.939 to focus on my career and just like mess around 00:06:35.939 --> 00:06:38.759 and do this on the side? And so. My buddies decided 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:40.800 to just, you know, refocus their attention on 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:43.160 their careers. And, you know, I continued with 00:06:43.160 --> 00:06:45.879 it for a little bit, but it was kind of, you 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:48.420 know, impossible to do by myself or, you know, 00:06:48.420 --> 00:06:51.319 with one other person with how competitive the 00:06:51.319 --> 00:06:55.519 landscape has become. And so, you know, we stopped 00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:58.720 and, you know, I still wanted to be involved. 00:06:59.180 --> 00:07:04.399 And so I started to just join more and more breaks. 00:07:05.069 --> 00:07:08.350 buy more and more personal boxes and it got to 00:07:08.350 --> 00:07:11.149 the point where it just started to spiral yeah 00:07:11.149 --> 00:07:13.910 it got a little bit out of hand similar to how 00:07:13.910 --> 00:07:15.889 the sneaker collecting was to the point where 00:07:15.889 --> 00:07:19.370 like you know those massive crate containers 00:07:19.370 --> 00:07:23.170 uh you know with like the 10 slots like the biggest 00:07:23.170 --> 00:07:26.810 ones you could buy or back into the ceiling and 00:07:26.810 --> 00:07:31.350 um that paired with you know very reckless gambling 00:07:32.350 --> 00:07:34.870 became a vicious cycle where I was joining breaks 00:07:34.870 --> 00:07:38.689 and then playing live blackjack to try to win 00:07:38.689 --> 00:07:41.930 back my losses and then going back to the breaks. 00:07:42.050 --> 00:07:45.870 And it was just becoming so out of control. And 00:07:45.870 --> 00:07:49.050 so, you know, it's something that I've struggled 00:07:49.050 --> 00:07:53.449 with for the better part of the last five years 00:07:53.449 --> 00:07:57.769 or so. And, you know, for some time I've toyed 00:07:57.769 --> 00:08:01.740 with this idea that... you know there needs to 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:05.199 be uh uh some sort of support group some support 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:10.459 system in place for collectors and hobby enthusiasts 00:08:10.459 --> 00:08:16.459 who uh you know have experienced what similar 00:08:16.459 --> 00:08:19.740 you know to what i've i've gone through and so 00:08:19.740 --> 00:08:22.939 you know at first i was like why me why well 00:08:22.939 --> 00:08:25.660 like why should i carry this message i'm you 00:08:25.660 --> 00:08:28.019 know it's like you know practice what you preach 00:08:28.019 --> 00:08:31.250 you know um i didn't want to sit sound or come 00:08:31.250 --> 00:08:35.870 across hypocritical right and um you know i i 00:08:35.870 --> 00:08:38.909 realized almost like i had an epiphany where 00:08:38.909 --> 00:08:42.629 it was like it it will it needs to come from 00:08:42.629 --> 00:08:45.269 somebody who has experienced and who has lived 00:08:45.269 --> 00:08:47.990 it and is you know in some way still going through 00:08:47.990 --> 00:08:52.730 it uh because you know there needs to be that 00:08:52.730 --> 00:08:56.889 sense of authenticity and um genuine nature that 00:08:56.889 --> 00:09:01.679 comes with uh you know carrying such an important 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:06.039 message. And so, you know, it's been a snowball 00:09:06.039 --> 00:09:07.960 effect over the last couple of weeks, just been 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:11.340 going out there with the message around what 00:09:11.340 --> 00:09:15.259 Collectors MD is and what we're aspiring towards 00:09:15.259 --> 00:09:18.360 and, you know, just trying to get as much content 00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:20.720 out there to carry this message as possible. 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:25.559 And so here we are, you know, on another great 00:09:25.559 --> 00:09:30.899 sports card show. discussing a movement that 00:09:30.899 --> 00:09:34.379 uh the hobby you know really needs to understand 00:09:34.379 --> 00:09:38.779 and and uh you know hopefully adapt to and it's 00:09:38.779 --> 00:09:42.039 it's funny how that like you know everything 00:09:42.039 --> 00:09:44.740 you just kind of mentioned is is you know at 00:09:44.740 --> 00:09:46.539 least from my perspective having the shop i see 00:09:46.539 --> 00:09:48.799 it almost every day people kind of get trapped 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:51.990 they they aren't focusing on the right reasons. 00:09:52.009 --> 00:09:53.690 I was just kind of going through your stories 00:09:53.690 --> 00:09:55.450 and I saw the Michael Jordan and the Patrick 00:09:55.450 --> 00:09:57.269 Mahomes cards and people are more focused on 00:09:57.269 --> 00:09:59.909 price tags and the actual cards themselves. And 00:09:59.909 --> 00:10:01.610 it's just like, as I'm listening and as I'm looking 00:10:01.610 --> 00:10:04.330 at this, it's just like, wow, is this hobby? 00:10:05.250 --> 00:10:07.429 I'm going to say no, but I'm still going to ask 00:10:07.429 --> 00:10:09.970 the question, is the hobby too far gone? And 00:10:09.970 --> 00:10:12.429 again, I don't think so, but it's just like the 00:10:12.429 --> 00:10:16.169 publicity behind the wrong things of the hobby 00:10:16.169 --> 00:10:19.259 is what gets. highlighted more than the positivity 00:10:19.259 --> 00:10:23.840 and it's crazy how far people have gone away 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:26.980 from collecting it at least from what i've noticed 00:10:26.980 --> 00:10:28.980 and you see all these influencers online posting 00:10:28.980 --> 00:10:31.259 the high price tags right it's not about the 00:10:31.259 --> 00:10:33.100 cool players i mean nobody cares about mike trout 00:10:33.100 --> 00:10:35.159 anymore it's all about paul skeens and jackson 00:10:35.159 --> 00:10:37.139 holiday nobody cares about their favorite player 00:10:37.139 --> 00:10:38.980 anymore it's all about whoever's the hottest 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:43.570 and newest rookie so it's definitely a a place 00:10:43.570 --> 00:10:46.529 this hobby where our mindsets and this is kind 00:10:46.529 --> 00:10:49.049 of where the whole psychological aspect of it 00:10:49.049 --> 00:10:51.070 kind of comes in where our or maybe what we're 00:10:51.070 --> 00:10:52.850 watching really and what kind of content we're 00:10:52.850 --> 00:10:55.289 consuming is our mindsets are in the wrong space 00:10:55.289 --> 00:10:59.750 um but i mean the the overview that you just 00:10:59.750 --> 00:11:01.889 gave i mean it literally just gave me Ricky i'm 00:11:01.889 --> 00:11:04.649 sure he gave you a great picture of not only 00:11:04.649 --> 00:11:06.669 who you are where you came from how you got into 00:11:06.669 --> 00:11:09.389 the space and kind of the the projection that 00:11:09.389 --> 00:11:13.220 you have uh moving forward of what you want Collectors MD 00:11:13.220 --> 00:11:15.519 to do. And I guess while I have the floor right 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:17.179 now, I guess I will apologize for thinking you 00:11:17.179 --> 00:11:18.779 were a collector from Maryland with the whole 00:11:18.779 --> 00:11:22.019 Collectors MD thing. You might have saw that from 00:11:22.019 --> 00:11:24.039 the video that I shared with you. I should have 00:11:24.039 --> 00:11:26.120 fought that one over a little bit. Well, when 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:28.480 Ricky first mentioned it, I mean, I even said, 00:11:28.500 --> 00:11:31.980 is this like a guy scam or whatever from Maryland? 00:11:32.139 --> 00:11:33.179 Like, what are we going to be talking about? 00:11:33.379 --> 00:11:35.600 So I'll be honest. I had no idea until Ricky 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:38.879 brought it to my head. My name is Ricky Rips MA 00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:42.100 and I live in Chicago now. I didn't think that 00:11:42.100 --> 00:11:45.440 went over either. So that's why I had the confusion. 00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:48.779 MA for mass. He's in Chicago now. When I see 00:11:48.779 --> 00:11:51.039 MD, I thought of Maryland. So it was a common, 00:11:51.080 --> 00:11:54.899 common mistake. But I guess, Ricky, do you have 00:11:54.899 --> 00:11:56.539 a pressing question you want to ask? Or do you 00:11:56.539 --> 00:11:57.779 want me to just kind of fire away the questions 00:11:57.779 --> 00:12:01.860 I have? No. Yeah. I saw that post about the Mahomes 00:12:01.860 --> 00:12:05.159 RPA. That's something I never really noticed 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:09.269 or thought about. Like people just. post a price 00:12:09.269 --> 00:12:13.049 tag instead of the card. It would have been better 00:12:13.049 --> 00:12:16.730 if it said Mahomes RPA pulled, not $100 ,000 00:12:16.730 --> 00:12:24.129 card pulled. Yeah. It's crazy how once you start 00:12:24.129 --> 00:12:29.690 thinking about it and you become aware that this 00:12:29.690 --> 00:12:33.929 is just being shoved down our throats on a daily 00:12:33.929 --> 00:12:37.559 basis. you see it so much more right collect 00:12:37.559 --> 00:12:42.139 like that's the that's one of the bigger pages 00:12:42.139 --> 00:12:44.620 and they're pushing it down yeah it's not a hundred 00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:47.159 thousand dollar cards and 98 you can see my comment 00:12:47.159 --> 00:12:50.759 on the on the post that has 15 likes right not 00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:55.799 too bad but you know the the point is um they're 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:58.820 you know it's called it's gotten to a point where 00:12:58.820 --> 00:13:02.620 like the leaders within this space Fanatics being 00:13:02.620 --> 00:13:08.250 the premier destination to purchase sports cards 00:13:08.250 --> 00:13:14.370 tcg sports memorabilia and also you know experience 00:13:14.370 --> 00:13:18.850 the hobby you know in terms of the content they 00:13:18.850 --> 00:13:21.429 push out uh you know obviously they have their 00:13:21.429 --> 00:13:26.389 Fanatics Live app they have their casino um Michael 00:13:26.389 --> 00:13:30.769 Rubin is absolutely you know monumental voice 00:13:30.769 --> 00:13:34.820 not just in you know our space but also amongst 00:13:34.820 --> 00:13:37.940 celebrities and a -listers and such and they're 00:13:37.940 --> 00:13:40.220 still leading with with content like this it's 00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:43.220 it's just a little bit alarming you know um it's 00:13:43.220 --> 00:13:45.559 not necessarily a knock right because it's not 00:13:45.559 --> 00:13:49.179 like the the worst thing in the world to to lead 00:13:49.179 --> 00:13:52.159 with with price tags and and you know a headline 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:55.500 it's it's clickbait right at the end of the day 00:13:55.500 --> 00:14:00.750 this is what's going on right of of individuals 00:14:00.750 --> 00:14:03.330 out not just within the hobby but outside of 00:14:03.330 --> 00:14:05.610 the hobby like holy cow this card sold for or 00:14:05.610 --> 00:14:08.029 this card is valued at a hundred thousand dollars 00:14:08.029 --> 00:14:11.049 like let me check this out right at the same 00:14:11.049 --> 00:14:14.870 time it's like it's it's almost like a little 00:14:14.870 --> 00:14:17.769 bit disrespectful not just to like the the collector 00:14:17.769 --> 00:14:21.649 the person hitting the card but to the athlete 00:14:21.649 --> 00:14:24.669 themselves right like we're not even talking 00:14:24.669 --> 00:14:26.610 about mahomes and his greatness and the fact 00:14:26.610 --> 00:14:30.330 that he won three super bowls at age 27 or however 00:14:30.330 --> 00:14:33.570 old he was but you know we're just focusing on 00:14:33.570 --> 00:14:35.210 the fact that this piece of cardboard with his 00:14:35.210 --> 00:14:37.309 ink on it is worth six figures like i don't know 00:14:37.309 --> 00:14:40.450 just doesn't sit right with me yeah another thing 00:14:40.450 --> 00:14:43.169 that's never told on these posts is how much 00:14:43.169 --> 00:14:47.710 money they spent chasing these cars yeah I, um, 00:14:47.809 --> 00:14:50.149 oftentimes will tell people at the shop is, you 00:14:50.149 --> 00:14:51.929 know, no matter what kind of, what price tag 00:14:51.929 --> 00:14:54.049 your box that you're buying is, you have to go 00:14:54.049 --> 00:14:56.029 into it with the idea that you're probably going 00:14:56.029 --> 00:14:58.330 to lose half your money just by, you know, by 00:14:58.330 --> 00:15:00.570 purchasing it and cutting the plastic. And if 00:15:00.570 --> 00:15:02.250 you can make half your money back again, whether 00:15:02.250 --> 00:15:05.110 it's a $30 box, a $300 box or a $3 ,000 box, 00:15:05.190 --> 00:15:07.429 if you can make half your money back, that is 00:15:07.429 --> 00:15:10.389 a win. If you can make 15, 150 or 1500, that's 00:15:10.389 --> 00:15:12.970 a win. And you have to hope the other half is 00:15:12.970 --> 00:15:16.690 fun. you having fun on a $3 ,300 or $3 ,000 box. 00:15:16.990 --> 00:15:20.250 Because this hobby, like other hobbies too, and 00:15:20.250 --> 00:15:21.889 it's not just sports cards, but it's just so 00:15:21.889 --> 00:15:25.190 prevalent, is all built around having fun. But 00:15:25.190 --> 00:15:27.210 people forget about it because of these clickbaity 00:15:27.210 --> 00:15:29.690 titles and these videos and, again, these influencers. 00:15:29.909 --> 00:15:32.350 And like you mentioned, Alyx, these leaders are 00:15:32.350 --> 00:15:36.309 pushing not the fun collecting aspect of it, 00:15:36.389 --> 00:15:40.789 but the monetary aspect of it. And it's half 00:15:40.789 --> 00:15:44.620 backwards because... What do people more so care 00:15:44.620 --> 00:15:49.080 about, a $100 ,000 card or Patrick Mahomes? Yeah. 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:50.799 Some would probably say Patrick Mahomes, but 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:52.340 I'm going to argue for the case of this argument, 00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:54.500 they care about the $100 ,000 card because that 00:15:54.500 --> 00:15:55.659 could have been anybody. They could have pulled 00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:57.659 a Jaden Daniels, a Caleb Williams, Bryce Young. 00:15:57.779 --> 00:16:00.259 It doesn't matter who it is, but the price tag 00:16:00.259 --> 00:16:05.159 is what matters more than the player. Yeah. Murph, 00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:09.840 do me a favor. I don't know how to share my screen, 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:13.360 but pull up Barstool. because they also posted 00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:17.620 something very similar yesterday and very, very 00:16:17.620 --> 00:16:22.220 similar sort of theme in terms of creating this 00:16:22.220 --> 00:16:24.740 false sense of hope and illusion for collectors 00:16:24.740 --> 00:16:27.840 that they can now go ahead and replicate what 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:31.940 just took place on a stream or a live podcast. 00:16:32.299 --> 00:16:34.539 And that's the biggest issue that I have with 00:16:34.539 --> 00:16:37.440 these sort of posts. It creates this fantasy 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:41.759 for people. Was it the Jordan poll? Yeah, it 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:45.460 was Big Cat pulling the Michael Jordan rookie, 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:50.179 yeah. All right. Yeah, it just creates this illusion, 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:55.899 this fantasy that people can do what these influencers 00:16:55.899 --> 00:16:58.759 are doing, ripping their third pack. You can 00:16:58.759 --> 00:17:01.279 see my comment. Look how much attention it got, 00:17:02.019 --> 00:17:06.160 100 -plus likes. 27 reviews. I bet half of those 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:09.269 people are calling you Negative Nancy. You can 00:17:09.269 --> 00:17:10.730 go through it. I've actually been going back 00:17:10.730 --> 00:17:13.869 and forth with some of them, responding to as 00:17:13.869 --> 00:17:15.849 many as I could, because honestly, some of them 00:17:15.849 --> 00:17:20.250 were thoughtful. A lot of them were combative 00:17:20.250 --> 00:17:23.269 or just like, shut up. You don't know what you're 00:17:23.269 --> 00:17:26.569 talking about. But this was a good opportunity, 00:17:26.690 --> 00:17:30.289 good platform to engage with people outside of 00:17:30.289 --> 00:17:32.710 the hobby who might not necessarily be educated. 00:17:32.789 --> 00:17:34.630 Granted, a lot of these are probably just kids 00:17:34.630 --> 00:17:39.549 or trolls trying to get attention. But, you know, 00:17:39.569 --> 00:17:42.789 like this really hit home for me. And I think 00:17:42.789 --> 00:17:46.809 a lot of people will agree that, again, like 00:17:46.809 --> 00:17:52.150 it's not as simple as just buying a vintage pack 00:17:52.150 --> 00:17:58.930 of Fleer, you know, 86 basketball and hitting 00:17:58.930 --> 00:18:02.910 on Michael Jordan rookie card in your third pack 00:18:02.910 --> 00:18:05.190 and grading it and turning around and making. 00:18:06.009 --> 00:18:08.410 you know, a hundred K or whatever, you know, 00:18:08.410 --> 00:18:10.710 probably go sell off the other packs. It's not 00:18:10.710 --> 00:18:13.349 that black and white, obviously like there's 00:18:13.349 --> 00:18:16.910 so much that goes into that, getting to that 00:18:16.910 --> 00:18:20.049 moment for the average consumer. Most people 00:18:20.049 --> 00:18:23.849 would have spent thousands upon thousands just 00:18:23.849 --> 00:18:27.029 to have the opportunity to open a pack like that. 00:18:27.130 --> 00:18:31.289 So, you know, it's just, it's a matter of education 00:18:31.289 --> 00:18:36.619 and creating guardrails. for the average consumer 00:18:36.619 --> 00:18:39.460 for the average collector that doesn't truly 00:18:39.460 --> 00:18:42.740 understand the scope of this the nature of this 00:18:42.740 --> 00:18:47.579 and how you know complex it is and it's not just 00:18:47.579 --> 00:18:50.099 rolling the dice hitting your number and then 00:18:50.099 --> 00:18:53.619 turning around and making a fortune it's there's 00:18:53.619 --> 00:18:56.440 so much more that goes into it and on the other 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:58.920 hand it's like why can't we just you know take 00:18:58.920 --> 00:19:04.650 a step back and enjoy the nostalgic nature of 00:19:04.650 --> 00:19:06.730 something like this. Like this is an iconic card, 00:19:06.829 --> 00:19:10.269 obviously of an iconic player that many people 00:19:10.269 --> 00:19:13.410 consider the greatest of all time. Like, can 00:19:13.410 --> 00:19:17.490 we take a moment to just celebrate his greatness 00:19:17.490 --> 00:19:23.069 and not focus on like PSA and the grade and the 00:19:23.069 --> 00:19:26.329 value. But that's all that matters for a lot 00:19:26.329 --> 00:19:28.990 of these people is what it sells for. I mean, 00:19:29.009 --> 00:19:32.390 you can find. multi -thousand dollar cards hundred 00:19:32.390 --> 00:19:34.269 thousand dollar cards seemingly anywhere now 00:19:34.269 --> 00:19:36.569 but you know who cares that you know that it's 00:19:36.569 --> 00:19:38.109 michael jordan who cares about the nostalgia 00:19:38.109 --> 00:19:40.390 of it because all these people in this stream 00:19:40.390 --> 00:19:43.049 probably don't even know what 86 fleer basketball 00:19:43.049 --> 00:19:45.130 is or the significance of it they probably don't 00:19:45.130 --> 00:19:46.930 even know that there was basketball cards before 00:19:46.930 --> 00:19:51.369 then so it's the amount of people i've noticed 00:19:51.369 --> 00:19:54.069 at least getting into this space that have bigger 00:19:54.069 --> 00:19:57.450 platforms who are just kind of casuals in the 00:19:57.450 --> 00:19:59.309 space or they just have this money kind of laying 00:19:59.309 --> 00:20:02.029 around to do dumb stuff like this it is just 00:20:02.029 --> 00:20:05.650 appalling because it is bringing you know this 00:20:05.650 --> 00:20:12.130 kind of negative negative not negative uh media 00:20:12.130 --> 00:20:15.490 let's call it towards the hobby because how many 00:20:15.490 --> 00:20:17.630 i mean i think i saw a comment in the mahomes 00:20:17.630 --> 00:20:19.490 one you know how many people think that this 00:20:19.490 --> 00:20:21.269 is realistic to pull this or maybe it was in 00:20:21.269 --> 00:20:23.490 this one here i mean you could probably open 00:20:23.490 --> 00:20:27.369 a dozen of those fleer um hobby boxes and you 00:20:27.369 --> 00:20:28.730 might not even pull a single one and how much 00:20:28.730 --> 00:20:31.650 money is that going to gut you so it's yeah and 00:20:31.650 --> 00:20:34.049 this is vintage right like this is completely 00:20:34.049 --> 00:20:37.650 different format there's no parallels there's 00:20:37.650 --> 00:20:40.029 no inserts like you're just you're just you just 00:20:40.029 --> 00:20:43.890 have the the full card set right so i don't know 00:20:43.890 --> 00:20:45.849 what the odds are to pull a michael jordan obviously 00:20:45.849 --> 00:20:48.150 there's there's a print run or there's like a 00:20:48.150 --> 00:20:51.450 particular order where if like you hit the i 00:20:51.450 --> 00:20:54.289 forget which player it is but you know that the 00:20:54.289 --> 00:20:56.740 jordan is coming you know the next couple cards 00:20:56.740 --> 00:20:58.579 in the next pack whatever the correlation is 00:20:58.579 --> 00:21:04.359 um but with ultra modern it's just complete completely 00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:08.480 different ball game you know so it's hard it's 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:10.700 kind of like apples to oranges in that regard 00:21:10.700 --> 00:21:15.279 but i think despite that that clip and just like 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:19.660 the way you know the culture is reacting to it 00:21:19.660 --> 00:21:24.990 is it is a good example of of why thought this 00:21:24.990 --> 00:21:29.849 hobby is so desperate is is in such great need 00:21:29.849 --> 00:21:33.769 for something like we're trying to to push here 00:21:33.769 --> 00:21:38.349 with collectors md so i'll go ahead ready it's 00:21:38.349 --> 00:21:41.950 big guys like that who will introduce new people 00:21:41.950 --> 00:21:45.329 to the hobby with that unrealistic expectation 00:21:45.329 --> 00:21:49.490 like i wouldn't be surprised if down the line 00:21:49.490 --> 00:21:53.900 we get barstool breaks Dave's going to see that. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:56.019 He's going to be like, this is our next money 00:21:56.019 --> 00:22:02.819 maker. That'll create a whole new consumer base, 00:22:02.940 --> 00:22:06.759 I guess. I'll just bring a lot more people into 00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:10.039 the hobby who just expect to make money. Just 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:15.690 flush money down the toilet. i've talked to a 00:22:15.690 --> 00:22:18.130 lot of people in the last couple weeks um people 00:22:18.130 --> 00:22:22.430 who have spiraled people who have lost not just 00:22:22.430 --> 00:22:25.109 thousands but hundreds of thousands millions 00:22:25.109 --> 00:22:28.210 in some cases it's all relative right it's all 00:22:28.210 --> 00:22:32.470 the amount of money you win or lose in the hobby 00:22:32.470 --> 00:22:36.349 all is dependent upon your own personal circumstances 00:22:36.349 --> 00:22:39.029 and situations so million dollars to one person 00:22:39.029 --> 00:22:42.140 you know is not million dollars to another person. 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:45.319 So anyway, with that, you know, you hear very, 00:22:45.380 --> 00:22:47.700 very similar stories. And a lot of people say 00:22:47.700 --> 00:22:51.180 like, you know, the first box I bought when I 00:22:51.180 --> 00:22:54.740 got reintroduced to the hobby, I hit this, you 00:22:54.740 --> 00:22:59.890 know, unbelievable. sandy kofax to 10 that i 00:22:59.890 --> 00:23:03.049 turn around and sold for 15 000 or something 00:23:03.049 --> 00:23:05.210 like that and then it's like all of a sudden 00:23:05.210 --> 00:23:08.009 creating this false sense of illusion it's almost 00:23:08.009 --> 00:23:10.470 like your first hit right like they talk about 00:23:10.470 --> 00:23:13.430 like chasing the dragon you know people always 00:23:13.430 --> 00:23:19.490 want to recreate the first time right you you 00:23:19.490 --> 00:23:22.940 understand what i'm referring to it's so similar 00:23:22.940 --> 00:23:24.680 in that sense where like you're just trying to 00:23:24.680 --> 00:23:27.440 recreate that same dopamine hit that you got 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:30.000 when you when you hit that first big pull so 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:33.079 it's almost like a blessing and a curse when 00:23:33.079 --> 00:23:35.480 you hit something like that especially when you're 00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:39.119 getting reintroduced and you your you know mind 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:41.539 is in so many different places and you don't 00:23:41.539 --> 00:23:44.299 fully understand you can't fully wrap your head 00:23:44.299 --> 00:23:47.599 around what is happening and what you're experiencing 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:51.259 right and then next thing you know like you're 00:23:51.259 --> 00:23:55.759 trying to buy uh more and more boxes to recreate 00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:57.859 that moment to get that next big pull and it 00:23:57.859 --> 00:24:01.420 takes you another you know fifteen thousand dollars 00:24:01.420 --> 00:24:04.759 worth of purchases to even come remotely close 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:08.400 and before you know it you know you're you're 00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:12.059 no longer in the green you're you're down more 00:24:12.059 --> 00:24:15.000 money than you came in with and it's like the 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:18.880 fact that those terms are so similar to gambling 00:24:20.230 --> 00:24:23.410 is another part of the problem right sports guards 00:24:23.410 --> 00:24:28.670 hobby has just replicated it's turned into my 00:24:28.670 --> 00:24:32.849 um uh glorified gambling i mean you can buy packs 00:24:32.849 --> 00:24:35.150 like on your damn phone now and like rip them 00:24:35.150 --> 00:24:38.589 there or you could you could sell it right back 00:24:38.589 --> 00:24:40.349 you have it shipped to you you could probably 00:24:40.349 --> 00:24:42.490 post it for sale or something like that it's 00:24:42.490 --> 00:24:45.329 all the courtyard online i forget what that what 00:24:45.329 --> 00:24:49.250 it's called um arena club oh yep arena club does 00:24:49.250 --> 00:24:50.529 because i know they were having like a segment 00:24:50.529 --> 00:24:53.710 on like mlb network with probably somebody maybe 00:24:53.710 --> 00:24:55.630 i forget who it was but they were like oh do 00:24:55.630 --> 00:24:57.430 you want to oh matt strong i mean like hey do 00:24:57.430 --> 00:24:58.849 you want to rip this he rips like 10 of them 00:24:58.849 --> 00:25:00.589 and i don't know what he does with them but it's 00:25:00.589 --> 00:25:03.710 like my god dude 10 of them like um but no i 00:25:03.710 --> 00:25:06.670 mean that whole like chase thing i mean i see 00:25:06.670 --> 00:25:09.539 so many people apparently so many new people 00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:11.980 into this hobby will buy a blaster box or a fat 00:25:11.980 --> 00:25:14.619 pack and they pull a downtown or a kaboom or 00:25:14.619 --> 00:25:15.960 something like that and just like you're saying 00:25:15.960 --> 00:25:18.000 they're chasing that high and it's like yeah 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:19.859 you're at the top of the mountain very early 00:25:19.859 --> 00:25:21.960 on but how many times in your life are you really 00:25:21.960 --> 00:25:24.319 going to do that and it's only going down from 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:26.099 there but that's how people kind of get sucked 00:25:26.099 --> 00:25:28.339 in is because not only are they seeing it online 00:25:28.339 --> 00:25:30.559 they experienced it firsthand and they're like 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:33.599 oh i did it once i can do it again i see this 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:36.640 person doing it all damn time and it's just a 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:39.150 negative it's like you said, negative spiral 00:25:39.150 --> 00:25:42.769 effect because gambling and sports cards, you 00:25:42.769 --> 00:25:45.049 know, used to be so far apart and so completely 00:25:45.049 --> 00:25:47.150 different, but now it's such a tight parallel 00:25:47.150 --> 00:25:49.930 between the two. I mean, with the, especially 00:25:49.930 --> 00:25:52.450 with the infusion of fantasy sports that have 00:25:52.450 --> 00:25:54.769 been around forever with, you know, sports gambling, 00:25:55.089 --> 00:25:57.069 that's a massive one nowadays. I mean, there's 00:25:57.069 --> 00:25:59.349 commercials everywhere for it. I mean, if you're 00:25:59.349 --> 00:26:01.910 into sports one way or the other, chances are 00:26:01.910 --> 00:26:04.130 you're probably into gambling too. And you may 00:26:04.130 --> 00:26:07.930 or may not even know it, which I think is, is 00:26:07.930 --> 00:26:09.970 could be exciting for people if they're responsible 00:26:09.970 --> 00:26:11.869 enough. I mean, I know I saw one of your posts 00:26:11.869 --> 00:26:15.170 saying how casinos promote responsible gambling, 00:26:15.250 --> 00:26:19.490 but the hobby doesn't. And I think that who's 00:26:19.490 --> 00:26:22.839 going to, I mean, Everybody just want any business 00:26:22.839 --> 00:26:24.880 just wants money and all these breakers and all 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:27.019 these platforms just want the end consumers money. 00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:29.859 They don't care about your wallet, your mind 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:32.700 state or whatever it may be. And I think for 00:26:32.700 --> 00:26:35.759 for me, at least with the background in psychology 00:26:35.759 --> 00:26:38.619 and counseling, it's just like you can only beat 00:26:38.619 --> 00:26:40.960 that horse so many times. The horse being that 00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:45.160 consumer until they. metaphorically die but until 00:26:45.160 --> 00:26:47.680 they kind of you know get out of the whole uh 00:26:47.680 --> 00:26:49.819 gambling aspect of it and you know they just 00:26:49.819 --> 00:26:53.319 tap out and can't do it anymore and how many 00:26:53.319 --> 00:26:55.380 people are going to continue to come around to 00:26:55.380 --> 00:26:58.880 be like to replace that person so i i just i 00:26:58.880 --> 00:27:01.559 think and i've said this before with Ricky plenty 00:27:01.559 --> 00:27:03.599 of times i think Whatnot as a whole and i'm just 00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:05.960 going to kind of kind of point to Whatnot because 00:27:05.960 --> 00:27:07.700 they're probably the the first and the biggest 00:27:07.700 --> 00:27:10.559 culprit here i think Whatnot in a vacuum is great 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:13.420 for the hobby it allows people to kind of sell 00:27:13.420 --> 00:27:15.660 dollar cards it allows people to buy cards for 00:27:15.660 --> 00:27:19.160 cheap it allows people to kind of you know buy 00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:21.519 a box and break it if they're doing it you know 00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:24.039 and wholeheartedly in a good way there's a lot 00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:25.579 of good things you can make connections there 00:27:25.579 --> 00:27:28.640 but the degree and the level that it's gotten 00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:32.240 to with backyard breaks and people scamming and 00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:34.180 sliding car you know slight of handing cards 00:27:34.809 --> 00:27:37.250 is is what's bad for the hobby and then you mix 00:27:37.250 --> 00:27:39.869 in the the advanced repetition and then the advanced 00:27:39.869 --> 00:27:42.970 gambling component of it but to wrap up my point 00:27:42.970 --> 00:27:46.210 real quickly so i just want to clarify just for 00:27:46.210 --> 00:27:50.890 people listening so you don't have like any kind 00:27:50.890 --> 00:27:53.329 of background in like counseling or psychology 00:27:53.329 --> 00:27:56.250 it's just more experience based for you what 00:27:56.250 --> 00:27:58.150 you've seen what you've been through in your 00:27:58.150 --> 00:28:00.819 experiences correct That's correct. Yeah. I'm 00:28:00.819 --> 00:28:03.079 not I'm not. And I think that's important, though. 00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:04.819 I think that's important, though, because it 00:28:04.819 --> 00:28:07.599 allows other people to, you know, maybe hear 00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:09.500 what you have to say or see what you have to 00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:11.440 say on social media. Sorry, my my other screens 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:14.579 over here. And it allows them to be like, all 00:28:14.579 --> 00:28:16.460 right, well, he's just an average guy. He's just 00:28:16.460 --> 00:28:19.599 another guy in the hobby who did it and, you 00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:22.920 know, had an admission of. Whether it was doing 00:28:22.920 --> 00:28:25.759 something wrong, guilt, or just bad habits. And 00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:28.380 hey, now they kind of took a turn for the better. 00:28:28.420 --> 00:28:30.500 If he can do it because he's just some average 00:28:30.500 --> 00:28:32.980 guy, I can do it too. And I think that's more 00:28:32.980 --> 00:28:35.240 important than if you had a background in any 00:28:35.240 --> 00:28:38.460 kind of medical field. Exactly. And that goes 00:28:38.460 --> 00:28:41.619 back to the point I was making earlier in regard 00:28:41.619 --> 00:28:44.799 to this imposter syndrome that I was experiencing 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:50.019 before launching Collectors MD, right? I'm not 00:28:50.019 --> 00:28:52.559 a doctor or a licensed therapist. I don't have 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:57.619 any experience in offering therapy or services 00:28:57.619 --> 00:29:02.799 or resources to individuals who are seeking help, 00:29:02.859 --> 00:29:05.940 especially within the mental wellness space, 00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:10.259 which is a very, very vulnerable space to begin 00:29:10.259 --> 00:29:14.539 with. But what I do have is experience, and I've 00:29:14.539 --> 00:29:20.609 lived it. That can't be replicated, right? Counselors, 00:29:20.609 --> 00:29:25.250 therapists, doctors, they study and they understand 00:29:25.250 --> 00:29:28.990 the nature of what's causing the root issue, 00:29:29.130 --> 00:29:32.390 but they've never truly experienced the root 00:29:32.390 --> 00:29:36.829 issue in most cases. But it's just, to me, it's 00:29:36.829 --> 00:29:41.509 so important for the person carrying this message 00:29:41.509 --> 00:29:45.609 or leading the way with this message. to have 00:29:45.609 --> 00:29:51.450 gone through that experience. Yeah. And I think 00:29:51.450 --> 00:29:54.410 experiences is very important for a lot of people. 00:29:54.470 --> 00:29:56.009 Just, you know, not, not just from the hobby 00:29:56.009 --> 00:29:58.670 or anything, just in life in general. But again, 00:29:58.990 --> 00:30:01.430 it's so many people experience so many different 00:30:01.430 --> 00:30:02.930 things. They kind of get caught up. I think, 00:30:02.930 --> 00:30:04.869 you know, focusing on the wrong things and there 00:30:04.869 --> 00:30:07.250 is a time and a space to focus on the wrong things. 00:30:07.369 --> 00:30:09.170 But when it comes to the hobby specifically. 00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:12.559 I mean, so many people watch backyard breaks 00:30:12.559 --> 00:30:14.680 for the entertainment. So many people are watching 00:30:14.680 --> 00:30:16.839 sudden death auctions, you know, for the entertainment. 00:30:16.839 --> 00:30:18.400 And I guess if you want to just stick to the 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:20.599 entertainment aspect of it and keep your debit 00:30:20.599 --> 00:30:22.799 or credit card out of it, that's fine. But once 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:25.559 you kind of partake into it. You're just feeding 00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:29.200 the fuel of that Whatnot breaker or whoever, 00:30:29.380 --> 00:30:31.680 and you're no better than the rest of them. Because 00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:35.940 I stand on the edge, and I will die to my grave 00:30:35.940 --> 00:30:39.140 saying this, that if you and your buddies all 00:30:39.140 --> 00:30:42.119 chip in to buy a box four ways, a nice box, and 00:30:42.119 --> 00:30:44.339 you break it amongst each other over pizza and 00:30:44.339 --> 00:30:47.160 some beers, whatever. That is all fine and dandy. 00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:49.980 That sounds super fun. I would love to do that 00:30:49.980 --> 00:30:52.220 with, you know, some friends. But I think that's 00:30:52.220 --> 00:30:54.519 as far as breaking, in my opinion, should go. 00:30:54.660 --> 00:30:56.440 I don't do any breaks around here because I don't 00:30:56.440 --> 00:30:58.160 really care for it. I've tried doing cheap ones. 00:30:58.380 --> 00:30:59.980 Nobody wants them, but they'll spend hundreds 00:30:59.980 --> 00:31:02.019 of dollars with Backyard in a heartbeat. So, 00:31:02.099 --> 00:31:04.059 like, if you're having fun with a group of friends, 00:31:04.160 --> 00:31:07.680 fine. But, like, once you go online and you feed 00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:12.019 into the negative BS that we see on Whatnot or 00:31:12.019 --> 00:31:16.059 Drip or FNAF, whoever or wherever. then you're 00:31:16.059 --> 00:31:18.740 just, again, you're, I don't think you're any 00:31:18.740 --> 00:31:20.700 better than anybody else. And I don't try to 00:31:20.700 --> 00:31:23.099 mean that, you know, in a mean way, it's just 00:31:23.099 --> 00:31:26.259 like, when are people going to learn? Like, what 00:31:26.259 --> 00:31:28.220 is it going to take for that person to be like, 00:31:28.240 --> 00:31:30.740 to like yourself? I can't do it anymore. I'm 00:31:30.740 --> 00:31:33.279 done. I'm in a bad space. I spent so much money. 00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:37.680 Like, so let me ask you personally. Um, and I'm 00:31:37.680 --> 00:31:39.579 sorry, Ricky, I'll, I'll let you squeeze in. 00:31:39.799 --> 00:31:44.250 I just, at what point? Was it laying in bed? 00:31:44.430 --> 00:31:46.589 Was it after a bad break where you got nothing? 00:31:46.690 --> 00:31:48.190 You looked at your bank account. At what point 00:31:48.190 --> 00:31:50.690 were you like, I can't do this anymore? Like, 00:31:50.710 --> 00:31:53.509 was there one moment? No, that's the thing, Murph. 00:31:53.609 --> 00:31:55.990 It's not one moment. It's been countless moments 00:31:55.990 --> 00:31:59.829 of experiencing exactly that, where it's just 00:31:59.829 --> 00:32:04.309 utter burnout. That feeling of dread, that feeling 00:32:04.309 --> 00:32:08.269 of what did I just do? How did I just spend all 00:32:08.269 --> 00:32:12.029 of that money so mindlessly, so recklessly, so 00:32:12.029 --> 00:32:14.730 carelessly? And now I have to face the consequences. 00:32:15.369 --> 00:32:17.930 I wrote, so I write these daily reflections is 00:32:17.930 --> 00:32:20.269 what I call it. And I publish them every day. 00:32:20.289 --> 00:32:21.910 I don't know how many people actually read them, 00:32:21.950 --> 00:32:25.450 but it's therapeutic for me. And I've had a lot 00:32:25.450 --> 00:32:27.710 of, or a handful of people contribute and write. 00:32:28.430 --> 00:32:32.250 right for this, uh, blog. And so I wrote one 00:32:32.250 --> 00:32:35.789 last week that, um, I think really relates to 00:32:35.789 --> 00:32:38.329 the story. It's, it's a short one, uh, but I'm 00:32:38.329 --> 00:32:39.950 just going to quickly read it. Cause I think 00:32:39.950 --> 00:32:42.950 it, it really, uh, hits home what you're, what 00:32:42.950 --> 00:32:45.390 you're talking about here, Murph. So, uh, the, 00:32:45.509 --> 00:32:49.269 the article, um, was written on the ninth. So 00:32:49.269 --> 00:32:51.369 it was like eight days ago and the title is the 00:32:51.369 --> 00:32:54.910 algorithm finds you. So, um, I'm just gonna, 00:32:54.950 --> 00:32:58.009 I'm just gonna read straight from, uh, You might 00:32:58.009 --> 00:33:00.069 not go looking for the break, but the break knows 00:33:00.069 --> 00:33:02.630 how to find you. Late at night, during a rough 00:33:02.630 --> 00:33:05.569 patch, in a moment of boredom or burnout, the 00:33:05.569 --> 00:33:08.650 ads show up, the clips autoplay, the algorithm 00:33:08.650 --> 00:33:11.210 knows your patterns, it remembers what you lingered 00:33:11.210 --> 00:33:13.789 on, and it isn't guessing. That little hit of 00:33:13.789 --> 00:33:17.170 content is designed to reel you back in, and 00:33:17.170 --> 00:33:19.569 it doesn't care how you're doing mentally, emotionally, 00:33:19.750 --> 00:33:22.470 or financially. You mindlessly click on the ad 00:33:22.470 --> 00:33:24.690 and re -download the app you previously deleted 00:33:24.690 --> 00:33:27.690 over 100 times before. You reluctantly tell yourself, 00:33:27.869 --> 00:33:30.549 I'm just watching, but watching becomes browsing, 00:33:30.710 --> 00:33:32.849 browsing becomes clicking, and clicking becomes 00:33:32.849 --> 00:33:35.430 spending. And just like that, you're back in 00:33:35.430 --> 00:33:37.349 the cycle you fought to leave, the cycle you 00:33:37.349 --> 00:33:39.690 promised yourself you're done with. This isn't 00:33:39.690 --> 00:33:42.049 just about box breaks or sports cars. It's about 00:33:42.049 --> 00:33:47.529 free giveaways, rare finds, flash sales, one 00:33:47.529 --> 00:33:50.109 -time discounts, anything designed to hook you 00:33:50.109 --> 00:33:52.769 fast and keep you chasing. It's about what happens 00:33:52.769 --> 00:33:55.009 when passion turns into pressure and no one's 00:33:55.009 --> 00:33:58.509 talking about it. Awareness is power. Recognize 00:33:58.509 --> 00:34:01.109 the pattern. Reclaim your space. The algorithm 00:34:01.109 --> 00:34:05.349 doesn't get to decide your story. So you could 00:34:05.349 --> 00:34:10.630 have that burnout moment time and time and time 00:34:10.630 --> 00:34:13.369 again. But at the end of the day, if you don't 00:34:13.369 --> 00:34:15.530 have the wherewithal, if you don't have the self 00:34:15.530 --> 00:34:19.010 -control to be able to stop yourself when they 00:34:19.010 --> 00:34:22.949 start reeling you back in, that's when there's 00:34:22.949 --> 00:34:26.969 a problem. And with gambling, You can self -exclude. 00:34:27.110 --> 00:34:31.889 You can tell the gaming commission of whatever 00:34:31.889 --> 00:34:34.889 state you live in that you no longer want to 00:34:34.889 --> 00:34:36.969 participate and they will literally block you 00:34:36.969 --> 00:34:39.809 out. You could walk into a casino and try to 00:34:39.809 --> 00:34:42.070 gamble and they will literally escort you out 00:34:42.070 --> 00:34:44.469 for trespassing. That's how serious they take 00:34:44.469 --> 00:34:47.210 it. That doesn't exist in the hobby. Whatnot, 00:34:47.329 --> 00:34:49.530 Fanatics Live, these breakers, they could give 00:34:49.530 --> 00:34:55.170 two shits, excuse my language, about, you know, 00:34:55.550 --> 00:34:58.730 who you are where you come from and the amount 00:34:58.730 --> 00:35:01.630 of money you lost they just want your money they 00:35:01.630 --> 00:35:05.170 just want your attention and that's what it comes 00:35:05.170 --> 00:35:08.670 down to so it's it's a sad reality but you know 00:35:08.670 --> 00:35:13.469 we we got to do something about it so it's just 00:35:13.469 --> 00:35:16.349 like how many like i mean we every casino every 00:35:16.349 --> 00:35:18.409 state like you mentioned has these strict regulations 00:35:18.409 --> 00:35:22.090 these laws because it is you know kind of how 00:35:22.090 --> 00:35:26.099 these gambling uh businesses or you know casinos 00:35:26.099 --> 00:35:28.900 empires um you know they thrive off of these 00:35:28.900 --> 00:35:31.420 laws and they have to abide by these laws otherwise 00:35:31.420 --> 00:35:32.699 they're going to get shut down and their whole 00:35:32.699 --> 00:35:34.980 business is gone because you know casinos and 00:35:34.980 --> 00:35:38.139 gambling is a huge huge business and it's a huge 00:35:38.139 --> 00:35:40.639 money pit but when it comes to the hobby like 00:35:40.639 --> 00:35:42.679 you said in that article it doesn't matter how 00:35:42.679 --> 00:35:44.340 you're feeling or what kind of day you've had 00:35:44.340 --> 00:35:46.300 or how much is in your bank account they just 00:35:46.300 --> 00:35:49.300 want your money and i think almost every break 00:35:49.300 --> 00:35:52.030 i don't watch a lot of breaks so i can't say 00:35:52.030 --> 00:35:54.110 this so i could very well be wrong but i would 00:35:54.110 --> 00:35:57.750 love to think actually i i think that a lot of 00:35:57.750 --> 00:35:59.250 breakers i don't know what percentage but it's 00:35:59.250 --> 00:36:01.389 a very high percentage don't really care about 00:36:01.389 --> 00:36:03.650 the hobby itself they don't care about your experience 00:36:03.650 --> 00:36:06.349 in the stream they just care if you're joining 00:36:06.349 --> 00:36:08.309 the break and how much is spending in the break 00:36:08.309 --> 00:36:10.849 right i think that's like their bottom line you 00:36:10.849 --> 00:36:12.670 know they don't care that you're pulling the 00:36:12.670 --> 00:36:14.510 cards that you want or you're buying the cards 00:36:14.510 --> 00:36:16.030 that you want or you're getting the teams that 00:36:16.030 --> 00:36:18.550 you want They just want to know if you're participating, 00:36:18.789 --> 00:36:21.550 how much you're spending, and how often are you 00:36:21.550 --> 00:36:25.530 spending. They also don't care how much you've 00:36:25.530 --> 00:36:29.550 spent with them historically. And I hate to give 00:36:29.550 --> 00:36:33.230 the casino, the gambling world, their flowers 00:36:33.230 --> 00:36:37.730 in any capacity because it's just as dangerous, 00:36:37.789 --> 00:36:41.190 if not more dangerous than what we're talking 00:36:41.190 --> 00:36:45.250 about here. But at least they take care of their 00:36:45.250 --> 00:36:48.929 high rollers. At least they put you up in like 00:36:48.929 --> 00:36:53.210 the penthouse and give you free stuff and invite 00:36:53.210 --> 00:36:55.349 you to the games and take care of you and scratch 00:36:55.349 --> 00:36:58.210 your back and make you feel important. Not to 00:36:58.210 --> 00:37:00.090 say that's a good thing because that's what sucks 00:37:00.090 --> 00:37:03.789 you in. But like the hobby doesn't even offer 00:37:03.789 --> 00:37:08.929 that. How many breakers or how many like local 00:37:08.929 --> 00:37:14.219 sports or local card shops offer? their top spending 00:37:14.219 --> 00:37:18.300 customers some form of vip treatment i've spent 00:37:18.300 --> 00:37:23.179 thousands if not more with certain break groups 00:37:23.179 --> 00:37:25.960 i won't name any names certain breakers certain 00:37:25.960 --> 00:37:29.360 card shops oh fire away this is the most the 00:37:29.360 --> 00:37:33.440 most i've gotten maybe a hundred dollar uh discount 00:37:33.440 --> 00:37:35.980 or a hundred dollar gift card here and there 00:37:35.980 --> 00:37:40.360 uh like uh you know thanks for your your uh thanks 00:37:40.360 --> 00:37:43.690 for your support thanks for your business A sticker, 00:37:43.869 --> 00:37:48.530 a koozie, a hat. A pen? What are we doing? I 00:37:48.530 --> 00:37:49.989 got a pen from somebody. What are we doing, right? 00:37:50.309 --> 00:37:52.949 You could walk away and never spend with them 00:37:52.949 --> 00:37:55.030 again, and they won't even blink twice because 00:37:55.030 --> 00:37:58.989 they don't care about their customers. They care 00:37:58.989 --> 00:38:02.110 about the customer's wallets. They care about 00:38:02.110 --> 00:38:04.530 the customer's bank accounts, money in those 00:38:04.530 --> 00:38:07.250 bank accounts, and that's it. That's what it 00:38:07.250 --> 00:38:08.829 comes down to. It's a business at the end of 00:38:08.829 --> 00:38:12.989 the day. There's one breaker in particular. that 00:38:12.989 --> 00:38:17.070 I've spent the most money with to date of all 00:38:17.070 --> 00:38:19.710 of the breakers that I have spent money with 00:38:19.710 --> 00:38:23.150 by a landslide. And I've had conversations with 00:38:23.150 --> 00:38:26.690 the owner about this. And I've asked them, why 00:38:26.690 --> 00:38:28.690 didn't you offer like a VIP program? Why didn't 00:38:28.690 --> 00:38:34.010 you offer like, I don't know, some form of give 00:38:34.010 --> 00:38:38.769 back to like your top 2 % customers, your top 00:38:38.769 --> 00:38:41.690 spenders? And they literally chalk it up as, 00:38:41.809 --> 00:38:43.329 well, we have the most competitive pricing in 00:38:43.329 --> 00:38:45.829 the industry. You get the best deals with us. 00:38:45.949 --> 00:38:49.309 Which is open to everybody. And that doesn't 00:38:49.309 --> 00:38:51.730 even exist anymore because Fanatics has created 00:38:51.730 --> 00:38:57.469 some form of regulation in regards to pricing. 00:38:57.849 --> 00:39:05.090 And they still price gauge and do whatever they 00:39:05.090 --> 00:39:10.420 want in terms of pricing the boxes. It's like, 00:39:10.619 --> 00:39:12.559 are you kidding me? That's the answer you give 00:39:12.559 --> 00:39:15.539 me? But anyway, you know, I don't like to talk 00:39:15.539 --> 00:39:19.579 about this topic because it feeds into the concept 00:39:19.579 --> 00:39:22.420 of going back and spending more. And it's like, 00:39:22.420 --> 00:39:26.400 if that did become a thing, it would just attract 00:39:26.400 --> 00:39:30.860 more people and would end up screwing over the 00:39:30.860 --> 00:39:32.480 majority of the people that would get involved 00:39:32.480 --> 00:39:34.820 with that because they would just keep coming 00:39:34.820 --> 00:39:37.420 back. And at the end of the day. The house always 00:39:37.420 --> 00:39:40.119 wins. So the reason why they give you that penthouse 00:39:40.119 --> 00:39:43.699 and they give you all the free food and tickets 00:39:43.699 --> 00:39:45.099 and everything else is because you're going to 00:39:45.099 --> 00:39:47.500 spend the money. They want to get you inside 00:39:47.500 --> 00:39:50.460 of the establishment. That's all that matters 00:39:50.460 --> 00:39:52.119 to them. They don't care how much money they 00:39:52.119 --> 00:39:55.000 need to throw at you. Eventually, you're going 00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:58.119 to give it back to them and then some. Preach. 00:39:58.840 --> 00:40:01.980 Preach. What were you going to say, Ricky? About 00:40:01.980 --> 00:40:05.699 the whole VIP treatment thing with one -off breakers 00:40:05.699 --> 00:40:08.440 and all that. I feel like a big reason they don't 00:40:08.440 --> 00:40:11.300 do it is because they don't have to. There's 00:40:11.300 --> 00:40:13.920 no need to. They're still going to get people 00:40:13.920 --> 00:40:16.579 and they're spending money. Like you said, if 00:40:16.579 --> 00:40:19.460 you or whoever else walked away, they wouldn't 00:40:19.460 --> 00:40:21.659 even notice because other people will fill that 00:40:21.659 --> 00:40:26.539 spot. At the end of the day, like I said, they 00:40:26.539 --> 00:40:29.980 don't care about their customers. Real quick, 00:40:30.179 --> 00:40:32.019 Ricky, here's the other thing about comparing 00:40:32.019 --> 00:40:36.989 gambling to sports cards. And again, I don't 00:40:36.989 --> 00:40:42.869 want to endorse gambling or any means of playing 00:40:42.869 --> 00:40:46.789 blackjack or sports betting. Don't do it because 00:40:46.789 --> 00:40:49.489 it's just not healthy and you're never going 00:40:49.489 --> 00:40:52.929 to win in the long run. With that said, when 00:40:52.929 --> 00:40:55.690 you sit down to play a hand of blackjack, at 00:40:55.690 --> 00:40:57.889 least you have a 50 -50 chance of winning. At 00:40:57.889 --> 00:40:59.869 least you have a 50 -50 chance of doubling your 00:40:59.869 --> 00:41:02.949 money. When you sit down and spend $500 on a 00:41:02.949 --> 00:41:08.630 hobby box, You have maybe a 10 % chance of making 00:41:08.630 --> 00:41:11.710 your money back, let alone profiting. It's like 00:41:11.710 --> 00:41:15.150 that alone should deter people. But it doesn't. 00:41:15.349 --> 00:41:17.409 It doesn't. And people justify it by saying, 00:41:17.530 --> 00:41:19.750 well, you know, at the end of the day, like you 00:41:19.750 --> 00:41:21.389 said, Murph, just paying for the entertainment. 00:41:21.590 --> 00:41:23.769 You know, there's the entertainment value. And, 00:41:23.769 --> 00:41:26.670 you know, it's the nostalgic factor of opening 00:41:26.670 --> 00:41:29.630 a box of sports cards like I used to when I was 00:41:29.630 --> 00:41:32.230 a kid with my dad or whatever. Who are you kidding? 00:41:32.829 --> 00:41:38.150 The way people open cards today versus how it 00:41:38.150 --> 00:41:41.510 used to be in the 80s and the 90s, it's not even 00:41:41.510 --> 00:41:46.030 in the same stratosphere. People like to join 00:41:46.030 --> 00:41:50.250 breaks for a rooting interest. You'll see a lot 00:41:50.250 --> 00:41:53.210 of sports bettors. They'll throw $5 on a game. 00:41:53.250 --> 00:41:55.969 They'll throw $50 on a game, whatever. They're 00:41:55.969 --> 00:41:57.210 just like, it just gives me something to root 00:41:57.210 --> 00:41:59.389 for. I'll admit it. During football playoffs, 00:41:59.510 --> 00:42:00.989 I'll do the same thing during the championship 00:42:00.989 --> 00:42:03.139 weekend and the Super Bowl. I'll pick a few, 00:42:03.219 --> 00:42:05.079 three or four props. I'll throw five, ten bucks 00:42:05.079 --> 00:42:06.760 on it. If I win, that's great. If not, who cares? 00:42:06.960 --> 00:42:08.659 But it just gives me something to root for. I 00:42:08.659 --> 00:42:10.260 won't say I want to get in the end zone twice, 00:42:10.360 --> 00:42:13.940 whatever it may be. But let me ask you this because 00:42:13.940 --> 00:42:16.000 I feel like we – If you could do that, more power 00:42:16.000 --> 00:42:19.400 to you. It's called control and restraint, honestly, 00:42:19.519 --> 00:42:21.800 because once the games are over, delete the app. 00:42:21.940 --> 00:42:25.019 If you can be an adult, like I salute you. And 00:42:25.019 --> 00:42:28.440 I am just – I have nothing but good words to 00:42:28.440 --> 00:42:31.320 say about people who have that sense of control. 00:42:31.840 --> 00:42:34.000 And most people do, frankly, but there are people 00:42:34.000 --> 00:42:35.699 that don't. And we need to help those people. 00:42:35.880 --> 00:42:38.300 People ask me all the time, like, how do you 00:42:38.300 --> 00:42:40.880 not rip all that product, you know, on the shelves? 00:42:40.940 --> 00:42:43.300 I'm like, well, I buy it once. And, you know, 00:42:43.300 --> 00:42:45.300 I look at it as the mindset of if I open it, 00:42:45.340 --> 00:42:47.599 I buy it a second time, which, you know, any 00:42:47.599 --> 00:42:51.000 business, any ROI, any profit, you know, you 00:42:51.000 --> 00:42:53.179 know, model, you can't buy something twice and 00:42:53.179 --> 00:42:55.480 expect to profit off of it. You just can't. So 00:42:55.480 --> 00:42:58.219 it's like, I don't really care for this certain 00:42:58.219 --> 00:43:00.840 set, you know, this court Kings basketball set 00:43:00.840 --> 00:43:03.869 personally. or maybe it's like football absolutely 00:43:03.869 --> 00:43:05.630 i could care less for it so why would i even 00:43:05.630 --> 00:43:07.949 open it like sure it would make great content 00:43:07.949 --> 00:43:09.789 sure it would be nice to kind of expose so i 00:43:09.789 --> 00:43:11.579 have a better understanding of the product Sure, 00:43:11.699 --> 00:43:13.639 sure, sure, sure. But there's too many products 00:43:13.639 --> 00:43:16.420 that come out. So it's like, why expose myself 00:43:16.420 --> 00:43:18.219 so I can understand this product better? Sure. 00:43:18.239 --> 00:43:20.380 It might help me sell it better, but like, there's 00:43:20.380 --> 00:43:21.599 going to be something else next week. So why 00:43:21.599 --> 00:43:23.159 does it matter? And I'm not going to keep opening 00:43:23.159 --> 00:43:25.380 and opening, opening over the week. Exactly. 00:43:25.639 --> 00:43:27.300 So it's just like, I mean, you can go on YouTube 00:43:27.300 --> 00:43:29.059 and find a million people who are opening the 00:43:29.059 --> 00:43:30.739 product. If you want to kind of, you know, look 00:43:30.739 --> 00:43:32.159 at it and see what comes out of it. And, you 00:43:32.159 --> 00:43:34.059 know, I'm not going to try to, you know, be a 00:43:34.059 --> 00:43:35.880 fish swimming in that school with, you know, 00:43:35.880 --> 00:43:37.800 you know, all these other bigger breakers or 00:43:37.800 --> 00:43:41.329 bigger box openers. But. I do want to ask you 00:43:41.329 --> 00:43:43.010 this question, though, because we've been talking 00:43:43.010 --> 00:43:46.349 a lot about, I'd say, the negative aspect of 00:43:46.349 --> 00:43:48.869 it. But obviously, when we're trying to bring 00:43:48.869 --> 00:43:50.849 awareness to something, we have to accept something. 00:43:50.969 --> 00:43:53.269 And that acceptance is unfortunately negative. 00:43:53.829 --> 00:43:58.800 But in your perspective, where do you see? or 00:43:58.800 --> 00:44:01.159 where would you like the hobby to go? Maybe within 00:44:01.159 --> 00:44:05.360 just a year from now with the promotion and the 00:44:05.360 --> 00:44:08.800 introduction of collectors MD, like this time 00:44:08.800 --> 00:44:10.880 next year, where do you expect collectors MD 00:44:10.880 --> 00:44:13.239 to be? And where would you like to see the hobby? 00:44:14.019 --> 00:44:16.719 It's a great question. And it's a hard question 00:44:16.719 --> 00:44:19.820 to answer because it's definitely not black and 00:44:19.820 --> 00:44:21.920 white. It's not black and white. It's only been 00:44:21.920 --> 00:44:27.320 a few weeks. But the amount of. momentum and 00:44:27.320 --> 00:44:29.960 support i've received in such a short time has 00:44:29.960 --> 00:44:34.280 been so overwhelming that i feel like this potentially 00:44:34.280 --> 00:44:39.059 has wheels to you know take take some leaps and 00:44:39.059 --> 00:44:42.940 bounds and and become a mainstay uh in a hobby 00:44:42.940 --> 00:44:45.440 in an industry that is so desperate for something 00:44:45.440 --> 00:44:50.000 like it so in a year from now i would love to 00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:53.119 see just at the bare minimum some guardrails 00:44:53.119 --> 00:44:56.380 in place so and it doesn't have to have anything 00:44:56.380 --> 00:44:59.460 to do with Collectors MD. I'd love to help push 00:44:59.460 --> 00:45:02.659 the reform for it. I'd love to help advocate 00:45:02.659 --> 00:45:09.079 for this to be a mainstay. I'm just one person. 00:45:09.159 --> 00:45:11.039 I'm not a gaming commission. I'm not going to 00:45:11.039 --> 00:45:14.099 come in like the SEC and just lay down the law. 00:45:14.179 --> 00:45:15.980 That's not what we're trying to do. Just trying 00:45:15.980 --> 00:45:19.900 to spread awareness. I would love to see guardrails. 00:45:19.980 --> 00:45:24.119 I would love to see Fanatics. and or Whatnot, 00:45:24.420 --> 00:45:28.639 Loupe, whoever else, say, okay, we have to offer 00:45:28.639 --> 00:45:34.659 the customer, the consumer, the option to put 00:45:34.659 --> 00:45:37.260 themselves in timeout, which in gambling terms, 00:45:37.380 --> 00:45:40.260 that means cool off, where you can't access the 00:45:40.260 --> 00:45:42.920 app. Once you put yourself on that exclusion 00:45:42.920 --> 00:45:45.440 list, you cannot. access the app no matter how 00:45:45.440 --> 00:45:48.280 hard you try they have your ip address they have 00:45:48.280 --> 00:45:50.460 your social security number they have all of 00:45:50.460 --> 00:45:52.300 your credentials so that the only way you could 00:45:52.300 --> 00:45:55.099 access it would be through you know somebody 00:45:55.099 --> 00:45:57.900 else i mean you know addicts find a way around 00:45:57.900 --> 00:46:01.739 it but at least put something in place uh you 00:46:01.739 --> 00:46:05.219 know a safety net feature so that people can 00:46:05.219 --> 00:46:09.389 can stop themselves in a moment of vulnerability 00:46:09.389 --> 00:46:12.449 and desperation right like Murph you're talking 00:46:12.449 --> 00:46:15.889 about all these different products that we have 00:46:15.889 --> 00:46:19.489 access to you know like i could say this because 00:46:19.489 --> 00:46:21.510 i've experienced it there have been times at 00:46:21.510 --> 00:46:25.050 2 3 a .m where i'm so desperate for a hit that 00:46:25.050 --> 00:46:28.130 dopamine hit that next big card where i'll i'll 00:46:28.130 --> 00:46:30.929 open anything you know i'm i'm like at the uh 00:46:32.019 --> 00:46:34.360 Chronicles Blasters, baby. Bottom of the barrel. 00:46:34.440 --> 00:46:36.619 Just trying to scrape whatever I can. Trying 00:46:36.619 --> 00:46:40.019 to join whatever live channel is still, you know, 00:46:40.019 --> 00:46:43.099 is still live. And, you know, now it's 24 -7. 00:46:43.239 --> 00:46:45.199 But, you know, just trying to find somebody who's 00:46:45.199 --> 00:46:47.380 selling anything. And it's like I find myself 00:46:47.380 --> 00:46:50.820 ripping product that I never in a million years 00:46:50.820 --> 00:46:53.860 would have thought I would open, right? Like 00:46:53.860 --> 00:46:56.579 I always tried to limit myself to basketball, 00:46:56.900 --> 00:46:59.739 football, baseball. Like the three main sports 00:46:59.739 --> 00:47:02.659 and the three main leagues, right? Like I'm not 00:47:02.659 --> 00:47:08.360 opening up WNBA or, you know, college or, you 00:47:08.360 --> 00:47:10.460 know, I'm not really a hockey fan, but like I'm 00:47:10.460 --> 00:47:13.579 not ripping hockey. I'm not ripping UFC or WWE 00:47:13.579 --> 00:47:18.199 or F1 or any of these other sports or, you know, 00:47:18.199 --> 00:47:20.960 secondary sports, if you will, that have become 00:47:20.960 --> 00:47:25.099 mainstream within this space, right? If it's 00:47:25.099 --> 00:47:27.719 out there and it's available at 3 a .m. and I 00:47:27.719 --> 00:47:29.900 need that itch scratched and it's the only thing 00:47:29.900 --> 00:47:37.199 I can open, I'll give it a shot. There have been 00:47:37.199 --> 00:47:40.820 times where it's like the stream ends or the 00:47:40.820 --> 00:47:45.340 money runs out or my credit card gets declined 00:47:45.340 --> 00:47:50.500 because I've exceeded my daily limit and I literally 00:47:50.500 --> 00:47:54.500 can't spend another dollar even if I tried. And 00:47:54.500 --> 00:47:58.239 I'm itching. I need to in that moment so badly. 00:47:58.480 --> 00:48:00.539 But then I just end up falling asleep. And the 00:48:00.539 --> 00:48:02.739 next morning, I wake up with a sense of relief 00:48:02.739 --> 00:48:08.099 that I wasn't able to. It's like your mindset 00:48:08.099 --> 00:48:10.659 completely changes in the daytime or in the morning 00:48:10.659 --> 00:48:14.760 versus that late night when you're really craving. 00:48:16.460 --> 00:48:21.139 And so if there was an opportunity to... stop 00:48:21.139 --> 00:48:23.360 yourself before you end up in that situation 00:48:23.360 --> 00:48:25.460 so like in the morning when you're like oh i 00:48:25.460 --> 00:48:27.460 can't believe i i went down that rabbit hole 00:48:27.460 --> 00:48:31.000 i'm like afraid like all i could think about 00:48:31.000 --> 00:48:33.099 all day is like what if i end up there again 00:48:33.099 --> 00:48:36.360 later tonight give me the opportunity to prevent 00:48:36.360 --> 00:48:39.699 myself from putting like that that alone will 00:48:39.699 --> 00:48:42.280 give people peace of mind right it's one less 00:48:42.280 --> 00:48:44.400 thing to worry about it's one less thing to like 00:48:44.400 --> 00:48:47.780 think you know uh like i don't even have the 00:48:47.780 --> 00:48:50.019 option to like i'm self -excluded from gambling 00:48:50.559 --> 00:48:53.940 I did the maximum five years in New Jersey. I 00:48:53.940 --> 00:48:57.199 did this, you know, when I stopped gambling in 00:48:57.199 --> 00:49:00.960 April of 2023. And now I can't gamble. And I 00:49:00.960 --> 00:49:02.719 don't even really think about it, right? Like 00:49:02.719 --> 00:49:04.760 it's just not really top of mind. It's all mindset. 00:49:05.380 --> 00:49:07.900 That's really what I'm down to. When it was there, 00:49:08.019 --> 00:49:10.039 when it was an option, I would always think about 00:49:10.039 --> 00:49:11.880 like, well, what about the deposit match? What 00:49:11.880 --> 00:49:14.159 about the bonuses? What about like, you know, 00:49:14.179 --> 00:49:17.119 all these freebies? Like just one more hand won't 00:49:17.119 --> 00:49:19.320 hurt. And it's such a slippery slope that like 00:49:19.320 --> 00:49:22.239 no matter. how you approach it, you're going 00:49:22.239 --> 00:49:24.659 to end up going full tilt at one point or another. 00:49:24.800 --> 00:49:27.900 It's just a matter of time. So that was a very 00:49:27.900 --> 00:49:30.139 long -winded answer to your question, Murph. 00:49:30.340 --> 00:49:32.780 But I just want to see some guardrails in place 00:49:32.780 --> 00:49:38.340 that help protect the end consumer. And, you 00:49:38.340 --> 00:49:40.340 know, one other thing I just want to caveat is 00:49:40.340 --> 00:49:43.219 that a lot of people, like when I spoke with 00:49:43.219 --> 00:49:46.099 the guys at the Real Card Show, you know, Cage. 00:49:46.960 --> 00:49:50.340 uh and valor both great dudes they were having 00:49:50.340 --> 00:49:52.760 fun with it you know but they were talking about 00:49:52.760 --> 00:49:57.019 like you're an adult like you don't need like 00:49:57.019 --> 00:50:00.940 a nanny or like uh somebody to to help you like 00:50:00.940 --> 00:50:03.340 they couldn't wrap their heads around it per 00:50:03.340 --> 00:50:05.280 se like they could but at the same time they 00:50:05.280 --> 00:50:07.900 were like like why can't you just be an adult 00:50:08.730 --> 00:50:10.429 And that's something that comes up all the time 00:50:10.429 --> 00:50:13.590 in GA because I went to GA meetings for a couple 00:50:13.590 --> 00:50:15.170 of years and we can get into that if we have 00:50:15.170 --> 00:50:20.829 the time. But spouses and significant others 00:50:20.829 --> 00:50:23.949 are like, why can't you just be a grown adult 00:50:23.949 --> 00:50:27.530 and be responsible and not gamble? But unfortunately, 00:50:27.610 --> 00:50:29.670 we live in a day and age where it's just not 00:50:29.670 --> 00:50:32.989 that simple. And an addict is an addict no matter 00:50:32.989 --> 00:50:35.809 how you slice it. You can't tell an alcoholic 00:50:35.809 --> 00:50:38.460 who's addicted to drinking. to just stop drinking. 00:50:38.619 --> 00:50:42.300 It's not that simple. And like, it's, it's not 00:50:42.300 --> 00:50:44.760 a cop out. It's not like an excuse or justification. 00:50:45.760 --> 00:50:49.579 It's the reality. Addiction is addiction. And 00:50:49.579 --> 00:50:53.039 it just, it needs to be treated appropriately. 00:50:53.880 --> 00:50:58.199 And I just want to see people in this hobby have 00:50:58.199 --> 00:51:01.159 the opportunity to get that treatment the same 00:51:01.159 --> 00:51:03.980 way any other addict would. I just want it to 00:51:03.980 --> 00:51:06.980 be taken seriously. I like that. That was a good 00:51:06.980 --> 00:51:09.400 answer. Do you have a follow -up for that, Ricky, 00:51:09.440 --> 00:51:13.900 before I ask another question? Yeah. I mean, 00:51:13.920 --> 00:51:16.500 you would think that these bigger companies want 00:51:16.500 --> 00:51:21.699 their consumers to feel protected, safe in a 00:51:21.699 --> 00:51:26.260 hobby, but it really shows their mindset of they, 00:51:26.360 --> 00:51:28.239 at the end of the day, they just want your money. 00:51:28.800 --> 00:51:32.139 They don't care about you. And I think that sucks. 00:51:33.340 --> 00:51:35.639 They just care about your money. People should 00:51:35.639 --> 00:51:38.699 realize that they don't care about them. Yeah. 00:51:39.199 --> 00:51:41.420 I do think there's like a psychological element. 00:51:41.559 --> 00:51:42.920 I mean, we've already kind of talked about it 00:51:42.920 --> 00:51:44.559 a bunch when, you know, it comes to addiction 00:51:44.559 --> 00:51:47.159 and that dopamine hit, but like outside of that, 00:51:47.219 --> 00:51:48.559 I want to know, I mean, maybe you could speak 00:51:48.559 --> 00:51:51.119 about experience. Like other than that, other 00:51:51.119 --> 00:51:53.139 than the dopamine, the chase for another hit, 00:51:53.179 --> 00:51:55.400 like what is that underlying reason to do it? 00:51:55.420 --> 00:51:56.980 And it can be a rhetorical question. We don't 00:51:56.980 --> 00:51:59.300 need to dive into it because I do have another 00:51:59.300 --> 00:52:01.139 question I do want to ask. I think it's a little 00:52:01.139 --> 00:52:03.579 bit more important, but like. I mean, I guess 00:52:03.579 --> 00:52:06.300 I'll ask both of you this. I want to kind of 00:52:06.300 --> 00:52:08.619 ask this question. Ricky, I'll ask it to you 00:52:08.619 --> 00:52:13.760 first. Are singles any better? Obviously, it's 00:52:13.760 --> 00:52:16.000 a safer purchase. You know what you're getting 00:52:16.000 --> 00:52:19.360 compared to a break. And you can make that purchase 00:52:19.360 --> 00:52:21.280 price anything you really want. You can go from 00:52:21.280 --> 00:52:23.980 quarter cards. You can go to $1 ,000 cards. But 00:52:23.980 --> 00:52:26.059 just in a vacuum, the practice, the principle 00:52:26.059 --> 00:52:28.159 behind it. And then, Alyx, I'll ask you after 00:52:28.159 --> 00:52:32.150 Ricky. How much better is singles? You could 00:52:32.150 --> 00:52:34.750 buy $100 cards, $100 cards, $100 cards, and the 00:52:34.750 --> 00:52:37.369 next thing you know, it tanks 20%. Would you 00:52:37.369 --> 00:52:39.190 be better off just buying the box and being done 00:52:39.190 --> 00:52:41.070 with it, or is the single being able to walk 00:52:41.070 --> 00:52:44.070 away with something better? I feel like it depends 00:52:44.070 --> 00:52:46.150 on the mindset that you're going into it with. 00:52:46.269 --> 00:52:48.750 Are you buying the single because you think it'll 00:52:48.750 --> 00:52:51.030 shoot up? Yeah. Or are you buying the single 00:52:51.030 --> 00:52:55.389 because you like the player? If it's a card you 00:52:55.389 --> 00:53:00.389 like, I don't think it necessarily matters. the 00:53:00.389 --> 00:53:02.670 value of it like obviously you want it to maintain 00:53:02.670 --> 00:53:05.210 or grow but at the end of the day you're getting 00:53:05.210 --> 00:53:08.469 a card you like and i think that's more important 00:53:08.469 --> 00:53:13.210 or better than buying to make money yeah at least 00:53:13.210 --> 00:53:16.550 it's like at least you're getting something that 00:53:16.550 --> 00:53:19.210 you want out of it whereas you could spend hundreds 00:53:19.210 --> 00:53:21.730 of dollars on breaks and get base cards yeah 00:53:21.730 --> 00:53:24.889 they don't even send you base cards right so 00:53:24.889 --> 00:53:27.489 at least you're getting something that you want 00:53:27.489 --> 00:53:30.460 out of it if you're buying to collect. But if 00:53:30.460 --> 00:53:34.880 you're buying to invest, I mean, I guess that's 00:53:34.880 --> 00:53:39.639 no different than buying a box. Yeah. So Alyx, 00:53:39.780 --> 00:53:41.860 where do you stand on this? Like, obviously I 00:53:41.860 --> 00:53:43.860 feel, at least I feel like the way I'm interpreting 00:53:43.860 --> 00:53:45.920 it and probably the direction you're going with 00:53:45.920 --> 00:53:48.719 is more of the whole breaking platform, your 00:53:48.719 --> 00:53:51.199 whole live stream platforms, you know, people 00:53:51.199 --> 00:53:54.239 diving into that unconsciously basically. But 00:53:54.239 --> 00:53:56.539 like, When you're buying singles, whether it's 00:53:56.539 --> 00:53:58.659 on one of those platforms or buying singles, 00:53:58.699 --> 00:54:01.639 say, at a show, is there any difference? Is it 00:54:01.639 --> 00:54:04.679 any better? Is it more acceptable? I think from 00:54:04.679 --> 00:54:06.300 a collecting standpoint, like what Ricky said, 00:54:06.420 --> 00:54:08.940 I think it's totally fine because if you want 00:54:08.940 --> 00:54:11.059 to spend $100 on a guy, go ahead. It doesn't 00:54:11.059 --> 00:54:12.840 matter. Do whatever you want that will please 00:54:12.840 --> 00:54:16.460 your collection needs. Why do people buy these 00:54:16.460 --> 00:54:19.400 multi -hundred -thousand -dollar boxes? Because 00:54:19.400 --> 00:54:22.059 they think that they're going to buy in cheap 00:54:22.059 --> 00:54:26.099 and get something crazy. For them, it's a way 00:54:26.099 --> 00:54:27.980 of an investment. But if you're looking at singles 00:54:27.980 --> 00:54:30.360 from an investment standpoint, in your opinion, 00:54:30.380 --> 00:54:32.940 is there any difference? Yeah, it's a great question. 00:54:33.099 --> 00:54:36.340 It's definitely a gray area because it really 00:54:36.340 --> 00:54:40.199 depends on the person. I'll lead with singles. 00:54:40.360 --> 00:54:42.739 Buying singles, going the singles route is obviously 00:54:42.739 --> 00:54:47.360 much safer than joining breaks. But it's less 00:54:47.360 --> 00:54:49.760 appealing because it doesn't have that excitement 00:54:49.760 --> 00:54:52.670 factor. And one thing I'll say, you know, that 00:54:52.670 --> 00:54:55.550 I've always enjoyed about getting into breaks 00:54:55.550 --> 00:54:58.929 or just what eventually evolved into just buying 00:54:58.929 --> 00:55:01.670 my own personal boxes was that if I hit like 00:55:01.670 --> 00:55:04.429 a top prospect, I'll give you an example. 2021 00:55:04.429 --> 00:55:10.130 Bowman came out. This was Bowman draft. And at 00:55:10.130 --> 00:55:12.489 the time, Carson Williams shortstop prospect 00:55:12.489 --> 00:55:15.329 for the Tampa Bay Rays wasn't like a big name. 00:55:15.389 --> 00:55:19.360 I think it was like a top 15 player, but. I hit 00:55:19.360 --> 00:55:24.420 his black refractor to 75 on card auto his first 00:55:24.420 --> 00:55:27.480 bowman. And I ended up holding onto it because 00:55:27.480 --> 00:55:30.460 he had a really cool like autograph, like penmanship. 00:55:30.559 --> 00:55:33.519 He signs his name with like a star. And so I 00:55:33.519 --> 00:55:36.639 ended up holding onto it. And like, now I find 00:55:36.639 --> 00:55:38.760 myself rooting for the guy. Right. I'm like rooting 00:55:38.760 --> 00:55:41.519 for the guy to play well and to move up the rankings. 00:55:41.800 --> 00:55:44.159 Well, as it turns out, he's now a top five, top 00:55:44.159 --> 00:55:48.380 10 prospect. And so I ended up, uh, creating 00:55:48.380 --> 00:55:52.099 the card it got a psa 10 autograph 10 and i held 00:55:52.099 --> 00:55:56.219 on to it for a long time and then uh he didn't 00:55:56.219 --> 00:55:58.539 get called up this year i think his eta is either 00:55:58.539 --> 00:56:02.119 this year or next year but i said like why why 00:56:02.119 --> 00:56:04.500 am i holding on to this card you know like i 00:56:04.500 --> 00:56:07.460 hate it like but like there's no real sentimental 00:56:07.460 --> 00:56:10.360 value here so i ended up just selling it i got 00:56:10.360 --> 00:56:12.300 rid of it like you know i'm still root for the 00:56:12.300 --> 00:56:16.730 guy whatever but like i realized that The only 00:56:16.730 --> 00:56:18.690 reason why I was rooting for this guy was because 00:56:18.690 --> 00:56:23.250 I hit his card in a box of Bowman. There's a 00:56:23.250 --> 00:56:26.630 cool factor to that to some extent, but there 00:56:26.630 --> 00:56:28.530 is literally no other reason why I'm rooting 00:56:28.530 --> 00:56:35.650 for the guy. Exactly. With that, on the other 00:56:35.650 --> 00:56:40.050 side of the coin, Collectors MD is intended to 00:56:40.050 --> 00:56:45.250 help people with compulsive spending across all... 00:56:45.579 --> 00:56:48.280 categories verticals hobbies whatever you want 00:56:48.280 --> 00:56:53.599 to call it and the sports card hobby is the most 00:56:53.599 --> 00:56:59.980 lucrative because excuse me because of that excitement 00:56:59.980 --> 00:57:02.320 factor because of the fact that you are buying 00:57:02.320 --> 00:57:04.860 into something that you don't know what you're 00:57:04.860 --> 00:57:06.480 getting in return you don't know what the contents 00:57:06.480 --> 00:57:08.980 of the box is which is what makes it glorified 00:57:08.980 --> 00:57:11.900 gambling right and so if you're just buying singles 00:57:11.900 --> 00:57:14.059 that eliminates that and now you're just back 00:57:14.059 --> 00:57:16.280 to regular collecting where you're just buying 00:57:16.280 --> 00:57:17.619 you know what you're getting you're buying a 00:57:17.619 --> 00:57:20.139 pair of jordan threes you know you're getting 00:57:20.139 --> 00:57:23.360 a pair of jordan threes in the mail right but 00:57:23.360 --> 00:57:27.219 when you buy a box of a hobby box of prism and 00:57:27.219 --> 00:57:29.260 you open it when it gets it like you don't know 00:57:29.260 --> 00:57:30.559 what you're going to hit you don't know if you're 00:57:30.559 --> 00:57:33.980 getting back 10 of your return of your investment 00:57:33.980 --> 00:57:36.000 you don't know if you're getting back 100 200 00:57:36.000 --> 00:57:45.360 and so it creates uh you know a sense of it creates 00:57:45.360 --> 00:57:47.760 an illusion it creates like you know that fantasy 00:57:47.760 --> 00:57:50.619 like i could potentially double my money if i 00:57:50.619 --> 00:57:54.960 buy into a break or if i buy a hobby box you 00:57:54.960 --> 00:57:59.300 know of of sports cards and so that's why i feel 00:57:59.300 --> 00:58:02.820 like obviously buying singles is much safer but 00:58:02.820 --> 00:58:06.440 you can still fall into the same trap from buying 00:58:06.440 --> 00:58:10.460 singles because of the emotional and psychological 00:58:10.460 --> 00:58:14.940 burnout that comes with spending compulsively 00:58:14.940 --> 00:58:19.460 right like i've been in you know just just a 00:58:19.460 --> 00:58:22.420 spectator where like i i see a really nice card 00:58:22.420 --> 00:58:25.239 get hit in a break where i'm not even in the 00:58:25.239 --> 00:58:27.099 break or maybe i am in the break and somebody 00:58:27.099 --> 00:58:30.199 else hits the card next thing i know i find myself 00:58:30.199 --> 00:58:32.079 trying to find that same card on eBay to buy 00:58:32.079 --> 00:58:34.960 it for myself right so like or to see what it's 00:58:34.960 --> 00:58:37.039 worth just to kind of worth and the next thing 00:58:37.039 --> 00:58:38.960 you know like you're you're overspending on it 00:58:38.960 --> 00:58:40.860 just like because you want to scratch that itch 00:58:40.860 --> 00:58:43.150 and It comes in and then like a week later you're 00:58:43.150 --> 00:58:45.190 over it and you want to sell it and you're going 00:58:45.190 --> 00:58:46.929 to lose money on it because the product's no 00:58:46.929 --> 00:58:50.650 longer as hyped. And it's a vicious cycle, man. 00:58:50.730 --> 00:58:54.010 You just have to do it. You have to buy with, 00:58:54.070 --> 00:58:56.969 or I should say collect, not buy. You have to 00:58:56.969 --> 00:59:00.929 collect with intention, not compulsion. And that's 00:59:00.929 --> 00:59:03.989 just the important part. So there's so many ways 00:59:03.989 --> 00:59:05.730 you can look at it. There's so many different 00:59:05.730 --> 00:59:10.119 answers. And again, it's, it's. case by case 00:59:10.119 --> 00:59:13.840 person to person but as long as you're doing 00:59:13.840 --> 00:59:17.860 it responsibly and with intention you know you 00:59:17.860 --> 00:59:21.820 you have my blessing more power to you i i hear 00:59:21.820 --> 00:59:25.380 that and i think there's so many factors that 00:59:25.380 --> 00:59:27.760 go into it but i think a lot of people who are 00:59:27.760 --> 00:59:30.679 kind of stuck in this rut let's call it just 00:59:31.230 --> 00:59:33.789 don't see the bigger picture i mean let's kind 00:59:33.789 --> 00:59:35.250 of circle back to a previous point like just 00:59:35.250 --> 00:59:37.030 be an adult like i mean you got kids you got 00:59:37.030 --> 00:59:39.610 a wife you got family whoever whatever and just 00:59:39.610 --> 00:59:41.210 like at the end of the day it's just cardboard 00:59:41.210 --> 00:59:44.110 and we really make what the we make the market 00:59:44.110 --> 00:59:46.889 i mean i'm telling people religiously like hey 00:59:46.889 --> 00:59:50.269 don't buy scalped pokemon product don't buy product 00:59:50.269 --> 00:59:52.650 that's too overpriced because if you just stop 00:59:52.650 --> 00:59:55.050 buying it then they won't be able to sell and 00:59:55.050 --> 00:59:56.869 they're going to lose money eventually or you'll 00:59:56.869 --> 00:59:58.530 be able to find it cheaper and i think there's 00:59:58.530 --> 01:00:01.949 a lot of similarity or at least a lot of crossover 01:00:01.949 --> 01:00:04.329 to the sports world is like, if people just, 01:00:04.409 --> 01:00:06.289 I mean, let's just play a hypothetical. Like 01:00:06.289 --> 01:00:07.969 if people, everybody in the world just stopped 01:00:07.969 --> 01:00:10.150 buying into breaks, there's going to be a dramatic 01:00:10.150 --> 01:00:13.909 price collapse in spots because these breakers 01:00:13.909 --> 01:00:15.769 still need to sell those boxes. And even if they 01:00:15.769 --> 01:00:17.289 take a loss on it, they're just happy to move 01:00:17.289 --> 01:00:19.809 it to keep things rotating and going. So it's 01:00:19.809 --> 01:00:22.570 just like, obviously that's not going to happen, 01:00:22.670 --> 01:00:25.730 but it's just like, you know, if people collectively 01:00:25.730 --> 01:00:28.670 was to just kind of. open their eyes let's just 01:00:28.670 --> 01:00:32.210 call a lack of better words then maybe the breaking 01:00:32.210 --> 01:00:34.789 space can even become a little bit better a little 01:00:34.789 --> 01:00:36.730 bit healthier kind of circle back again to another 01:00:36.730 --> 01:00:38.909 point having guardrails in place or having you 01:00:38.909 --> 01:00:41.730 know safety systems in place or just to have 01:00:41.730 --> 01:00:44.769 people just be more vigilant and conscious and 01:00:44.769 --> 01:00:47.690 conscious excuse me when it comes to this stuff 01:00:47.690 --> 01:00:50.670 then the whole breaking element of the hobby 01:00:50.670 --> 01:00:52.650 and it's not even really a hobby breaking to 01:00:52.650 --> 01:00:56.889 be honest but if that whole aspect can dramatically 01:00:56.889 --> 01:01:00.250 change or just small changes along the way over 01:01:00.250 --> 01:01:02.849 between now and the next year to go back to a 01:01:02.849 --> 01:01:06.110 question i asked then maybe breaking can be fun 01:01:06.110 --> 01:01:09.389 for people or it can be or it can be um you know 01:01:09.389 --> 01:01:11.409 healthier in some ways i mean i'm still going 01:01:11.409 --> 01:01:13.269 to be against it completely again unless you're 01:01:13.269 --> 01:01:15.289 with some buddies you know you know having a 01:01:15.289 --> 01:01:16.929 few drinks and some pizza while you're opening 01:01:16.929 --> 01:01:20.869 some cool cars but otherwise it's just a pit 01:01:20.869 --> 01:01:24.599 of misery for people yeah like i think Yeah, 01:01:24.599 --> 01:01:26.500 I think – I mean Rob Veers from Burbank says 01:01:26.500 --> 01:01:28.280 the reason why they don't do breaks. I mean and 01:01:28.280 --> 01:01:29.880 they're the place that could do all the breaks 01:01:29.880 --> 01:01:31.179 in the world with all the product they have. 01:01:31.400 --> 01:01:34.960 But it's like eight out of ten times you join 01:01:34.960 --> 01:01:38.739 a break, you're leaving unsatisfied. So would 01:01:38.739 --> 01:01:42.079 you do anything to spend for satisfaction? I 01:01:42.079 --> 01:01:45.500 would say probably 9 .5 out of ten times. I would 01:01:45.500 --> 01:01:47.019 agree. I think he kind of low -balled it there 01:01:47.019 --> 01:01:49.239 because it's like every thousand dollars you 01:01:49.239 --> 01:01:51.519 spend on a break. How much of that are you making 01:01:51.519 --> 01:01:53.579 back? Sure, there's going to be a one -off where 01:01:53.579 --> 01:01:56.320 you absolutely hit. Sure, sure, sure. But how 01:01:56.320 --> 01:01:59.320 many times are you breaking? Yeah. Just on the 01:01:59.320 --> 01:02:01.739 quote on your website, just to finish my point, 01:02:01.780 --> 01:02:03.380 just a quote from your website, $50 ,000. How 01:02:03.380 --> 01:02:04.920 much money do we think that guy actually made 01:02:04.920 --> 01:02:08.059 back? Or how much value he obtained from those 01:02:08.059 --> 01:02:11.219 breaks? Yep. And these are all real quotes, by 01:02:11.219 --> 01:02:19.480 the way. It's crazy, man. It really is. It's 01:02:19.480 --> 01:02:23.119 the camaraderie and the excitement that these 01:02:23.119 --> 01:02:28.380 breakers create, right? Especially for kids who 01:02:28.380 --> 01:02:30.820 are just coming into the hobby or who are uneducated. 01:02:30.840 --> 01:02:35.079 And maybe they're using their savings, their 01:02:35.079 --> 01:02:41.780 life savings or their college fund or their parents' 01:02:41.880 --> 01:02:44.380 money. And then these breakers are like, why 01:02:44.380 --> 01:02:47.659 break anywhere else? You've got to get into this 01:02:47.659 --> 01:02:52.079 next one. Big, big, big tradebacks and all of 01:02:52.079 --> 01:02:55.920 the excitement and the lure. I hate to say it, 01:02:55.920 --> 01:02:59.460 and I don't mean to sound cynical, but it's just 01:02:59.460 --> 01:03:05.769 so predatory. It's just so predatory. I'll never, 01:03:05.889 --> 01:03:08.170 I'll never, I'll never forget. I think it was 01:03:08.170 --> 01:03:10.210 backyards. They were doing a break on something. 01:03:10.389 --> 01:03:12.389 I forget what product it was. It wasn't like 01:03:12.389 --> 01:03:13.789 a Chronicles or anything. Maybe it was Prism. 01:03:13.809 --> 01:03:15.929 I have no idea. And they pulled, I think this 01:03:15.929 --> 01:03:17.769 is Derek Carr's first season in new Orleans. 01:03:18.010 --> 01:03:19.530 And I was just watching cause I was bored of 01:03:19.530 --> 01:03:21.409 the shop one day and Prism just came out again. 01:03:21.469 --> 01:03:23.590 I think it was Prism and they pulled the Derek 01:03:23.590 --> 01:03:26.610 Carr out of 149. And I kid you not, they flipped 01:03:26.610 --> 01:03:30.510 out. Like they just pulled RPA, like an RPA of 01:03:30.510 --> 01:03:32.530 the Mahomes, you know, From earlier, we were 01:03:32.530 --> 01:03:34.610 talking about it. It's like, guys, it is a mid 01:03:34.610 --> 01:03:37.369 -tier quarterback who is overpaid, who is probably 01:03:37.369 --> 01:03:38.949 in the last leg of his career. Why are we going 01:03:38.949 --> 01:03:43.449 crazy over a $2 .29 card? The break spot was 01:03:43.449 --> 01:03:45.469 probably $100, to be honest. It's just like, 01:03:45.489 --> 01:03:48.030 what are we doing, guys? I mean, it's not just 01:03:48.030 --> 01:03:51.929 Backyard, but they were the poster child. It's 01:03:51.929 --> 01:03:54.789 so many breakers. It's so many companies. It's 01:03:54.789 --> 01:03:57.090 so many streamers. And it's even the people who 01:03:57.090 --> 01:04:00.699 are buying into it, too. They all mimic each 01:04:00.699 --> 01:04:03.400 other, man. It's like they're all one in the 01:04:03.400 --> 01:04:05.119 same. And again, I'm not trying to knock anyone 01:04:05.119 --> 01:04:07.360 or knock any breakers. I respect the hustle. 01:04:07.780 --> 01:04:09.679 At the end of the day, it's just a business. 01:04:09.820 --> 01:04:12.380 And a lot of these individuals that work for 01:04:12.380 --> 01:04:15.699 these brands, these breakers, they're just doing 01:04:15.699 --> 01:04:18.920 their job. They're just trying to do right by 01:04:18.920 --> 01:04:23.719 the company. So I get it. I respect it. But we 01:04:23.719 --> 01:04:29.299 just need to create a sense of... regulation 01:04:29.299 --> 01:04:34.699 of like if hey if if you feel like you're going 01:04:34.699 --> 01:04:37.260 down a slippery slope and you need a little bit 01:04:37.260 --> 01:04:39.940 of help you need a little bit of guidance like 01:04:39.940 --> 01:04:43.320 we're here we're here for you that's all it really 01:04:43.320 --> 01:04:46.099 is man that's all it is it's like you can collect 01:04:46.099 --> 01:04:47.820 you can continue to collect you can continue 01:04:47.820 --> 01:04:50.739 to join breaks just make sure you're doing it 01:04:50.739 --> 01:04:52.719 responsibly make sure you're doing it with intention 01:04:52.719 --> 01:04:55.239 and if you feel like you can't do that if you 01:04:55.239 --> 01:04:57.449 feel like you're at a point where you can't join 01:04:57.449 --> 01:04:59.650 a break or you can't watch a break or consume 01:04:59.650 --> 01:05:03.650 the content without like getting that itch, then 01:05:03.650 --> 01:05:05.889 maybe it's time to like hit the pause button 01:05:05.889 --> 01:05:09.250 and just reset and just rethink what your goals 01:05:09.250 --> 01:05:15.030 are and what your, you know, what your, what 01:05:15.030 --> 01:05:17.989 your, your, your life is all about. Right. Cause 01:05:17.989 --> 01:05:19.570 at the end of the day, like this is affecting 01:05:19.570 --> 01:05:22.639 people's livelihoods and that's. That's where 01:05:22.639 --> 01:05:25.940 it starts to get scary. Marriages are being affected 01:05:25.940 --> 01:05:30.440 and children are being affected. We don't want 01:05:30.440 --> 01:05:34.280 all that. This hobby should be full of joy and 01:05:34.280 --> 01:05:37.780 positivity. That's what we're trying to push. 01:05:37.940 --> 01:05:43.019 We're not trying to be cynical or rain on anybody's 01:05:43.019 --> 01:05:46.000 parade or be this black cloud in the hobby. If 01:05:46.000 --> 01:05:48.119 anything, it's like we're trying to be a breath 01:05:48.119 --> 01:05:51.360 of fresh air. shining light for people who need 01:05:51.360 --> 01:05:55.500 the help it's like okay to admit that you need 01:05:55.500 --> 01:05:57.639 the help or like you know somebody who needs 01:05:57.639 --> 01:05:59.980 the help or you have a customer that needs the 01:05:59.980 --> 01:06:02.199 help you know what i would love and i'm just 01:06:02.199 --> 01:06:03.900 spitballing here just kind of thought of this 01:06:03.900 --> 01:06:08.380 but like if a breaker a break company had like 01:06:08.380 --> 01:06:13.889 a set of terms where they like a guide of sorts 01:06:13.889 --> 01:06:17.829 where if like they can identify if one of their 01:06:17.829 --> 01:06:22.889 customers is starting to overspend, overextend, 01:06:22.889 --> 01:06:27.210 lose it, go down a spiral, they can then work 01:06:27.210 --> 01:06:30.769 with us at Collectors MD to figure out a solution 01:06:30.769 --> 01:06:36.150 to help that individual. It's not like, let me 01:06:36.150 --> 01:06:38.510 rat out like this person and they need help. 01:06:38.570 --> 01:06:41.119 Like, let's get them help. It's more so just 01:06:41.119 --> 01:06:43.840 like providing them with that guidance, that 01:06:43.840 --> 01:06:47.139 sense of security that just doesn't currently 01:06:47.139 --> 01:06:52.460 exist. I agree. Ricky, any final questions before 01:06:52.460 --> 01:06:54.579 we kind of go into our outgoing takes, which 01:06:54.579 --> 01:06:56.699 is a segment we always do to wrap up episodes? 01:06:57.659 --> 01:07:00.260 Any other final questions or anything, Ricky, 01:07:00.300 --> 01:07:02.599 before we go over there? Yeah, I just want to 01:07:02.599 --> 01:07:06.119 talk about a point you just made. Like, we're 01:07:06.119 --> 01:07:08.539 not cynical. We don't hate the hobby. anything 01:07:08.539 --> 01:07:11.400 like that like ironically enough the sports card 01:07:11.400 --> 01:07:14.780 hobby helped me get over my gambling addiction 01:07:14.780 --> 01:07:18.239 like yeah back during kovid when all the sports 01:07:18.239 --> 01:07:21.840 were just coming back i that's what i spent most 01:07:21.840 --> 01:07:25.340 of my money on like offshore bookie betting like 01:07:25.340 --> 01:07:28.659 yeah once i started doing sports card that took 01:07:28.659 --> 01:07:33.400 the focus off of that and like sports card helped 01:07:33.400 --> 01:07:35.559 me get over my gambling like i still i'll still 01:07:35.559 --> 01:07:38.380 play some better every now and then but I just 01:07:38.380 --> 01:07:41.559 enjoy sports cards way more than I enjoy gambling 01:07:41.559 --> 01:07:44.179 and I'm getting something out of it. It's physical 01:07:44.179 --> 01:07:46.519 too. That's the thing. I mean, how many parlays 01:07:46.519 --> 01:07:48.559 can you place? And even if you win, what are 01:07:48.559 --> 01:07:50.219 you walking away with? Sure. You're walking away 01:07:50.219 --> 01:07:51.440 with a little bit of money in your account, but 01:07:51.440 --> 01:07:54.659 like, I mean, money comes and goes all the time, 01:07:54.679 --> 01:07:56.219 but I mean, if you buy a card, it can always 01:07:56.219 --> 01:07:58.460 stay forever. Like I got a bunch of cards here 01:07:58.460 --> 01:08:00.519 in my backdrop that I don't ever see myself getting 01:08:00.519 --> 01:08:03.199 rid of unless I can upgrade. And I don't mind 01:08:03.199 --> 01:08:04.699 paying the money for him. And at least I have. 01:08:05.070 --> 01:08:07.550 something to showcase and I can walk away with, 01:08:07.590 --> 01:08:09.929 you know, something at the end of the day. So 01:08:09.929 --> 01:08:13.110 no, I, I agree with you completely. Me too. A 01:08:13.110 --> 01:08:15.670 big reason why I never got into the breaking 01:08:15.670 --> 01:08:17.970 business or repack business or anything like 01:08:17.970 --> 01:08:20.890 that is because I understand what it's like to 01:08:20.890 --> 01:08:23.229 lose your money and get nothing out of it. Like, 01:08:23.310 --> 01:08:27.489 I don't want to be that person who takes people's 01:08:27.489 --> 01:08:30.789 money and not getting anything out of it. Right. 01:08:30.829 --> 01:08:34.989 I can't get myself to do that. Nope. Again, I 01:08:34.989 --> 01:08:39.109 mean, I think there there's a line of fun and 01:08:39.109 --> 01:08:41.489 degeneracy. Now, I think that line is going to 01:08:41.489 --> 01:08:44.010 be a lot different for everybody. But I mean, 01:08:44.029 --> 01:08:46.010 at least for me, I mean, even as a shop owner, 01:08:46.130 --> 01:08:48.369 like, could I run breaks? Sure. I mean, I we 01:08:48.369 --> 01:08:50.170 all have platforms. Could we all do it? Sure. 01:08:50.310 --> 01:08:53.170 But like, I mean, I pride myself so much on, 01:08:53.170 --> 01:08:55.109 you know, having fun and a happy and healthy 01:08:55.109 --> 01:08:57.529 hobby. And it's just like breaking is not that 01:08:57.529 --> 01:09:00.289 it's just not that in any way, shape or form, 01:09:00.350 --> 01:09:02.430 at least for I'd say the majority of people. 01:09:02.990 --> 01:09:05.409 in this hobby or in this space for that matter. 01:09:05.630 --> 01:09:08.670 But to transition to our outgoing takes here, 01:09:08.729 --> 01:09:10.750 Alyx, what Ricky and I like to do to wrap up 01:09:10.750 --> 01:09:14.109 each episode is we like to just kind of circle 01:09:14.109 --> 01:09:16.250 back to one point that we talked about. It could 01:09:16.250 --> 01:09:18.109 be something that we did talk about or didn't 01:09:18.109 --> 01:09:19.449 talk about, something we just kind of want to 01:09:19.449 --> 01:09:22.810 mention before we wrap up today's episode. So 01:09:22.810 --> 01:09:25.470 I'll let you go first so you can take the floor 01:09:25.470 --> 01:09:28.130 on that one. It could literally be about anything. 01:09:28.229 --> 01:09:30.090 It could be about nothing. It could be about 01:09:30.090 --> 01:09:35.689 this or that, but fire away. man really uh put 01:09:35.689 --> 01:09:37.550 you on the spot yeah yeah put me on the spot 01:09:37.550 --> 01:09:39.050 do you want me to go i'll go first if you want 01:09:39.050 --> 01:09:43.289 why don't you go first okay so my outgoing take 01:09:43.289 --> 01:09:46.430 here is to i mean i think i kind of maybe mentioned 01:09:46.430 --> 01:09:48.050 it probably a thousand times already is just 01:09:48.050 --> 01:09:50.470 have fun in this hobby whatever that is responsible 01:09:50.470 --> 01:09:52.750 fun being an adult i kind of like how you mentioned 01:09:52.750 --> 01:09:56.250 that and at the end of the day really this hobby 01:09:56.250 --> 01:09:58.789 is just built on cardboard mostly shiny cardboard 01:09:58.789 --> 01:10:01.890 with a little bit of of ink and some napkin patches 01:10:01.890 --> 01:10:04.510 and you know people are going to spend what they're 01:10:04.510 --> 01:10:05.369 going to want to spend they're going to make 01:10:05.369 --> 01:10:07.149 the decisions that they're going to make whatever 01:10:07.149 --> 01:10:10.329 it is however you do it or how much you spend 01:10:10.329 --> 01:10:12.510 just have fun doing it and if you're doing it 01:10:12.510 --> 01:10:15.310 because you need that itch or you need that dopamine 01:10:15.310 --> 01:10:17.369 then you're probably into it for the wrong reason 01:10:17.369 --> 01:10:20.590 now sure fun and dopamine can have a strong correlation 01:10:20.590 --> 01:10:23.850 together but i think we all know a really good 01:10:25.210 --> 01:10:28.149 separation between needing dopamine and having 01:10:28.149 --> 01:10:30.409 fun. Like, I mean, we could all go to the store 01:10:30.409 --> 01:10:32.949 right now and probably buy a fat pack for $15 01:10:32.949 --> 01:10:34.970 and probably rip it and have some fun and we're 01:10:34.970 --> 01:10:38.449 done. Whereas whoever needs that dopamine itch 01:10:38.449 --> 01:10:40.229 needs to buy the next pack and the next pack 01:10:40.229 --> 01:10:42.869 in the whole box and then another box. And just, 01:10:42.890 --> 01:10:44.689 there needs to be a difference there. And I think 01:10:44.689 --> 01:10:46.130 for a lot of people, there is a good difference 01:10:46.130 --> 01:10:48.550 or at least they know that difference, but just. 01:10:49.360 --> 01:10:51.859 whatever your plan is, whatever your path is, 01:10:51.939 --> 01:10:54.020 whatever you're doing in this hobby, whether 01:10:54.020 --> 01:10:55.979 you're a breaker, you're a streamer, you're a 01:10:55.979 --> 01:10:58.180 seller, you're a buyer, trader, shop owner, whatever. 01:10:59.020 --> 01:11:02.739 Have fun. And I preach that all a lot. Ricky 01:11:02.739 --> 01:11:04.880 can testify that. But that's really what this 01:11:04.880 --> 01:11:06.460 hobby needs to be. And you could probably look 01:11:06.460 --> 01:11:08.079 at any hobby, whether it's sneakers, comics, 01:11:08.380 --> 01:11:11.319 video games, action figures, new, old, anywhere 01:11:11.319 --> 01:11:13.880 in between. The majority of them are probably 01:11:13.880 --> 01:11:16.000 having fun to some degree, maybe not sneakers 01:11:16.000 --> 01:11:18.020 because, you know, that's a little bit of intoxicating 01:11:18.020 --> 01:11:21.039 from time to time. But just have fun. I think 01:11:21.039 --> 01:11:23.739 that's a good outgoing take for myself. I like 01:11:23.739 --> 01:11:28.399 it. Ricky, why don't you go next? Yeah, I just 01:11:28.399 --> 01:11:31.779 wanted to say that, like, for people who are 01:11:31.779 --> 01:11:34.619 going through, you know, an addiction, sports 01:11:34.619 --> 01:11:36.800 car, whether it's sports car, gambling, whatever, 01:11:37.039 --> 01:11:39.140 just need people to know that they're not alone. 01:11:39.220 --> 01:11:42.539 They're not the only ones who are up at. 3 a 01:11:42.539 --> 01:11:47.760 .m like you said buying into a break of i don't 01:11:47.760 --> 01:11:50.439 know college lacrosse even though they don't 01:11:50.439 --> 01:11:54.300 know anything about it like they're not people 01:11:54.300 --> 01:11:57.100 aren't alone and i it's important that they find 01:11:57.100 --> 01:11:59.840 the resources like your page so they'll let them 01:11:59.840 --> 01:12:01.560 know that they're not alone and that there is 01:12:01.560 --> 01:12:03.479 help out there and people who are just like you 01:12:03.479 --> 01:12:11.789 yeah yeah 100 easy a lot shorter than mine Cool. 01:12:11.869 --> 01:12:14.430 I'll close it out. So, you know, we talked a 01:12:14.430 --> 01:12:18.109 lot about collecting versus gambling and how, 01:12:18.189 --> 01:12:20.130 you know, there are a lot of synergies there. 01:12:20.810 --> 01:12:23.789 And there's obviously a lot of blurred lines 01:12:23.789 --> 01:12:27.810 between collecting and gambling these days. So 01:12:27.810 --> 01:12:31.090 the question is, you know, and people are going 01:12:31.090 --> 01:12:33.869 to continue asking this question as we continue 01:12:33.869 --> 01:12:37.489 to push this message is, is it even okay to collect? 01:12:37.510 --> 01:12:43.300 You know, if you're... pursuing this as part 01:12:43.300 --> 01:12:46.319 of, you know, your life's mission or, you know, 01:12:46.319 --> 01:12:50.140 you're advocating for this movement. And the 01:12:50.140 --> 01:12:53.680 question is, it's more than okay. You know, we're 01:12:53.680 --> 01:12:56.479 not like Gamblers Anonymous where we're telling 01:12:56.479 --> 01:12:59.939 you that gambling is the devil and you have to 01:12:59.939 --> 01:13:01.640 self -exclude and you can never do it again in 01:13:01.640 --> 01:13:04.840 your life. And, you know, it's a lifelong commitment 01:13:04.840 --> 01:13:07.300 journey. And while, you know, with collecting 01:13:07.300 --> 01:13:11.359 and doing it responsibly, 100 % is a lifelong 01:13:11.359 --> 01:13:16.000 journey, it doesn't mean that you have to stop 01:13:16.000 --> 01:13:19.399 collecting or you can't appreciate, you know, 01:13:19.399 --> 01:13:25.739 a nice item or like you said, Murph, like a tangible 01:13:25.739 --> 01:13:30.220 object, that material good that you save up for 01:13:30.220 --> 01:13:34.800 or you purchase with intent. So it's just collecting 01:13:34.800 --> 01:13:37.600 what it's done with intention. It can be filling. 01:13:38.300 --> 01:13:41.100 It's healthy. It can connect you to what you 01:13:41.100 --> 01:13:43.579 truly love, whether that's your favorite team, 01:13:43.760 --> 01:13:47.220 a piece of pop culture, a specific moment in 01:13:47.220 --> 01:13:50.760 time that's nostalgic, or even just something. 01:13:51.430 --> 01:13:53.510 you know, a certain aesthetic that you vibe with. 01:13:53.609 --> 01:13:56.909 So for a lot of us collecting, again, it brings 01:13:56.909 --> 01:13:59.609 us back to nostalgia. It gives us something to 01:13:59.609 --> 01:14:02.569 look forward to and it helps express who we are. 01:14:02.770 --> 01:14:06.069 So again, the problem isn't collecting. The problem 01:14:06.069 --> 01:14:10.210 is when it turns into chasing and gambling and 01:14:10.210 --> 01:14:11.930 when it starts to feel like pressure instead 01:14:11.930 --> 01:14:14.989 of passion and when you're not even sure why 01:14:14.989 --> 01:14:17.090 you're buying anymore, right? You're buying for 01:14:17.090 --> 01:14:18.529 all the wrong reasons. You're just trying to 01:14:18.529 --> 01:14:22.539 keep up or get that next hit. Fill that gap that 01:14:22.539 --> 01:14:25.579 never actually truly closes, no matter how big 01:14:25.579 --> 01:14:27.619 the hit is. But if you're setting boundaries, 01:14:27.920 --> 01:14:31.840 staying within your means and actually enjoying 01:14:31.840 --> 01:14:34.760 the stuff that you're picking up, then yeah, 01:14:34.779 --> 01:14:38.739 collecting is an awesome thing. It can be grounding. 01:14:38.859 --> 01:14:42.579 It can be fun. So yeah, it's okay to collect. 01:14:42.760 --> 01:14:47.090 Just don't lose yourself doing it. I absolutely 01:14:47.090 --> 01:14:48.930 love that. You kind of encompassed everything 01:14:48.930 --> 01:14:50.750 we've been talking about. You kind of wrapped 01:14:50.750 --> 01:14:52.829 it up, put a nice little button on it. That was 01:14:52.829 --> 01:14:55.970 perfect way. And Alyx, before we go collectors 01:14:55.970 --> 01:14:58.369 MD, I know I kind of put it up a little bit on 01:14:58.369 --> 01:15:00.630 the screen, but Instagram, you have a website. 01:15:00.710 --> 01:15:02.930 Where else can we find you? Yeah, man. Well, 01:15:02.989 --> 01:15:04.970 first of all, thank you guys again so much for 01:15:04.970 --> 01:15:07.449 having me really, really appreciate it. Appreciate 01:15:07.449 --> 01:15:09.430 you guys helping spread the word, the awareness. 01:15:09.890 --> 01:15:11.970 If you want to learn more about collectors MD, 01:15:12.050 --> 01:15:16.210 you can follow us on Instagram. DM us. I do my 01:15:16.210 --> 01:15:19.130 best to respond to every single DM and not just 01:15:19.130 --> 01:15:24.850 with an emoji or a heart. I try to be thoughtful 01:15:24.850 --> 01:15:27.390 and intentional with my responses, so please 01:15:27.390 --> 01:15:29.869 feel free to reach out. You can also check out 01:15:29.869 --> 01:15:33.590 the website, collectorsmd .com. We post daily 01:15:33.590 --> 01:15:36.390 reflections on there. Every single day, there's 01:15:36.390 --> 01:15:38.789 a new journal entry, so if you're looking for 01:15:38.789 --> 01:15:43.670 content, post there. We post on mantle as well 01:15:43.670 --> 01:15:47.710 which is a new community platform built for the 01:15:47.710 --> 01:15:50.970 hobby very similar to discord uh but we are on 01:15:50.970 --> 01:15:54.069 mantle now and i will be you know continuing 01:15:54.069 --> 01:15:57.670 to post on a daily basis there um and as we grow 01:15:57.670 --> 01:16:01.270 you know as hopefully collectors md becomes a 01:16:01.270 --> 01:16:06.630 team beyond me Beyond just me, we can start reaching 01:16:06.630 --> 01:16:08.930 individuals no matter where they're consuming 01:16:08.930 --> 01:16:11.689 content. So we already have TikTok, Twitter, 01:16:12.010 --> 01:16:18.289 Facebook. What else? Discord, YouTube, all of 01:16:18.289 --> 01:16:22.010 the above. We just need the bandwidth to be able 01:16:22.010 --> 01:16:24.729 to syndicate across all of those channels. So 01:16:24.729 --> 01:16:29.390 hopefully sooner rather than later. But this 01:16:29.390 --> 01:16:31.750 is a collective effort. Let's do this. Amen. 01:16:32.459 --> 01:16:36.619 uh you know move the needle spread the message 01:16:36.619 --> 01:16:39.739 spread the word and educate people i appreciate 01:16:39.739 --> 01:16:41.960 you guys absolutely and it was a pleasure to 01:16:41.960 --> 01:16:44.829 have you on thank you so much Yeah, absolutely. 01:16:45.010 --> 01:16:48.850 I mean, again, Ricky, I'm glad you found Collectors MD 01:16:48.850 --> 01:16:50.609 for us to be able to sit down and have this conversation 01:16:50.609 --> 01:16:53.229 with Alyx. Again, I think it's going to be a 01:16:53.229 --> 01:16:54.770 funny little story moving forward. I thought 01:16:54.770 --> 01:16:56.670 I knew a collector from Maryland, but it's neither 01:16:56.670 --> 01:16:59.109 here nor there. But no, it was an absolute pleasure. 01:16:59.310 --> 01:17:01.050 I mean, we definitely would love to have you 01:17:01.050 --> 01:17:03.189 on maybe, you know, sometime down the road to 01:17:03.189 --> 01:17:05.050 kind of revisit things and kind of see, you know, 01:17:05.050 --> 01:17:07.369 how far you've grown and, you know, where you're 01:17:07.369 --> 01:17:10.590 at now. you know, come then. So hopefully the 01:17:10.590 --> 01:17:13.470 door, if you'd like it to be open to come back 01:17:13.470 --> 01:17:15.350 on and, you know, preach some more about what 01:17:15.350 --> 01:17:16.970 you're doing or what you have done up, you know, 01:17:16.970 --> 01:17:19.810 love that. Absolutely. Thank you guys. Absolutely. 01:17:19.850 --> 01:17:21.270 And everybody, thank you so much for watching. 01:17:21.390 --> 01:17:23.689 We've definitely appreciated Alyx. We will catch 01:17:23.689 --> 01:17:26.270 you in another time. Hopefully we can keep our 01:17:26.270 --> 01:17:30.229 inboxes open and converse more. I'm not going 01:17:30.229 --> 01:17:31.729 to lie. I didn't expect that interview to go 01:17:31.729 --> 01:17:34.149 as long as it did. And hopefully it was a very 01:17:34.149 --> 01:17:36.829 smooth conversation for you guys because, you 01:17:36.829 --> 01:17:40.199 know, such. importance in regards to gambling 01:17:40.199 --> 01:17:43.060 I mean it makes or break people and you know 01:17:43.060 --> 01:17:45.180 the hobby I mean a lot of people know it as gambling 01:17:45.180 --> 01:17:46.600 these days people come into the shop all the 01:17:46.600 --> 01:17:49.000 time nowadays and you know they even themselves 01:17:49.000 --> 01:17:50.899 mention how it's just like gambling whether it's 01:17:50.899 --> 01:17:53.920 buying a box or some cards so hopefully conversation 01:17:53.920 --> 01:17:56.720 we had with Alyx Collectors MD was very insightful 01:17:56.720 --> 01:18:00.119 was very informational for you maybe it kind 01:18:00.119 --> 01:18:01.920 of sparked a little interest to do a little bit 01:18:01.920 --> 01:18:04.039 of research yourself if you find yourself kind 01:18:04.039 --> 01:18:06.180 of you know having too many of those itches and 01:18:06.180 --> 01:18:08.659 needing too much dopamine or just chasing that 01:18:08.659 --> 01:18:10.699 hit and not even having fun in this hobby but 01:18:10.699 --> 01:18:12.979 this was an absolutely fantastic episode to make 01:18:12.979 --> 01:18:15.159 with Ricky and Alyx and you know Alyx being our 01:18:15.159 --> 01:18:16.600 first ever guest hopefully we can have some more 01:18:16.600 --> 01:18:19.079 guests on here on hobby talk but this was absolutely 01:18:19.079 --> 01:18:21.420 fun guys and i really hope you did enjoy drop 01:18:21.420 --> 01:18:24.100 your comments down below in the comment section 01:18:24.100 --> 01:18:26.239 if you have any questions comments concerns anything 01:18:26.239 --> 01:18:28.119 you want to discuss whether it's something i 01:18:28.119 --> 01:18:30.420 said Alyx said Ricky said you know drop those 01:18:30.420 --> 01:18:32.060 down in the comments we definitely would love 01:18:32.060 --> 01:18:34.239 to read and react to those and i know Alyx kind 01:18:34.239 --> 01:18:35.859 of mentioned where you can find Collectors MD 01:18:35.859 --> 01:18:38.699 you know instagram you know mantle i'm gonna 01:18:38.699 --> 01:18:41.699 leave a link to his website down below in the 01:18:41.699 --> 01:18:43.659 comment section so in case you guys didn't catch 01:18:43.659 --> 01:18:45.100 that or you weren't able to type it fast enough 01:18:45.100 --> 01:18:46.779 you can just click on the link and it'll take 01:18:46.779 --> 01:18:48.680 you wherever you need to go big shout out to 01:18:48.680 --> 01:18:50.819 Alyx from Collectors MD thank you so much again 01:18:50.819 --> 01:18:53.859 and thank you to you for watching hopefully you 01:18:53.859 --> 01:18:57.300 enjoyed this video like comment hit that giant 01:18:57.300 --> 01:18:58.739 red subscribe button if you're new to the channel 01:18:58.739 --> 01:19:00.279 or haven't considered subscribing i would definitely 01:19:00.279 --> 01:19:02.260 appreciate the love and support and if you haven't 01:19:02.260 --> 01:19:03.979 already definitely check out the channel membership 01:19:03.979 --> 01:19:06.479 program where you get exclusive content behind 01:19:06.479 --> 01:19:09.699 the scenes post and so much more you get to watch 01:19:09.699 --> 01:19:12.699 videos early than the public the channel membership 01:19:12.699 --> 01:19:15.100 program different tiers different rates they're 01:19:15.100 --> 01:19:17.020 all worth it i promise you but i would definitely 01:19:17.020 --> 01:19:19.039 appreciate if you could check that out but like 01:19:19.039 --> 01:19:20.960 i said this will wrap it up for today's episode 01:19:20.960 --> 01:19:23.159 guys thank you so much as always i've queued 01:19:23.159 --> 01:19:24.779 up an excellent video right there for you that 01:19:24.779 --> 01:19:26.460 i do believe will be excellent for your hobby 01:19:26.460 --> 01:19:28.840 endeavors hopefully i'll see you in that one