What is up, everybody? Alijah here from Hoosier
Pools. Thank you guys so much for joining me
on the channel. I am super excited because we're
doing something a little bit different today.
We are talking with Alyx Effron, the founder of
Collectors MD. Alyx, thank you so much for joining
me on the channel and taking the time to talk
about what Collectors MD is all about. Yeah, man.
Thanks for having me. Really appreciate the opportunity
and yeah, really excited to be chatting with
you today. Yeah, likewise. So could you just
briefly just describe what, how you started Collectors MD
and what it's about and what you guys offer?
Yeah, absolutely. So, hey, everyone. It's great
to meet you all. I'm Alyx Effron. I've been a
collector for most of my life. And like a lot
of you, I've seen this hobby evolve in ways that
are both exciting and honestly, pretty concerning,
right? I founded Collectors MD earlier this year
as a response to what we've been seeing, not
just in others, but in myself, the overspending,
the compulsive breaking, chasing that next big
hit. And slowly just losing that joy that got
me into collecting in the first place. Right.
Coming out of national this past week, it really,
really hit me. You know, we're kind of at a fork
in the road as a hobby. On one side, we've got
community, passion, nostalgia, connection. And
then on the other, we've got, you know, unchecked
gambling mechanics, influencers that are just
pushing high risk products, not just to adults,
but to kids. and an overwhelming pressure to
just always be chasing something, always be chasing
that next athlete, always be chasing that next
product, always be chasing that next case hit
insert. There's always something that the manufacturers,
the platforms, the breakers are marketing to
us, right? So Collectors MD is about creating
something different, right? It's a support for
a space where collectors can talk openly about
the emotional, financial, and mental toll that
this hobby can take. We run weekly peer support
groups every Wednesday night. So last night we
actually had our 15th consecutive meeting, which
I'm really proud of. Appreciate that. We also
partner with mental health resources and advocate
for more responsible, intentional collecting.
We're not here to bash the hobby. We're not here
to cancel. the breaking culture or to be a pain
for anybody. We're here because we love it and
we want to protect it and the people in it. So
if you've ever felt like things were starting
to slip or that collecting was starting to control
you instead of the other way around, you're not
alone. And if you're somebody who believes we
need more honesty, balance, and care in this
space, you're exactly who we're building this
for. So in just four months, we've had so much
success, bringing people into these peer support
group meetings, building the community, getting
people to speak up and advocate for the things
that have been sort of sitting with them that
they haven't had the courage to speak about for
quite some time. And it's just been a beautiful
thing to watch. And so our goal is to continue
working with a lot of these health resources,
partner with the breakers, partner with platforms,
partner with the manufacturers to continue building
towards a healthier and more sustainable future
for the hobby. Yeah, that is awesome. And I love
the work that you guys are doing. And that's
something that I have noticed within the past
few years. There's been this really big shift
into not just enjoying the cards and just chasing
after your favorite rookies. It's all become
about making your money back or pulling that
big chase card like you were talking about. Even
with the new products like the mystery packs
and repacks, it's not about enjoying the card
that you're getting. It's all about trying to
make a profit or make your money back. And it
just seems like just so far from what actual
collecting is supposed to be. Exactly. And you
touched on something that has become increasingly
popular. uh also increasingly dangerous and that's
the uh whole concept of a repack and repack culture
uh and look you know we we can't talk about the
current state of the hobby without calling that
out um you know what started as a fun side idea
sort of reshuffling hits building chase formats
has turned into this like unchecked monster right
now you've got these high -end three boxes uh
being pushed as entertainment but what you know
they really are is just straight up gambling
And here's the worst part. It's often kids opening
those boxes. We see all of these highlight reels
and clips and TikToks of 12 -year -old children
opening up Pokemon repacks, sports card repacks,
screaming because they doubled or tripled their
money. They're being conditioned to be a part
of this gambling culture at such a young age.
vulnerable and impressionable age, which is so
incredibly dangerous. But we also see, you know,
adults, vulnerable collectors who are also struggling
with, you know, discipline and self -control.
And right now there's just no regulation. There's
no transparency. There's no accountability. A
$500 repack might net you 40 bucks. right and
the person running it just shrugs and says you
know that's the luck of the draw like you know
we'll get them next time uh but it's it's not
luck it's predatory design you're dangling these
massive hits in front of people showing off the
big pulls online to bait them in and not disclosing
any sort of odds or true value and it's the same
playbook that casinos use right so um you know
just just with sports cards instead of slot machines
and the scariest part again is that All of this
stuff is just being completely normalized. It's
being framed as content. It's being gamified.
And for a lot of people, it's become this like
slippery slope back into compulsive behavior,
debt or worse. And so that's why Collectors MD
isn't just about support. It's about building
awareness. It's about giving collectors the language
and clarity to say things like, hey, something
about this feels off. You know, it doesn't feel
right. It doesn't sit with me. And then hopefully
allow them to reclaim their hobby before it turns
into something harmful. Yeah, absolutely. And
I think that's like I said, I think the work
that you guys are doing is so great. I've I myself
have talked about accountability and. community
and different things like that. But to see you
actually take the initiative and start this and
see this really grow as a movement has been so
awesome. And just, you know, hearing about the
weekly support groups, because we don't hear
about the people who have lost everything because,
you know, they've they've just. haven't been
able to take control of their spending when it
comes to breaking and all of these different
things um so yeah that is that is really awesome
what work that you guys are doing yeah man and
we really appreciate like how many people in
the community have started talking um about this
sort of stuff and speaking up about you know
the gambling like mechanics and the repacks and
the deeper issues at play here right These aren't
new concerns. They've been floating around for
a while. People have been talking about them
on podcasts, you know, in live forums, whether
that be at a card show or Fanatics Fest or the
National. But nobody's done anything about it.
Right. No one's really stepped up to address
the real concerns here directly. Right. And so
that's part of why we. Built Collectors MD and
why it exists to take those quiet conversations
and give them a platform, give them a louder
voice, not to shame or cancel people. Right.
But to actually push the hobby in a healthier,
more sustainable direction and seeing more folks
willing to have these tough conversations in
our weekly support meetings. in social forums
or Facebook groups, that's a really encouraging
sign. It means that people care. People are starting
to have the courage to step up and talk about
these issues, talk about their personal problems
that they're dealing with. And it means that
folks are paying attention. So we want to just
keep pushing forward. We want to keep spreading
positive awareness, educating people, especially
the next generation who, again, is just so incredibly
vulnerable and impressionable and needs the tools
and resources in order to be set up for success
down the road. So, again, we just want to keep
calling things out, but also calling each other
in. Right. The more honest we are, the better
chance we have at shaping this hobby that we
all love. so that we can all be proud of it.
Yeah, and that's something that I also really
like is when you see a lot of different people
who their main focus is calling out the bad stuff
and bringing light to it. I appreciate that,
but a lot of it is just so negative to the point
where it's like, do you guys even like collecting
cards? Do you guys even enjoy this? And so for
you guys to have that call... to reform. I was
reading the reform initiative on the website.
By the way, guys, all of the links are going
to be in the description of this video. So check
out the website. They have so much content and
resources there. It's awesome. But the reform
initiative, it provides actual feedback and ways
to actively improve. uh the the problems that
you see and that's something that i think is
just so cool because you're not just calling
out a problem you're providing a solution yeah
exactly yeah the the industry reform initiative
was created to serve as um sort of a standard
a benchmark for platforms for manufacturers to
hopefully uh see and eventually integrate into
their user flows, into their UX, into the way
that they conduct themselves and their apps and
their entire user experiences. Again, it's not
intended to be overly intrusive or completely
shake up the hobby, but it just makes so much
more sense. for platforms manufacturers and breakers
to proactively be a part of the change instead
of just sitting back and waiting for some external
governing body or worse a lawsuit to come along
uh and then you know some some external person
of power start shaking things up uh and just
turning this into you know a system that that
we don't like so um we just we just want these
folks to be able to understand the problems that
we're facing. And we go through everything in
great detail. There are objectives here, things
like ensuring fairness and transparency, preventing
fraud, standardizing the practices, consumer
protection, responsible breaking messaging. It's
subtle. It's nothing like that's going to completely
change the hobby or completely change the user
experience. It's just looking out for the customer,
creating safer. space and guardrails so that
people don't spiral out of control. So again,
this is like a framework that we've developed.
Licensing, registration and age verification,
transparency and pricing, odds and formats, spending
limits, self -exclusion and transaction history.
These are things that we see within gambling
apps, but haven't been introduced to any of the
card related or hobby related apps. Responsible
gaming warnings and support resources. When you
see a commercial or an ad for a casino or a sports
book like DraftKings or FanDuel, what do you
always see along with it? Responsible gaming
messaging, right? If you or you know somebody
who has a problem, call 1 -800 -GAMBLER. It's
a part of their corporate responsibility to provide
their customers with the appropriate tools and
resources so that if they need it, they have
something to lean on. right there's a hotline
that you can call there are tools and resources
available for people who have um you know addiction
and that addiction uh is the same type of addiction
that we're seeing across the hobby and so that's
incredibly important and something that we continue
to advocate for um the verified randomization
and record record keeping like everything is
just feels you know like the wild west like these
real spins and uh the the random card shuffles
for, you know, the random teams and such, like
all of that just seems very sort of fugazi as
we say, like, it doesn't feel, it doesn't feel
real. It doesn't feel, you know, like it's legitimate
at times. And so we just, we want to look out
for the safety and, and ultimately you know,
the trust. from these breakers and from the platforms.
We also are looking to add things like real -time
receipts and break recording, platform accountability
and moderation tools, ban on conflicts of interest
and unlicensed gambling, education, awareness,
and community training. That's something we can
be actively involved in. Financial safeguards
and encryption standards, refunds and dispute
resolution. That's an ongoing issue with these
apps. um where people are just filing chargebacks
and again it's the wild west you know you can
order thousands of dollars worth of product or
um cards from from a break and decide after the
fact that you just want to file a chargeback
with your credit card and it becomes a major
issue for both sides both the breaker uh and
the the the customer so right sort of creating
a better solutions around that and then audit
and compliance enforcement so You know, some
of these things do sound a little bit heavy and
serious, but some of them are just so incredibly
needed. Right. Right. So, yeah, we just want
to keep pushing for it. Yeah. And I think that
people who maybe haven't been on some of these
platforms might not understand just how easy
it is to get hooked on the way that these shows
run and that how the bids run. You know, there's.
We briefly talked about it in our conversation
before, but there's auctions that start at 10
seconds long and it pretty much takes your brain
out of constructive thinking mode and you just
go into a swiping frenzy. And so being able to
have those self exclusions and limits is really
important because I've had people comment on
the video that I did, you know, about the national,
you know, talking about how they have spent,
you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars collectively
on different items and and repacks and Whatnot
and all that good stuff um and you know they're
they've been like i've never hit anything like
any of these influencers you know and now i'm
just left like feeling the shame and remorse
of of all of this. So yeah, people are getting
absolutely blindsided by this stuff. Yeah. It's
scary. You know, one of the biggest traps I think
you brought up and, you know, you mentioned,
we talked about, um, that people fall into in
the hobby. Uh, and I've been there myself is
the late night bidding, right? When it's like
2 AM and you're tossing and turning and you can't
fall asleep. So what do you do? You start, uh,
doom scrolling and you end up on Whatnot. And,
uh, you know, maybe you've had a long day and,
um, You're stressed out. And you tell yourself
you're just a bystander. You're just watching,
right? And then all of a sudden, you're in this
live break or live stream. And there's a break
going on. And they're filling the break with
random teams. And suddenly, your fat thumb ends
up swiping to bid on something. And you're in
a bidding war over some random team. And you
get dealt the worst team in the deck. what's
you know what's the natural uh sort of next step
or progression there you go full tilt and you
start chasing other teams the next thing you
know you've spent a couple thousand dollars only
to get back like fifty dollars in cards um and
then so your knee jerk reaction is just to dive
back in and do it all over again like we see
this happening over and over and over again and
people just waking up the next morning like what
the heck did i do you know last night How did
I fall into that frenzy? And, you know, again,
a lot of this behavior is just sort of subconscious
and the platforms are built for it. And it doesn't
just exist on the on the breaking apps. It's
it's also on eBay. Right. It becomes sort of
second nature swiping and, you know, just clicking.
And it's all right in front of you in your. face
all the time. We're all like, you know, our smartphones
are an extension of us and you don't even realize
how deep you're in it until the receipt or the
invoice hits your inbox. Then you've got, you
know, all sorts of other things that drive the
FOMO, the breaker acting as the entertainer and
the dealer and, you know, the marketer all in
one, just screaming, you know, like. chat chat
you gotta you gotta bid more these things are
going for way too low um you know these prices
or these spots should be going for for way more
i mean and then you've got uh the guy selling
the singles who uh you know list everything on
a sudden death auction so people don't even have
time to scramble and check comps or like do any
sort of research there's this sense of urgency
you have to bid and so cards that cost might
cost two bucks on ebay end up going for like
25 30 bucks in these live streams because people
again just feed into this uh sense of of uh missing
out the fomo right so again it's just a matter
of uh refining these platforms and these user
experiences so people don't get completely sucked
in and chewed up um you know by by the breakers
and the platforms and we're not saying that every
single breaker every single platform uh intends
to do this to people but it's just inherently
happening it's it's a part of the experience
um and there are people who are just getting
completely burnt and the emotional the mental
and the financial burnout is just becoming too
much to bear for for some folks and so again
we're here for those people but um In addition
to that, we also want to just keep pushing for
reform and for change. Yeah. And I saw that you
guys were partnered with Birches Health, which
I think they're one of the, if not the only kind
of company that's offering specific guided therapy
for like a sports card or, you know, trading
card type addiction. So, you know. The worlds
of collecting and mental health don't necessarily
always overlap, but one of the most important
steps that we've taken as a community or taken
at Collectors MD is partnering with Birches Health,
who are a nationwide leader in behavioral health
and addiction treatment. I am not a licensed
therapist. I'm not a doctor. I don't have any
sort of experience or background as it pertains
to providing that sort of service. So by partnering
with Birches Health, we add that extra layer
of support as people need it. And so what that
means for our community and for our members is
that they now have access to licensed professionals
who specialize in gambling and compulsive behaviors,
not just general therapy. And that sort of level
of understanding carries incredible weight when
you're talking about something as specific and
emotionally charged as collecting. And these
gambling like activities like breaking, you have
access to virtual confidential care from home.
So reaching out doesn't require taking that extra
effort to get in the car and go to a doctor's
office that might leave traces of feeling like,
you know, exposed. It's completely confidential,
judgment free. They're there for you when you
need it. And they offer affordable treatment
options. uh most of what they offer is covered
by insurance uh or low to no cost meaning help
isn't off limits to people who genuinely need
it right so instead of just feeling like you're
stuck in a loop of buying breaking chasing hits
there's now a way to get real professional support
tailored to those exact challenges and that's
monumental And so this partnership isn't about
labeling the hobby or calling anybody out. It's
about making sure that help is there for people
who actually need it when they need it. And that
reflects exactly what Collectors MD stands for,
supporting the collectors themselves with care
and clarity, right? And it's not about, you know,
growing. the Collectors MD brand or creating
a sense of clout or trying to get more likes
or followers. It's about educating the people
that actually need it. So we just want the hobby
to recognize that these tools and resources.
exist for those people that need it. And so again,
we just want to continue to carry the message
and partner with folks like you who have the
audience, who have the platform to continue spreading
such an impactful and important message. Yeah,
that is that is really important. And on the
website, you know, it talks about, you know,
when when should, you know, I seek out help,
you know, and one of the things that really stuck
out to me was like when the hobby like when this
stops being fun, you know, like when it when
it starts feeling like a weight and I feel like,
you know, everybody's different. But, you know,
even myself, I've deleted the eBay app off my
phone. you know, previously in times past just
because I felt myself like overusing it, checking
it too much, having a watch list that was way,
way too long. Yeah. You know, you have a problem
when you go to watch an item and eBay tells you
that you're at capacity and you have to remove
some items on your watch list. That's been me
before. Yeah. Yeah. And so just being able to,
you know, self -reflect and you know self -critique
you know what what you're doing and you know
how much of it you're doing um like you said
the i love the that you guys are all for you
know the hobby you know you're not anti -hobby
in any way but it's Yeah. And it's just all about
having that accountability and community around
to be there for you when you feel like you might
start slipping or if you already feel like you
have slipped and you want to get back on track.
Exactly. And that's exactly what it is. We want
to take it back to the purity, to the joy of
the days when people actually collected to collect.
and didn't collect to try to collect a paycheck,
right? And you brought up another really good
point, you know, and we try to emphasize this
at Collectors MD, that everyone is different,
right? The gambling -like mechanics in the hobby,
things like pack ripping, some of the things
we talked about, the countdown auctions, the
high -risk repacks, the mystery slabs, they don't
affect everyone the same way. And for some people,
look, it's just entertainment and they do have
the self -control. They rip a pack here or there.
They go to their LCS. They buy one box and they
stay within their means. They know their limits
and then they walk away. But for others, it's
just not that simple. People have impulses. And
so we have to take those people seriously. So
there's the adrenaline rush, the chase for a
hit, the thrill of just one more. It can trigger
something much, much deeper, especially for those
already dealing with things like stress, trauma,
or a history of addictive behavior. It can start
to really spiral faster. A lot of people we hear
quit gambling or self -exclude from gambling
and then turn to the hobby only to find themselves
in the same predicaments. or sometimes even worse,
right? Because the hobby is sort of disguised
as this like childhood rooted activity that we've
all known and love since we were kids. And so
we just have to be very, very careful there.
We have to look out for, you know, the warning
signs. You know, someone might say, well, you
know, I could stop anytime. It's just fun for
me. But that doesn't, necessarily mean it's fun
for the next person or that it's safe. So again,
we're not here to say that the hobby is inherently
bad or that everyone needs to stop. We're just
here to say, let's make space for both realities.
Let's acknowledge that what feels casual for
you might feel compulsive for someone else. And
let's stop pretending that just because you don't
struggle doesn't mean others don't. So that's
what awareness is all about. That's what empathy
actually looks like. I get a little frustrated
when I see people saying things like, it's just
a hobby. It's just cards. How could you possibly
spiral out of control or end up spending your
life savings or hard -earned money on something
so juvenile or trivial? You just don't get it.
You don't get that people... everybody's different
everybody goes through things differently and
when the system is engineered to suck you in
and make you chase it makes it that much more
difficult for somebody who is susceptible for
falling into addictive behavior and patterns
Yeah, definitely. And like you said, the people
who design these platforms, they're not naive.
You know, they're very smart. They know exactly
what they're doing. And, you know, it's it's
great to see. you know, Collectors MD kind of
working as that, like, you know, safeguard, um,
you know, for people who are unaware, um, you
know, because there's so many new people coming
into the hobby and it's great and it's awesome,
but it's also just like, I feel like they're,
they're prime targets, you know, to get, like
you said, just to get engulfed in this just vicious
cycle, you know, that, that can happen. Um, And
you don't realize that you've been sucked in,
chewed up and spit out until it's too late most
of the time. Right. Fortunately, right? Like
the price points of product these days, it's
just become so like out of control. just marked
up that it doesn't even make sense to rip personals
anymore because 99 of the time you are not making
back even a fraction of what you put in right
yeah but people still do it People still do it
because they want to chase that high. They want
to chase that hit. And we talk a lot about this
in our weekly meetings, the whole concept of
chasing the dragon. You know, that's something
they talk a lot about in GA and other recovery
anonymous meetings like AA and NA. People want
to recreate that first rush, right? And so if
you... Join the hobby, you join a break for the
first time, let's say, and you have a little
bit of beginner's luck and you hit something
massive. And you end up, you know, either stashing
it in your PC, maybe you grade it, it gets a
good grade, becomes like the cornerstone of your
PC, or you end up selling it and make back a,
you know, 10x what you originally put in. Let's
say, you know, that might seem great at first,
but it really... is the devil in disguise because
next thing you know you're just trying to recreate
that moment and so we see this so often where
somebody joins a break for the first time they
hit big and then they try they're like oh this
is so easy this is great i'm just going to join
more breaks and then they join another four another
five all of a sudden they've joined a dozen breaks
and they haven't hit a single card of any value
or note um And, you know, they fall into these
patterns, these cycles, these loops, these what
we call like dopamine loops. And so, again, you
just have to protect yourself from yourself sometimes
and make sure that you put those safety measures
in place. Protect yourself, you know, as you
see fit in order to prevent. sort of going down
that slippery slope, that dark path. Another
partnership that I think is worth mentioning
is the one we have with Gamban, where you can
download this app and basically put app blocking
software on your phone. So if you do feel like
you're not going to be able to control yourself
or control that urge in the middle of the night
when you're in your most vulnerable state, you
can actually prevent yourself from being able
to uh open Fanatics Live or Whatnot or Loupe or
any of these hobby related apps that might be
uh sort of a trigger for you um so you know that's
not this we're not doing that because we want
uh to take anything away from those platforms
right but the platforms don't offer the self
-exclusion tools that the gambling apps do The
gambling apps make it easy. They make it simple
for somebody to just go into their settings,
self -exclude in their respective state, and
then they can't gamble anymore. And they're basically
on like a block list. I myself self -excluded
from gambling several years ago because I was
a gambling addict. I went down that dark path
and I knew that I didn't have the self -control.
I would impulsively open those DraftKings. or
FanDuel apps all the time and start playing live
blackjack just to scratch the itch. And so that
doesn't exist in the hobby. That doesn't exist
with Fanatics or Whatnot. And so if the big players
aren't going to make it possible for their customers,
for their users to be able to self -exclude,
then we want to be able to offer those third
-party resources so people can do them themselves.
So again, that's just another layer of support
that we offer now. Yeah, that's awesome. And
I think that it's also really important, especially
like for me as someone who makes content on YouTube,
you know, specifically with, you know, I open
a lot of sealed boxes and stuff like that. I
feel like the content creators also need to be
transparent with their audience. And be careful
about who you follow because there's some people
that only show the monster hits. There's only
people that show all the good stuff. And they
don't show you the box where they spent $600
and got $30 back. There's a very small percentage
of people who are opening that amount of product
and have sponsorships and are doing... all these
other things, which is which is not bad. But
I feel there also needs to be transparency in
that saying like, hey, you know, I'm sponsored
here or I can do this because of this. Right.
So I think I think that's really important. That's
something that I try to be really transparent
with all of my viewers. I tell them, you know,
if if I partner with anybody, if I'm ever sponsored,
you know, I personally don't. accept any type
of partnership unless I specifically use that
company's product. So I think, I think that having
a level of accountability in the content creation
space will also only positively impact these
other surrounding areas of the hobby. Absolutely.
You brought up two really good, good topics that
I think, you know, make a lot of sense to bring
light to you know from our sort of perspective.
The first one is sort of these highlight reels
and the influencer boxes, as some people like
to call them. They're one of the most subtle
but dangerous forms of manipulation in the hobby
right now. And the concept seems harmless, right?
On the surface, you give a popular content creator
an influencer box to rip on camera. Maybe the
manufacturer knows that it's going to be a hot
box or have a big hit inside and let their audience
watch the magic happen. But then when you really
think about it, it's just another way to engineer
hype and suck people in. It's basically free
marketing or advertising for the manufacturer
or the platform. So these boxes aren't always
random. I think a lot of people... realize that
now uh in fact a lot of the time they're again
they're hot boxes they're stacked with hits to
make the product look better than it actually
is and when someone with a massive following
pulls a monster card on stream thousands of people
watching start to believe that could be me so
what do they do next they buy They rip, they
chase, they overspend and they get disappointed
over and over again. And it's not just about
the influencer either. It's the psychology of
influence. The platforms and companies know that
we trust familiar faces. We're more likely to
buy what they're promoting. right even if it's
subconsciously and that's where it becomes predatory
because when you're struggling with control or
chasing that next dopamine hit those influencer
boxes aren't just entertainment they're a trigger
and the worst part is there there's really you
know any disclosure people watching don't know
if that box was free if it was curated if the
odds were altered or Even worse, the person recording
is on like their fifth or sixth box in reality
and just keep recording the same video over and
over again until they actually hit that hot box
so that they can create content that has a better
chance of going viral, right? And so that lack
of transparency or sort of the unknown creates
this false sense of possibility and people spiral
chasing something that was never real to begin
with. And so that's all about why we're speaking
up, because if we don't start holding the industry
and the creators, the influencers accountable,
this next generation of collectors will be raised
on smoke and mirrors instead of truth and intention.
And so the other thing you brought up that we
talked about a little bit already is the transparency
in the hobby, which is so long overdue. And,
you know, it just has to start at every level.
The breakers and the manufacturers, the breakers
need to be honest about what they're selling.
If it's a resealed box or if it's a repack or
if it's been cherry picked, let's say like, you
know, they know where the case was in the case.
they plucked it or whatever if you're guaranteeing
hits but not explaining the odds or the risk
like that's just straight up misleading there
are people spending their literally their rent
money or their mortgage payments trying to chase
cards because they trust what they see on camera
or they trust their favorite breaker right that's
a huge responsibility whether you realize it
or not as as the breaker as like the the the
uh stream host and platforms especially live
marketplaces and social selling apps they just
need to step up their moderation right the 10
second timers the flashing graphics with the
slot machines um the fake sense of urgency the
manipulated market prices these are all designed
to make people spend without consciously thinking
and these platforms know exactly what they're
doing and they're profiting from the fallout
and then there's the manufacturers whether it's
Panini uh Topps and fanatics whoever you can't
keep flooding the market with low quality products
vague print runs and questionable like redemptions
the whole idea of a redemption in the first place
is just so insane like i actually tried explaining
what a redemption was to my parents recently
And they just couldn't wrap their heads around
it. Like, why would you buy a product if the
best hit in the product, the best player in the
product wasn't live, right? And like, how many
times do we see a product drop and like the number
one player, the number one chase in that product
is a redemption. Like, it's crazy. And so the
collector base just needs to become more educated,
be smarter. We need honesty about print runs,
about odds, about quality control. Like, how
many times have we seen quality control be a
major issue in a product? Collectors are just
becoming fatigued of feeling like they're the
last ones to know the truth. Transparency, like,
it shouldn't be radical, right? It should be
a standard. Because if, you know, the hobby is
going to grow in a healthy, sustainable way,
like it just it has to be built on trust, not
manipulation. We're not asking for that much
in the grand scheme of things. Right. Yeah. These
are very, very fair requests. Yeah. And just
a small digression, you know, you brought up
with the manufacturers having accountability.
Topps has been doing these EQL drops where it's
supposed to. certify fairness and um you know
a third party the eql um determines you know
who wins by random um and they you know they
i have an email from top saying that um you know
nobody is given a special um treatment or anything
like that with these these products um and just
the other day They were dropping the Marvel Sapphire,
and people were breaking it on Whatnot before
the EQL had even announced the results. How much
did those boxes sell for? I did not enter to
buy one, but they were $489 on the EQL drop.
Do you have any idea? Because I did see that.
there are a handful of breakers that have it
in hand already and they're ripping it. Do you
have any idea what they're charging as far as
aftermarket prices? I'm assuming it's astronomical.
I've heard from just like Discord chats and stuff
that it was hundreds of dollars. It's over $800
because I see it sold out at $800 on David Adams.
So I can't imagine what the breakers are charging
for it on the platforms. But that's another telltale
sign. It's so much deeper than just sports cards.
All of these other major franchises, Disney,
Marvel, obviously Pokemon, these other TCGs,
this is becoming more and more widespread, more
and more mainstream. They make cards for any
and everything. And Fanatics, their whole concept
is creating this ecosystem of collectibles, breaking
platform culture and gambling and casino and
sports books. Right. And basically encompassing
all of these sports related items. activities
in one like a one -stop shop right and so they're
bringing in all of these celebrities influencers
athletes to be involved and so you see tom brady
and olivia dunn and rob gronkowski all these
major in like athletes and individuals at all
these events hanging out with michael rubin taking
selfies with the kids and it's just become like
it's become a circus right because Those individuals
only really understand the hobby on the surface
level. They don't understand the nuances of the
gambling -like mechanics. And why should they?
That's not their job. That's not their responsibility.
But when you see the mainstream celebrities becoming
more and more acclimated, more and more involved
in this stuff, it only sucks more and more people
in, right? So we just, again, we just have to
create a layer of awareness, education, tools
and resources. And just be that, you know, layer
of support for the hobby as it just continues
to evolve and grow into this mainstream space.
Yeah, I absolutely agree with you. Absolutely.
Crazy. It's crazy, man. It's like, you know,
we talked about like we love collecting. We love
the hobby. We just want to see it continue to
evolve in a. positive direction. And I just don't
know if the folks at the helm are accounting
for these things that, you know, have sort of
gone unspoken or flown under the radar for far
too long. So, uh, we collectively as a, as a
community, as a hobby, just need to come together
to continue spreading this message, spreading
the awareness and, uh, just, you know, pulling
for change. It just it needs to happen sooner
rather than later, because like I said in the
beginning of our conversation, if we don't start
changing, if we don't start adapting to people's
needs, there's going to be an external governing
body that comes in, whether it be a gaming commission
or an SEC like type of organization that just
lays the hammer down on the hobby. And it's just
it's never going to look the same again. Right.
So that's that's the part that's scary. And we
want to sort of bake in those preventative measures
before that ever even becomes the reality. Yeah.
And I think that a lot of collectors, they, they
feel that they feel exactly, you know, what we've
been talking about. I think that, that people
are tired. They're, they're tired of getting
brushed under the rug. And, you know, they're
tired of not having transparency and things like
that. So there are things that we can do. You
know, we're not powerless. We're not helpless.
And, you know, like what you've done, you know,
you've started a movement. You know, you've brought
fruition and tangibility to what the collectors
have been feeling for a long time. Like I said,
all the links are going to be in the description.
Definitely check out the website. I know you
guys do daily posts. You guys are always putting
out great content. I can't recommend it enough
because it's just shining such a light in just
the dark space. can be within the hobby. Exactly.
Yeah. The, the content is big for us too. We
want to push this narrative, push this movement.
through the content, through education. And so
we have a few different franchises, as we call
them. One is called The Daily Reflection, which
has really become a cornerstone of Collectors
MD. And they're basically just like these brief,
honest, and thought -provoking journal entries
that we share on a daily basis. And what's so
great about them is that it's not just me contributing.
We have... a whole collective of individuals
who have contributed and these are people from
the hobby from the community that just you know
want a platform to speak their mind speak their
voice and so uh we invite and welcome any and
everyone who wants to contribute to The Daily
Reflection just to reach out, send us a DM, shoot
us an email, info at collectorsmd .com. And we
could talk about getting a Daily Reflection up
and published on the website. And then we have
another franchise called Collector Spotlight.
So at Collectors MD, we believe that collecting
should be deeply personal, intentional. And it
should be a fulfilling experience. And so our
collector spotlight is a monthly series that
features and shines a light on collectors who
truly embody our mission, which is collecting
with intention. And so each month we highlight
a passionate collector within our community and
showcase their collection. That doesn't necessarily
have to be car. It could be sneakers. It could
be coins. It could be memorabilia. It could be
anything. And we just want to give them the light
to share their story, celebrate the way they
approach their respective hobby. And these aren't
just collectors chasing the latest hits or the
highest value drops, right? They're individuals
who build collections with purpose, with meaning
and, you know, with their own personal touch.
And that's so incredibly important and valuable.
And then we started to, to podcasts of our own.
So we have the collector spotlight. We'll be
recording episode six next week. And then another.
podcast called Behind the Breaks, which is a
little bit more short form. So definitely encourage
folks to check those out. You can find them at
collectorsmd .com under the Discover tab. And
again, we have all the tools and resources that
you need to continue collecting more intentionally
and, you know, in a more healthy, sustainable
way. You know, we're also calling for breakers
to partner with us. We're trying to get in front
of the right folks so that we can layer in responsible
collecting, responsible ripping, messaging into
these experiences. And it can be done in such
a subtle way. Like we've been working with stand
-up displays to make Collectors MD card stands.
You know, they could say things like hashtag
rip responsibly, collect responsibly, things
like that. Same thing with like... stickers,
those slabs that have the custom labels on them.
We just want people to, again, carry this into
their collecting lifestyles or their own individual
hobbies so that they are constantly making sure
that they are collecting with intention and not
compulsion. And I mentioned, inviting people
to contribute to the daily reflection. We also
invite people to get involved in, in other ways.
You know, you can reach out to us at any time
and join a meeting. You know, we could bring
you like, I've been interviewing any and everyone
for The Collector's Compass podcast. I've been
bringing on members of the hobby community, therapists,
doctors, just people who want to share their
perspective and expertise. into some of these
areas that, you know, have become problematic.
And yeah, I mean, we're, again, we just, we want
to continue growing the community and making
sure that it's reaching the right folks, you
know, in the best way possible. Yeah. And I think
you guys are doing an amazing job, you know,
so far. Like I said, I'm really thankful for
what you're doing and Collectors MD as a whole.
And I think that it is going to bring, it's already
brought change. And I think it's going to continue
to bring positive change to our space for sure.
I appreciate that so much. Truly. Alijah, I want
to thank you so much for bringing me on and being
a part of this conversation. I know how much
work goes into building and maintaining a platform,
a channel like yours. like the world to be given
the opportunity the space to share what we're
doing with Collectors MD and why it matters for
the hobby um you know you're you're really helping
spark conversations that a lot of people have
just been avoiding for far too long and that's
something i'm super grateful so thank you for
opening the door for letting me share my thoughts
and perspective and for continuing to push this
hobby toward you know something much more healthy
and sustainable Yeah, I truly appreciate that.
And like I said, this is going to be, I think,
a very fruitful relationship and friendship as
we can continue down the road. This will probably
not be the last time that you're on the channel.
And I had a great time just listening to your
thoughts and your vision. for what this hobby
uh can be and i just i just admire your passion
dude it's just it's so it's so refreshing to
see in a time where there's just so much negativity
there's just you know there's there's so much
crap out there um that is just constantly being
fed um like you said through through the good
old smartphone um and so Being able to come across
you and Collectors MD, it's just been like a breath
of fresh air. Appreciate that, truly. Yeah, I
love what you're doing. Thanks, man. That really
means the world. And I agree. I think this will
be the start of a long -term friendship, partnership,
continuing to just pay it forward and make sure
we're looking out for this hobby that we care
so deeply about. Definitely. All right, everybody.
So that was our episode. Thank you so much for
tuning in. If you're still here. Thank you sincerely
from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate each
and every one of you. If you haven't subscribed
already, click that subscribe button. All of
the collector MD links again will be in the description.
And just once again, thank you so much, Alyx,
for all your contributions to our wonderful hobby.
Of course. Thanks Alijah. Remember collect with
intention and not compulsion. Absolutely. All
right. We'll see you guys later.