Latest / Collectors MD Features / #9: Sports Cards and Addiction: What No One Talks About | The Geoff Wilson Show

Transcript

#9: Sports Cards and Addiction: What No One Talks About | The Geoff Wilson Show · Collectors MD Features

0:00
We need to have a conversation about the fact
0:02
that the hobby is not healthy for some. Breaking,
0:06
ripping packs incessantly. Some people get addicted.
0:10
Some people take it many steps too far. So what
0:16
needs to be done? What's the responsibility upon
0:19
breakers, upon card shop owners, upon platform
0:23
operators to help collectors who may be are taking
0:28
things beyond where they should. Well, there's
0:31
one group that has started and set out to help.
0:35
It's Collectors MD and their founder, Alyx Effron,
0:39
is coming on the show today to talk about the
0:41
challenges that he sees in the hobby and how
0:44
he and his Collectors MD group are trying to make
0:48
the hobby safer for everybody who participates.
0:52
It's pretty thought -provoking. And as the owner
0:55
of a company that does a lot of breaking ourselves,
0:58
after talking with Alyx, I've decided to make
1:01
some changes to how Cards HQ will approach breaking.
1:06
We're going to get into that in the interview
1:08
today. Please welcome Alyx and Collectors MD to
1:12
the Geoff Wilson Show. Alyx, welcome to the show.
1:27
You are on a mission, a self -described mission
1:29
to make the hobby healthier for everybody who
1:32
participates. What is that vision? What does
1:35
that look like to you? Yeah, Geoff, thanks so
1:37
much. Thanks so much for having me on. Really
1:40
appreciate the opportunity. When I think about
1:43
breaking and sports collecting and how it should
1:47
look, I don't think the answer is necessarily
1:50
to shut it down or to cancel anything. Breaking
1:53
can be and should be fun. It can be social. It
1:57
can bring people together in really cool and
1:59
unique ways. But right now, a lot of the structure
2:02
sort of leans heavily into gambling mechanics,
2:05
right? We're seeing a lot of high risk, low odds,
2:08
and marketing plays off people's FOMO, right?
2:13
So what I'd like to see is a shift towards something
2:16
that's a bit more transparent, more responsible,
2:19
and ultimately more community driven. So imagine
2:22
if you buy into a break and you actually know
2:25
your odds, right? Imagine tools that let you
2:28
do things like set limits, step away if you need
2:31
a break or a timeout, or potentially even self
2:35
-exclude if things start to get really unhealthy,
2:38
just like other industries that already are regulated.
2:41
Think gambling, day trading, things like that.
2:44
That doesn't necessarily kill the fun. All it
2:47
does is it just protects the people who need
2:50
it. And at the same time, Breakers could focus
2:52
less on running things like repacks and hit parades
2:57
and more on creating real connection, celebrating
3:00
the stories behind cards, the nostalgia, the
3:03
reason we collect in the first place. And honestly,
3:06
we need to think about the kids and the next
3:08
generation. A 12 -year -old shouldn't be conditioned
3:11
into gambling -like behaviors just because they
3:15
love sports. There's a way to make this hobby
3:17
exciting without preying on that. So it's all
3:20
about fairness, integrity, accountability. You
3:24
know, none of these shady repacks, none of these
3:26
loaded boxes, no smoking mirrors. If this really
3:29
is about sports and collecting and the purity
3:33
of the hobby, then trust and community have to
3:35
come first. And so that's the vision. At the
3:38
end of the day, you know, it's simple. Breaking
3:40
and collecting should feel like a celebration,
3:43
not a trap. It should feel like passion, not
3:45
compulsion. I want to get into your story in
3:47
a minute about kind of what led you on this mission
3:50
and also talk about Collectors MD and what you
3:53
are trying to do to solve some of these challenges
3:55
that you see in the sports card hobby. But let
3:58
me first ask, how big of a problem do you see
4:01
this as being currently? Like, is this just a
4:04
few people who take breaking a little too far?
4:07
Or do you think this is more of a widespread
4:09
issue that's not really being talked about very
4:11
much? Yeah, I think it's the latter. gone unchecked
4:17
for far too long. It's a conversation that people
4:19
have been having behind the scenes. You know,
4:22
you see it pop up here and there, whether that
4:24
be on a YouTube video or in a Reddit feed or
4:28
a Facebook group, but nobody has ever really
4:32
done anything about it until now. Collectors MD
4:36
is here to help the hobby. evolve for the better.
4:41
And so, yeah, it's a vast issue that we're seeing
4:45
across the board. People don't even realize that
4:49
there's an issue or maybe that they have a problem
4:52
or that they're facing challenges quite often
4:55
until it's too late. And we're seeing more and
4:58
more of that during our weekly peer support meetings
5:01
when people come in and they just look like a
5:04
deer in the headlights that just got hit by a
5:06
truck and didn't see it coming. The sports card
5:10
hobby, I mean, going all the way back to the
5:12
1950s when Topps first started producing packs
5:17
of cards. And even prior to that, when other
5:19
companies produced packs of cards, there's always
5:22
been this kind of chase. mystery element to sports
5:28
cards, right? If you were to buy a pack of cards
5:30
in the 50s or the 60s or the 70s or all the way
5:33
through the year 2025, there's that element of
5:37
I'm opening the pack. I don't know what's inside.
5:40
I'm hoping to find my favorite player or I'm
5:43
hoping to find the most valuable card that I
5:46
could possibly find. It's exciting. It's a rush.
5:50
you used the gambling word earlier. That's a
5:53
word that a lot of people in the industry don't
5:55
like to use, right? Because trying to kind of
5:57
separate it away from that. Why do you feel like
6:01
what we're facing today, in your opinion, is
6:06
that much different than what the whole history
6:08
of the industry has been built on for the last
6:10
70 plus years? Yeah, Geoff, you bring up a really
6:13
great point. There's always been a chase element
6:15
in collecting in the hobby, and that's part of
6:18
what makes it so exciting for some people, right?
6:20
Even back to the 50s, the 60s, the junk wax era,
6:25
people have always been chasing certain rookies,
6:27
certain players, certain sets, certain subsets.
6:30
The difference is that the chase used to feel
6:33
like a bonus, not the entire point, right? You'd
6:36
rip packs. You'd build sets. Maybe you'd trade
6:39
with friends. Kids used to put cards in the spokes
6:42
of their bicycle wheels. They didn't necessarily
6:44
care about the condition, which is why, obviously,
6:48
highly graded cards that are coveted from the
6:52
50s and 60s and even before that are so scarce,
6:56
right? But every once in a while, you might hit
6:58
something special. That was a moment that was
7:04
pure and memorable and something that people
7:08
really appreciated. Now, the whole industry has
7:12
just been engineered around the chase. Everything
7:15
is about short prints, the low number parallels,
7:18
the case hits, the one of ones. Instead of collecting
7:22
being about building something meaningful, it's
7:25
really turned into this. constant slot machine
7:27
pull where if you don't hit, you feel like you've
7:30
lost. And that shift from cards being about connection
7:35
and completion to cards being about sort of gambling,
7:38
I'll use the G word again, gambling style odds
7:40
is what has changed the most. So it's not that
7:44
chasing is inherently bad. It's that it's been
7:47
amplified to the point where the hobby itself
7:49
is just built around it. And when the only story
7:52
being told is about comps and hits, and highlight
7:56
reels it pulls people into cycles that can be
7:59
really really hard to get out of and Alyx i i
8:03
definitely think there's some truth to what you're
8:04
saying but to a degree isn't this just how the
8:08
world has shifted in general i mean people used
8:11
to listen to the you know complete albums of
8:13
songs all the time and now you know now people
8:16
just pick one song of an album out and listen
8:18
to it on on spotify right like people used to
8:22
watch sit down and watch entire games, entire
8:25
football games uninterrupted. Now people are,
8:28
they're on their phones, the game's kind of on,
8:31
they're catching highlights on YouTube shorts.
8:33
They're watching, you know, they're watching
8:35
games and little 30 second highlight clips instead
8:37
of really sitting there and kind of embracing
8:40
the whole, you know, the whole experience. Social
8:43
media, you know, has kind of pushed us forward
8:46
into this like kind of instant gratification
8:49
type of mindset, quick attention spans. So isn't
8:53
the way that the hobby has evolved somewhat symbolic
8:58
of kind of what consumers want in the year 2025?
9:02
Yeah, no, that's a really good point. It's not
9:05
just the hobby that's shifted. It's absolutely
9:07
the culture at large. Everywhere you look, like
9:10
you said, the world has just gotten more digital.
9:13
It's honestly gotten more chase -oriented across
9:16
the board. Social media runs on things like dopamine
9:19
hits. Things like likes, views, quick bursts
9:22
of validation, right? Even video games have turned
9:25
into microtransaction machines where the goal
9:28
isn't just to play the game, right? People are
9:31
ripping packs on games like NBA 2K. You have
9:36
things like skins and loot boxes in popular games
9:39
like Fortnite. Even shopping is gamified now
9:42
to an extent. Things like flash sales, drops,
9:44
and countdowns. So what happened in collecting
9:46
is really just a reflection of this bigger trend
9:48
that we're seeing in the world, like you said.
9:51
The difference, though, is that this hobby has
9:53
always carried a deeper emotional weight, right?
9:57
Cards and memorabilia just aren't just products
9:59
to a lot of people. They tie us back to sports,
10:02
to childhood, to community. And that's why it
10:05
just it hits harder. when the chase starts to
10:07
take over in the hobby. It's not just another
10:09
app on your phone. It's something we grew up
10:12
with. It's something that used to feel pure,
10:15
something that a lot of us just really, really
10:17
love and genuinely care about. And so the world
10:21
shifted toward the hit being the whole story,
10:24
and the hobby followed right along. And the question
10:27
is, do we accept that as the new norm, or do
10:30
we carve out space for something different, something
10:32
that maybe keeps the magic but dials back sort
10:36
of that manipulation that we're seeing. Right.
10:39
And I know a lot of your platform, kind of what
10:42
you do, how you help people out, a lot of that
10:44
focuses on breaking, especially, right? Because
10:48
breaking, I think, in your opinion, is what brings...
10:53
Maybe it heightens the elements of what can,
10:57
that chase mindset, that instant gratification
11:01
culture, breaking in particular is kind of maybe
11:06
oriented in such a way to heighten that mindset.
11:10
And for some people, it sounds like from the
11:12
experience you've had talking to people, for
11:14
some people that can create a real challenge.
11:16
Yeah, 100%. And I do want to bring something
11:18
off, Geoff, that's really important when it comes
11:22
to what we're doing with Collectors MD. And so,
11:25
you know, a lot of people hear Collectors MD or
11:27
hear about Collectors MD and they just assume
11:30
or they think it's only about sports cards and
11:32
breaking. It started in that space for sure,
11:35
you know, as somebody who has gone through the
11:37
ringer, both with gambling and with breaking
11:40
and, you know, overspending. But it's really
11:44
about compulsive collecting and spending behaviors
11:47
across the board. So I'm really glad that you
11:49
brought up sort of this larger scale vision that
11:54
that's at play here. What we're doing applies
11:57
to all. types of verticals, sneakers. Obviously,
12:01
you have TCG, like Pokemon and Magic and all
12:05
of these other sort of non -sports cultures,
12:10
subcultures that are becoming more and more popular
12:12
within the hobby space, Disney. You got Marvel.
12:17
They just announced Toy Story, right? But beyond
12:20
just cards, I mentioned sneakers. You have memorabilia.
12:23
You have comics, even luxury items like watches
12:26
and handbags. All of these communities wrestle
12:29
with this same underlying pattern, right? The
12:32
thrill of the chase, the fear of missing out,
12:34
the endless cycle of upgrades and just one more.
12:38
The items might look different, but the psychology
12:40
is almost identical. So when we talk about Collectors MD,
12:44
we're not building some niche corner for sports
12:47
card guys. We're building a movement for collectors
12:50
everywhere. The mission is about helping people
12:53
step back from the unhealthy cycles, reconnect
12:56
with the joy of what they love, no matter what
12:58
that is, and create a culture where collecting
13:01
is intentional rather than compulsive. So it's
13:05
bigger than cars. It's bigger than breaking.
13:07
It's about how we engage with anything that can
13:10
turn into a chase. And tell me more about Collectors MD.
13:15
What is the organization? What is the scope of
13:19
what you're doing right now? How many people
13:21
are you serving, et cetera? Yeah. So Collectors MD
13:24
is a support -driven movement helping collectors
13:26
navigate the line between passion and compulsion.
13:29
We run peer support groups. We have a daily group
13:32
chat. We have a Discord. But we also publish
13:35
daily content. We have two content series. One
13:38
is called Daily Reflection. The other is called
13:40
Collector Spotlight. And we also have three podcasts.
13:43
We have The Collector's Compass behind the breaks
13:45
and Collectors MD features. We also partner with
13:48
mental health professionals and organizations
13:51
and advocate for guardrails in the hobby. So
13:53
again, the goal isn't to take away the fun. It's
13:56
to make sure people can collect with intention
13:58
and not compulsion. And if somebody out there
14:04
is, is kind of interested in getting involved
14:06
in this? How do they do that? Is there a cost?
14:08
How does it work? How many people have gotten
14:11
involved in this? Yeah, absolutely. So if you're
14:13
interested in getting involved, just go to collectorsmd
14:16
.com. We have a signup page for our weekly peer
14:19
support meetings. You can also sign up for our
14:21
daily group chat, which is really just an SMS
14:23
group chat. If that's a little bit too intimate
14:26
for you, we have Discord as an alternative. It's
14:30
completely free. We are hosting our 20th consecutive
14:34
meeting tomorrow, September 10th, which is a
14:38
major milestone for Collectors MD and something
14:40
I'm really proud of. We're seeing anywhere from
14:43
10 to 20. I think the most people we had in a
14:46
meeting was around 25. And they're an hour long.
14:51
People come, they listen, they share, they get
14:54
things off their chest that maybe they've been
14:57
sitting with in silence. That's a huge part.
15:00
of Collectors MD and what we're seeing. So many
15:02
people have been struggling alone and in isolation,
15:05
right? Maybe they're scared to admit that they
15:08
have a problem. Maybe they don't realize they
15:10
have a problem. But Collectors MD creates a sense
15:14
of awareness. It gives the people the opportunity
15:16
to take a step back, self -reflect and think
15:19
to themselves, hey, maybe I don't necessarily
15:21
have a problem. But I want to get behind this
15:24
movement or I want to start collecting with intention
15:27
before things start to spiral, before it gets
15:30
too late. And maybe it's not you at all. It could
15:35
be a friend. It could be a loved one. It could
15:37
be somebody you know. And you might just want
15:41
to learn more so that you can help continue spreading
15:45
awareness and spreading this message. So we have
15:48
a sign -up page on CollectorsMB .com. Very simple.
15:52
You fill out a few items and from there we add
15:56
you to the either group chat and or the calendar
16:00
invite for the weekly meeting. You can also DM
16:03
us on Instagram and I'm happy to talk to you
16:07
one -on -one and discuss ways that you can get
16:11
involved. We have a lot of folks that are contributing
16:13
to our daily reflection, which again, that's...
16:16
One of our franchises, we've published a daily
16:18
reflection every single day since we launched
16:21
on March 25th of this year. A lot of those reflections
16:25
have been published by, well, they're published
16:28
by me, but they've been written by a handful
16:30
of members of our community, which is really,
16:32
really awesome. People really enjoy the opportunity
16:35
to be able to sort of share their thoughts, share
16:38
their feelings in the form of a journal entry.
16:41
And so that's been really, really amazing. Um,
16:45
and collector spotlight as well. We're featuring
16:47
people on a monthly basis who collect with passion,
16:50
purity, intention. Um, we're on, I think our
16:55
fourth or fifth, we'll be highlighting a collector
16:58
this month for September this week, actually.
17:01
Uh, so, so be on the lookout for that. So, you
17:04
know, ultimately it's Collectors MD isn't just,
17:06
um, you know, a recovery program like, uh, gamblers
17:10
anonymous or AA or NA. We're a full fledged,
17:14
movement, with content, with podcasts, with partnerships.
17:19
We're, like you mentioned, doing sort of the
17:22
podcast circuit here to get as many folks educated
17:28
as we possibly can so that people understand
17:31
what we're doing and why what we're doing is
17:34
so incredibly important to the hobby. So you've
17:38
obviously taken it on your shoulders to create
17:40
this group. And I want to hear more about your
17:43
story in a minute, what led up to this. What
17:46
do you think the other players in the industry
17:50
should be doing to provide support and to maybe
17:57
curve some of the issues? So let's start with
17:59
breakers here at Cards HQ. We do breaking. We've
18:02
got breaking channels. We're on the popular breaking
18:05
apps. what could a breaker do, in your opinion,
18:11
to help either build awareness for what you're
18:14
doing or to help their customers have a better
18:17
breaking experience? Yeah, that's a great question.
18:20
I want to take a step back for a moment and just
18:23
go back to the gambling industry one more time.
18:27
When you see a commercial or an ad for a company
18:31
like DraftKings or FanDuel, What do you generally
18:33
see in terms of messaging along with the ad?
18:37
I assume you're referring to the end where they're
18:40
like, if you have a gambling problem, here's
18:43
a phone number for you to call, take a timeout.
18:45
You see that in casinos, at the ATM machines,
18:48
at the cashier cage, that type of thing as well.
18:50
Exactly. It's subtle but impactful. Responsible
18:53
gaming messaging. It exists in other industries,
18:56
but it does not exist in the hobby. And it's
18:59
not like... you know, the end of the world for
19:02
a breaker or a card shop to promote that sort
19:07
of awareness. You know, quite frankly, I'm surprised
19:10
it's taken this long for folks to start talking
19:12
about it, given what we've seen unravel across
19:15
the board. And so what I think would be really
19:18
incredible and impactful would be some responsible
19:24
gaming, maybe responsible ripping, responsible
19:26
collecting, you know, the verbiage we can play
19:28
with. but some sort of messaging that can basically
19:33
identify or acknowledge that there is something
19:40
deeper at play here for a lot of people. And
19:43
if those people need help, there is a resource
19:46
for you and maybe direct them to Collectors MD,
19:49
similar to how you might direct an individual
19:52
to 1 -800 -GAMBLER on a gambling ad. So I think
19:57
just like subtle messaging layered into the ecosystem,
20:00
whether that be a live stream or a highlight
20:03
reel or a TikTok, I think would be incredibly
20:07
helpful, incredibly impactful. Again, just having
20:11
the conversation, looking out for your customer.
20:14
We see this more and more, and I'm not calling
20:17
anybody out or saying that one breaker does it
20:20
better or worse than another. But quite often
20:23
we see, especially on these major platforms like
20:25
Whatnot and Fanatics Live, are these breaks happening
20:28
and just a massive churn. There's so much turnover.
20:32
Somebody comes in, they might spend a couple
20:34
thousand dollars in one sitting. They leave,
20:37
the breaker doesn't care. He's just going to,
20:39
you know. push the next break and look for that
20:42
next customer to target. And so it's just a matter
20:46
of accountability, looking out for your customers,
20:49
making sure that people are okay. It's not necessarily
20:54
the breaker's responsibility to do that, but
20:57
if we can bake in tools and resources to allow
21:00
these individuals to be able to maybe curb the
21:05
behavior a little bit if things start to spiral,
21:07
I think that would just go such a long way. Things
21:10
very simple, things like cool -off periods, putting
21:14
yourself in time out if needed, deposit limits,
21:18
whether that be daily, weekly, or monthly. Again,
21:23
just messaging around responsible ripping, responsible
21:26
collecting. And ultimately, if you start to realize
21:30
you have a problem, here is a place you can go.
21:33
a whole community that will have your back. You
21:35
do not have to go through whatever challenge
21:37
you're facing alone and in isolation. That's
21:39
not the answer. I like it, Alyx. And you know
21:43
what? If it sounds like not a lot or no breakers
21:47
have done this before, let's take the lead on
21:49
this here at Cards HQ. I'd like to, let's work
21:52
together and figure out how we can put responsible
21:55
ripping. in within our breaks at Cards HQ and
21:59
point people your direction. Because I think
22:01
what you're doing is important. And I do think
22:03
that there are times when people come into breaks
22:08
and they probably go a little too crazy. And
22:11
I think as a breaker... One thing we can do is
22:14
build awareness for your organization and let
22:17
people know, hey, it's okay to take a time out.
22:19
And if you're taking things a little too far,
22:21
here's a group that can help you. I think that
22:23
that's a very reasonable ask of breakers to try
22:26
to do something like that. Well, Geoff, thank
22:28
you so much for that. I wasn't expecting that.
22:31
That really means the world that you see it and
22:34
that you'd be willing to acknowledge a lot of
22:37
the things that we're talking about and saying.
22:39
So absolutely, let's have that conversation.
22:42
Let's get strategic around ways that we can,
22:44
you know, ultimately protect your customers,
22:46
your consumers. You clearly care about them.
22:49
And, you know, that's so important in this hobby.
22:52
So, yeah, doors open. We can absolutely continue
22:56
the conversation after the show. Perfect. What
22:59
role do you think the actual... like the app
23:04
providers the platforms you know uh we've got
23:08
you know hey you know people are probably laughing
23:10
a little bit right now because arena club is
23:12
a sponsor of this show and and you know obviously
23:15
arena club you know wants you to to rip the rip
23:19
the packs and rip the packs and whatnot and who
23:22
is a sponsor of you know what we do at sports
23:24
card investor fanatics live who we've got a good
23:27
relationship with there's other obviously other
23:29
platforms as well that are oriented around you
23:32
know, get into the breaks and or buy singles
23:34
and it's fast auctions. eBay's got eBay live
23:38
now with sudden death. It's doing the same thing,
23:40
right? Like there's a lot of, a lot of people,
23:43
a lot of, really all the major platforms and
23:46
players in the industry have some, you know,
23:48
some element of there's an auction ending or
23:52
there's a break starting or there's a, you know,
23:56
mystery pack that you could be ripping right
23:58
now, you know, that type of thing. What do you
24:01
think those platforms should be doing, if anything,
24:05
to help from their perspective? Yeah, you nailed
24:09
it. Think about it. Whatnot, Fanatics, Arena
24:12
Club, eBay, they're not just neutral marketplaces.
24:16
They design their environments where people spend
24:19
their money and time. So the way they set up
24:22
the live auctions, the pack rips, the reward
24:24
systems, even just down to the push notifications.
24:28
All of that either fuels compulsive behavior
24:31
or helps put up healthy guardrails, right? So
24:34
right now, most of it leans towards fueling the
24:37
compulsion. And honestly, it's built like a casino.
24:41
It's fast -paced, it's high energy, constant
24:43
dopamine hits, and very little in the way of
24:48
transparency or breaks. And these companies,
24:51
they have a choice. They can keep squeezing as
24:54
much as possible out of the consumer. Or they
24:57
can step up and build tools that actually protect
25:00
the community. Things that we've been talking
25:02
about, deposit limits, self -exclusion features,
25:04
clear odds disclosures. I know you're doing a
25:07
lot of that with your repacks with PSA. Those
25:10
aren't radical ideas. They're just reasonable
25:12
ones. I used a very good word before, reasonable.
25:17
We're not asking for the world here, right? So
25:20
honestly, I think they'd earn a lot more trust
25:23
if they started to do those things. It's just
25:26
a matter of accountability and responsibility.
25:28
So at the end of the day, these apps, these providers,
25:32
they're gatekeepers for the hobby. They're setting
25:35
the tone for the entire industry. And if they
25:37
really care about the long -term health and sustainability
25:40
of collecting, not just the short -term profits,
25:44
then they should be leading the charge on making
25:46
the space safer, more transparent, and more sustainable
25:49
for everybody. Again, I'm shocked it's taken
25:51
this long for people to even have the conversation,
25:54
let alone start making these tangible changes
25:58
that have been needed for far too long. Yeah.
26:03
It's interesting. I wonder, I don't know a lot
26:07
about the casino industry. I wonder. when you
26:12
see the responsible gaming messages and some
26:15
of the rules that they have around that, I wonder
26:18
how much of that came from the casinos versus
26:20
how much of that came from government regulators
26:23
forcing it down the casinos' throats to do it.
26:27
I would like to think that the casinos are...
26:30
are altruistic and thinking about the long term
26:34
and thinking about the health of their customers
26:37
and all that type of thing. But I also know that
26:39
that can sometimes be a lot to ask of a corporation
26:42
when the money's flowing and the shareholders
26:47
are wanting returns. And they know that if they
26:50
just push harder and harder into more of that
26:54
type of quick behavior. it will grow the money
26:57
quicker, the revenue quicker, all that kind of
26:59
thing. So it's, you know, the long -term thinking
27:04
versus the short -term, you know, the long -term
27:06
thinking and the long -term health for the customer
27:08
versus the short -term financial win, that can
27:12
sometimes be a difficult game for these big corporations
27:15
to, you know, to contend with. So, yeah, it's...
27:19
Let me ask you something. Would you rather...
27:23
some governing body come in like a gaming commission
27:26
or an SEC and just start changing things up?
27:30
No, I don't think anybody wants that. I don't
27:32
want that. Nobody wants that. Proactive and start
27:36
making these changes for the betterment, for
27:38
the sustainable future of this hobby so that
27:42
that never has to happen. I think the biggest
27:45
thing right now, the reason why what not fanatics,
27:47
the big players in this space haven't done anything.
27:50
is because they don't necessarily have to. Nobody
27:53
has said anything. Nobody has opened Pandora's
27:56
box and said, well, there are a lot of gambling
27:59
-like mechanics at play here. This is what you
28:02
have to do. Why should they? Why should they
28:05
do that if it's going to jeopardize revenue?
28:07
So it's just a matter of looking at it through
28:09
a different lens, from a different angle, and
28:12
thinking about the long -term sustainability
28:14
of the customer as opposed to the short -term
28:18
revenue, which I think a lot of these companies
28:19
are just... laser focused on. So it's not to
28:23
say that anybody's doing anything bad. It's just
28:28
a matter of creating this awareness, which is
28:31
where we come into play. So Collectors MD can
28:34
have these conversations with these organizations.
28:37
I mean, we've already been speaking with Whatnot,
28:38
Fanatics, a handful of these major players in
28:41
the space about ways that we could potentially
28:43
integrate some of the messaging, some of the
28:45
tools and resources. Again, just build a better
28:50
hobby for everybody. If you take a step back
28:54
and think of what the hobby is going to look
28:57
like in 10 years from now, if we don't make any
28:59
proactive shifts to help the people within it,
29:04
it's just going to continue to run rampant. People
29:08
already call it the Wild West. With the growth
29:11
of technology and AI and all these other scary
29:14
things that we see every day, who knows what
29:17
it's going to look like if we don't start to
29:18
make some changes. And Alyx, how did you get
29:21
into this? What's your background that led you
29:23
to this? Yeah, it's a great question. It's something
29:26
that comes up a lot. I've been in the hobby for
29:28
years. And while it's brought me a ton of joy,
29:31
I also saw firsthand how easy it is for collecting
29:35
to cross into compulsive territory. And at a
29:38
certain point, I realized there was no real support
29:41
system out there for people who were struggling.
29:43
There was no community. There was no resources.
29:45
No one even naming what was happening. So that's
29:48
why I launched Collectors MD. I wanted to create
29:50
a space that I wish existed when I was really
29:53
in the thick of it. And for me personally, this
29:56
dates... Well, before I got back into the hobby,
30:00
which was actually in 2020, was during the pandemic.
30:03
I was a compulsive gambler. I am happy to admit
30:09
that I wear my heart on my sleeve as the founder
30:12
of Collectors MD. I was attending Gamblers Anonymous
30:15
meetings for several years. And frankly, my challenge
30:20
was that. I would bring up the sports cards and
30:23
the breaking and the break culture, and it didn't
30:26
really resonate with anybody. It didn't click
30:27
with anybody in those rooms. They couldn't wrap
30:29
their heads around how a childhood game for a
30:32
lot of people could register as something as
30:36
insidious as gambling, right? And so... I thought
30:41
to myself, there has to be some sort of support
30:44
group, some sort of community that exists for
30:48
people who are struggling with this sort of thing.
30:50
And again, it's not just the cards. It's compulsive
30:52
spending. You hear about people who live through
30:58
retail therapy. They just order crap all day.
31:01
Not to say my wife or my mother or my mother
31:04
-in -law have an issue. The packages that I see
31:07
coming in all the time in each of their homes,
31:09
it's staggering, right? People love to buy. People
31:13
love to sort of scratch that itch, give themselves
31:17
something to look forward to. And while in most
31:21
cases it's not harmful, it can be really, really
31:25
dangerous for some. So again, Collectors MD is
31:27
here for any and everybody who might be struggling
31:30
with compulsive behavior, whether that's collecting,
31:33
spending. and looking for ways to engage with
31:38
those things in a healthier way. Yeah, very,
31:41
very cool. Okay, so I know you kind of mentioned
31:43
it before, but anybody out there, we're at the
31:46
end of the talk now, so anybody out there who
31:48
this has resonated with and they want to connect,
31:51
they want to get involved, maybe they want to
31:52
participate, tell them one more time how they
31:55
can connect with Collectors MD. Yeah. So again,
31:58
I'll say at the end of the day, Collectors MD
32:00
is about changing the culture. Our motto is collect
32:03
with intention, not compulsion. We want to see
32:06
passion prioritized over profit and joy prioritized
32:10
over hype. So if you're struggling, you're not
32:12
alone. There's a growing community here that
32:14
gets it. We'll walk alongside you. The hobby
32:17
really does get healthier when we do. So if you
32:20
want to get involved, all you got to do is go
32:22
to collectorsmd .com. sort of tab here, you'll
32:29
see for collectors by collectors. There's a sign
32:32
up here button. You go to that. It's a Google
32:34
form. All you got to do is fill out your email,
32:36
your name. Most of these things are optional.
32:39
We ask a few questions like, have you ever experienced
32:42
any of the following as a result of collecting?
32:44
Do you currently feel in crisis or need immediate
32:46
mental health support? Have you ever attended
32:47
any type of support group before, et cetera?
32:51
There's a waiver. You agree and you We will join
32:56
you to the weekly peer support meetings. And
32:58
within that form, you can also elect to join
33:01
our our group chat. So very simple, very straightforward.
33:05
If you have any issues with that or if you don't
33:07
want to sign the waiver, please just DM me. You
33:09
know, there are ways that we could sort of work
33:11
around that. Again, you can reach me via DM at
33:15
Collectors MD on Instagram. We're also on pretty
33:20
much every social. so Facebook X, TikTok. We
33:25
have a YouTube channel for our podcast. We're
33:28
on LinkedIn, Discord, Reddit, Threads. So, you
33:32
know, wherever you consume your content, you
33:34
can reach out to us and we will happily get back
33:37
to you. There you go. Alyx, change occurs in
33:41
this world when somebody sees a problem and takes
33:44
it on their back and decides to make a difference
33:46
themselves. You clearly are doing that in this
33:48
area. So I commend you for your own journey and
33:51
push into this arena to try to make the hobby
33:54
better for others. Of course, Geoff. Thank you
33:56
again for the opportunity and really looking
33:59
forward to working with you to help spread positivity.
34:02
Let's do it. Thank you, Alyx. We'll talk soon.
34:05
Thank you to Alyx and Collectors MD for coming
34:07
on the show today. And I want to remind you that
34:08
the full length episodes of these Geoff Wilson
34:10
shows are available on YouTube on the Geoff Wilson
34:13
Show channel. We also got our podcasts updating
34:16
now. They weren't for a little while, but on
34:18
Spotify and on Apple Podcasts, you can always
34:21
catch the latest shows now. So make sure you
34:24
are subscribed to the Geoff Wilson Show everywhere.
34:27
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments
34:29
and we'll see you soon with our next episode.
34:31
Take care.