Latest / Collectors MD Features / #3: The Hidden Struggles Within Collecting | Wide Open

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#3: The Hidden Struggles Within Collecting | Wide Open · Collectors MD Features

0:00
So, all right. My homie's pulling up. Homie's
0:03
pulling up. Yes. We got him queued up, and he
0:05
was in the chat. He said, yo, I'm in the waiting
0:07
room. I said, oh, my God. I spaced on it. My
0:09
bad, Alyx. Not a problem. Alyx, you are on with
0:12
Tim Ross. What's up, my guy? Hey, what's going
0:17
on? Can you hear me? I can hear you, bro. All
0:19
is well? All is well. That was weird because
0:22
I was watching the live, and then. It's a few
0:26
seconds behind. No, it's all good, bro. I heard
0:29
you talking and then you were saying what up
0:31
to me. So you caught me off guard. No, it's all
0:33
good, man. It's so good to see your face, bro.
0:35
How's everything going? Likewise. It's going
0:39
well. We're doing a lot of really exciting things
0:42
with the movement that I'm really excited to
0:46
share with you and your audience. But yeah, man,
0:51
I miss you guys. I miss you too, man. It's so
0:54
good to see your face. So let me give a proper
0:57
introduction. Alyx Effron is a genius in the world
1:05
of advertising, in the world of marketing and
1:10
brand management and a host of other things.
1:13
I would definitely call him a multi -hyphenate.
1:16
And we had a conversation a few weeks back. About
1:23
something that he just felt really impassioned
1:28
and burdened to do. And it required him being
1:33
vulnerable about his own journey. And it's this
1:36
specific niche that is not discussed a lot. But
1:45
it's something that I really believe is going
1:48
to help a lot of people. Because they don't have
1:51
to be going to... through the exact same thing
1:53
to get the exact same breakthrough. So Alyx,
1:56
why don't you tell us what it was? First of all,
2:00
what even made you do it? I know that this is
2:05
personal to you, but I just want you to give
2:09
the audience the full context to it. Yeah, of
2:13
course. I appreciate that, Tim. And first, I
2:15
want to thank you so much. Thank you and the
2:17
team. Hector, Derek, I know you guys can hear
2:20
me in the back. Really appreciate you guys having
2:23
me on. This really means a lot. And so, you know,
2:27
with everything you just mentioned, Tim, I have
2:31
been in the world of collecting, if you will,
2:35
for the better part of my adulthood. I grew up,
2:38
you know, in the 90s. So things like Pokemon
2:43
and... the Chicago Bulls era with Michael Jordan
2:47
and his greatness and everything that came with
2:50
that with collecting basketball cards and memorabilia
2:53
has always been rooted in my DNA. So when I got
2:58
a bit older, I started to collect sneakers and
3:00
sneakers turned into memorabilia and memorabilia
3:03
turned into sports cards amongst other things.
3:07
And so the world of collecting in general in
3:10
today's society, especially... you know here
3:14
in the states it's just it's so massive and it's
3:17
evolved way beyond um you know the traditional
3:21
collecting of uh baseball cards and pokemon cards
3:26
and things like that so yeah whether it beakers
3:28
or luxury goods handbags digital collectibles
3:33
nfts even uh with gaming you know you have your
3:36
in -game skins and cosmetics yeah that these
3:39
kids are spending lucrative amount of money on
3:42
yeah you know there's a shared culture across
3:45
all of these different verticals um around chasing,
3:49
flipping, flexing, and finding that next big
3:52
hit, that next big item that you want to share
3:56
with your social following. And for a lot of
3:59
people, especially with sports cards, that chase
4:02
has turned into something that looks a lot like
4:04
gambling. And most people outside of these hobbies
4:09
don't realize how intense it has gotten. There's
4:13
this thing called breaking. uh basically what
4:16
it is it's live streamed acting box openings
4:19
where people buy in for a shot at the contents
4:22
of the box and you're watching someone else rip
4:25
the product you paid for this is uh sports card
4:28
specifically hoping your name gets called when
4:31
the big card comes out you know the environment
4:34
it's fast it's loud it's full of suspense and
4:38
it taps into the same dopamine centers that blackjack
4:42
and sports betting and even things like day trading
4:45
tap into and uh here's where it sort of gets
4:49
confusing and tricky unlike a casino there are
4:54
no posted odds there are no guardrails there's
4:56
no stepping in to slow you down it's all about
4:59
hype hope and foma almost a huge part of it and
5:03
uh the the prices of these items the prices of
5:06
these boxes have become so lucrative seven hundred
5:10
dollars a box a thousand dollars a box two thousand
5:12
dollars a box that you could spend and walk away
5:16
with forty dollars in cards and you see these
5:20
viral clips of somebody hitting what they call
5:22
a nuke so basically like a big hit and suddenly
5:24
you're itching to chase on your own and even
5:27
though you have no real chance of you know breaking
5:30
even you're still on the horse. You're still
5:33
trying to scratch that itch and get that dopamine
5:37
hit, right? And what's hot today is forgotten
5:40
tomorrow. So there's always something new and
5:43
fresh that's coming out. And so with all that
5:46
being said, that's where, or what I should say,
5:50
led me to this movement that I started about
5:53
a month ago. And that movement is called Collectors
5:55
MD. For short, it's CMD. And it's a support -based
6:00
platform for people navigating the emotional
6:02
and financial toll of collecting, especially
6:05
those that are caught in cycles they can't seem
6:08
to break. So it's not anti -hobby at all. I still
6:12
personally love the hobby. I love collecting.
6:15
But it's about helping people engage with it
6:19
in a healthier and more intentional way. And
6:22
honestly, a big part of the heart behind it came
6:25
from my time working with you. And, you know,
6:28
during our time working together at B -Side,
6:30
you would always say something that, you know,
6:33
always stuck with me. And that is everyone deserves
6:35
to be fully seen, fully heard, fully known and
6:38
fully loved. And, you know, you don't just say
6:40
that. That's something you live every day. And
6:42
you create a space for people to show up as they
6:46
are. And that really shapes how I think about
6:50
this community. So with Collectors MD, that's
6:53
what I'm trying to create, a space where people
6:55
in this hobby don't have to pretend that everything's
6:58
okay, where they can be honest about the hard
7:01
stuff, where they can be seen and supported without
7:03
shame. Because if we're going to stay in these
7:07
hobbies, many of us want to, we just have to
7:10
find a way to do it without completely losing
7:12
ourselves. Yeah, man. Bro, I so appreciate the
7:16
vulnerability of you sharing this because I was
7:19
talking with my best friend yesterday. Obviously,
7:22
the NFL draft was yesterday. I had on my Raiders
7:25
jersey. I mean, well, my Raiders jacket because,
7:27
you know, we had the number six pick. And we
7:30
were talking about how disheartening I am that...
7:41
all of the major sports leagues have now collaborated
7:48
with betting and gaming, right? Yep, it's right
7:54
in your face all day, every day. It's right in
7:56
your face every day. So now, because these sports
8:00
leagues who had historically banned gambling
8:04
and betting but never partnered with them, now
8:07
that they've come together, It has normalized
8:10
gambling to where ESPN, some of their shows are
8:18
just insider information on the gambling itself
8:23
and the point spreads, right? It's on the bottom
8:28
lower third ticking across. like encouraging
8:31
people to bet. And then after the game, they
8:34
have the nerve to put up a gambling disclaimer
8:36
that says, if you are an addict, please dial
8:40
this number. If you or you know somebody who
8:45
has a problem, call 1 -800 -GAMBLER. And that's
8:49
a part of their corporate responsibility. Of
8:53
course. It's a part of the corporate responsibility
8:55
of DraftKings and FanDuel and Caesars and all
8:58
these other... conglomerates of casinos and sports
9:03
books that have to create messaging to provide
9:07
their consumers their customers yep with a safety
9:11
net with the resources that are required for
9:14
people that you know have the um you know could
9:21
run into the risk of spiraling out of control.
9:24
Not everybody can be a fully responsible adult.
9:28
Addiction is a real thing. Absolutely. It affects
9:31
more than just alcoholics and drug addicts. And
9:35
none of that exists in terms of the security
9:39
blanket, the resources, the tools that are necessary.
9:44
to get that help. None of that exists in any
9:47
of these hobbies within the collecting world.
9:49
And so that's where Collectors MD comes into the
9:51
mix. I'm so grateful that you've done it and
9:54
that you've created this space because, again,
9:57
we can't be fully seen, fully heard, fully known,
10:01
fully loved if we don't continue to create spaces
10:04
for... communities to to to grow and evolve that
10:10
are dealing with the same thing like you gotta
10:13
have somebody that you can look in the eyeball
10:15
that can identify with you right like and you
10:20
creating this space allows that to happen i want
10:23
to deal i want to deal with um the nuances of
10:27
this because a lot of people think gambling and
10:30
they're only thinking about like hey i'm betting
10:32
on the lakers versus the the minnesota timberwolves
10:36
right but but let's get down to the micro level
10:40
that there are uh and i want you to break it
10:42
down um specifically with with with the cards
10:45
and with the memorabilia um but i was talking
10:49
to my best friend yesterday and we were talking
10:50
about the fact that they bet on a player's shoes
10:54
like the shoe color that they will wear that
10:57
if they have eight colorways they will be they
11:00
will literally bet like i think he's gonna wear
11:03
I think Luka will wear the pinkies tonight. Or
11:06
I think LeBron will wear his green shoes tonight.
11:09
Like, this doesn't even have to deal with the
11:11
outcome of the game. There's all these little
11:13
micro bets within the overall betting of the
11:16
game itself. I think Austin Reeves will... Right.
11:26
Yeah, it's crazy. You think of the Super Bowl,
11:31
people are betting on the color of the Gatorade
11:33
that's coming out at the end of the game. People
11:36
are betting on the coin toss. People are betting
11:38
on how long the national anthem is going to be.
11:40
That's crazy. All these processes, what they
11:42
call them, is what people are losing their minds
11:45
over. But again, that's traditional gambling.
11:48
It's regulated. There's a gaming commission.
11:50
They're looking over to make sure that these
11:54
things, these bets, All of this money that is
11:59
coming in and out is happening fairly, right?
12:04
With sports cards, with TCG. TCG is Pokemon,
12:12
I guess, trading card game is what it stands
12:16
for. Okay. It's the Wild West. None of that exists.
12:19
And so here's the thing. People outside of the
12:22
hobby don't understand. They don't fully... They
12:27
can't fully comprehend the intensity of what,
12:30
again, sports card breaking has become. And when
12:34
you really break it down, it actually shares
12:36
a lot of similarities. There's so many synergies
12:39
with traditional sports betting and with casino
12:42
games like blackjack and roulette. But also there
12:45
are a few key differences that make it a lot
12:49
riskier in a lot of different ways. So with sports
12:52
betting, it's pretty straightforward. You pick
12:54
a game, you place a bet, and you know the odds
12:56
going in, whether that's win or loss. You're
12:59
either cashing out or you're not. And yeah, it
13:02
can be addictive for sure. But at least you know
13:03
the stakes. At least you know when you sit down
13:06
at a blackjack table, there's a 50 -50 chance
13:09
of you winning. And I'm not endorsing gambling.
13:11
I'm not saying that that's the safer option.
13:13
I'm just getting facts. And you're also saying
13:16
that it's regulated. You're also saying that
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at least that's regulated. It's regulated. Right.
13:21
sports card sports book are are required to show
13:25
you the odds the over the under the payouts right
13:27
all of that right with breaking um it's it's
13:30
a lot more of a gray area it's a lot murkier
13:32
you're buying into a box or a case of sports
13:35
cards usually through a live stream and hoping
13:37
whatever comes out of those packs ends up in
13:40
your spot and and that might be a random team
13:43
a specific player or even just like the left
13:46
or right side of the box and the problem is you
13:48
have No idea what's inside of that box. There
13:51
are no posted odds. There's no transparency.
13:53
You're trusting a breaker. So like the sports
13:57
card shop. you know that they didn't already
14:00
pull the best cards out of that particular case
14:02
or that you know you're not just getting the
14:04
leftover scraps from a dead run right and and
14:07
where it gets tricky in breaking it's not win
14:10
or lose it's win lose or lose really badly right
14:14
you can spend 200 500 even a thousand dollars
14:17
into one break and end up walking away with five
14:20
dollars worth of cards like i said before and
14:22
yet people keep chasing because they saw someone
14:26
hit a twenty thousand dollar card the night before
14:29
on the same back stream so it's it's that same
14:33
sort of slot machine energy yep yes all of this
14:36
social pressure the hype in the chat your next
14:40
bro comments yeah it's it's not just gambling
14:43
it's gambling with the crowd watching and again
14:46
at least at least with sports betting you're
14:47
choosing an outcome based on stats matchups logic
14:50
with breaking you're buying a sealed box and
14:54
praying that your name gets called when that
14:56
one big hit comes out and if it doesn't you're
14:58
walking away with a bunch of base cards that
15:01
you couldn't sell for a cup of coffee yeah so
15:03
yeah they're both risky but again with breaking
15:06
um you know it's basically gambling with no real
15:10
book so no odds no oversight no real way to know
15:13
if you're being taken advantage of or you're
15:15
just you know, unlucky. And that's why it's so
15:18
easy to spiral because the whole thing feels
15:20
like it's fun. Yeah. Right. You feel like you're
15:23
participating in a nostalgic hobby that you've,
15:26
you've been a part of your whole life until it
15:28
isn't until your, your bank account is empty
15:31
and you know, you have a significant other spouse
15:34
that is, is mad at you for spending, you know,
15:37
this month's mortgage payment on cardboard. Right.
15:40
Man. Okay. So I want to get into another nuance
15:45
here. You talked about actual gaming, right?
15:48
You got these microtransactions that happen within
15:51
a game, right? I'm a gamer, right? So take a
15:54
game like 2K, right? Basketball. Or take a game
15:58
like Fortnite. There's a reason why Fortnite
16:01
can get Katy Perry into the game. There's a reason
16:05
why Fortnite can get Snoop Dogg into the game,
16:07
wrestlers into the game. The game is actually
16:11
free. You can actually download Fortnite and
16:15
play it for free. Where they have made multiplied
16:19
millions of dollars is through this very subtle,
16:25
but to me it feels like a gateway drug into the
16:31
same type of addiction that you're talking about.
16:34
You're going to buy a pack. Hopefully you get
16:37
this rare skin. That's only coming out in this
16:41
season. And if you have it and if you're running
16:44
around with your avatar through the game, then
16:46
you are somehow the guy, the kid that got the
16:52
Willy Wonka ticket, right? Yeah. You look at
16:55
them. Same rules apply. Yeah. The micro currency
16:58
in 2K basketball, you know, you get a player,
17:05
but then you got to build that player up. And
17:08
some of these guys have invested $4 ,000, $6
17:13
,000, $7 ,000 into, like they bought the game
17:19
for $69 .99, but then they spent $7 ,000 on maxing
17:24
out their basketball player in the freaking game.
17:29
And does it even carry over to the next year?
17:32
Does it carry over to like NBA 2K? No. And so
17:37
you have to do it all over again. You got to
17:38
do it all over again. Yeah, it's crazy, man.
17:41
It's crazy. And you know what, Tim, as we continue
17:46
to evolve as a society and people are so focused
17:50
on social media and their virtual avatar, if
17:55
you will, as we adapt to a more virtual reality.
18:00
This is only going to become more and more of
18:02
a problem where people are just so focused on
18:05
their aesthetic, their digital avatar and what
18:10
they look like in this virtual world, right?
18:14
Whether that be through gaming, whether that
18:16
be through the metaverse or whatever universe
18:20
these tech companies are working on, you know,
18:24
behind the scenes. Think about what this landscape
18:26
is going to look like 10 years from now. right
18:29
yeah so it's it's a part of culture in so many
18:33
different facets and there are people that you
18:37
know if you really just break it down and make
18:39
it uh black and white it's it's it's spending
18:43
it's overspending it's it's retail therapy it's
18:46
over extending yourself it's whatever you want
18:48
to call it wow and there is no anonymous group
18:53
Like, you know, there's AA, there's Narcotics
18:57
Anonymous, there's Gamblers Anonymous. None of
19:00
this exists for collecting, for spending. So
19:05
what we're trying to do is not necessarily create
19:07
another, you know, anonymous program, like 12
19:11
-step program, but just create a safe space that
19:16
people can turn to and know. that they're not
19:20
alone. For sure. And that, you know, if they
19:23
need help, it's okay. It's okay to be vulnerable,
19:26
to come in and say, I have a problem. I want
19:30
to fix it. Yeah, absolutely. And that's where
19:32
we come in, you know, to help fix this together.
19:35
And we're not licensed therapists. We're not
19:37
doctors. Yep. But what we are, what I am, is
19:42
somebody who has lived through it, has experienced,
19:44
you know, the ups and downs of collecting. and
19:48
can speak firsthand of what that experience has
19:52
done to me, the toll it's taken on me and my
19:54
health, my mental health, my family, and ways
19:58
to overcome it. Absolutely. Man, I want everybody
20:02
who is listening to this, if you have, first
20:06
of all, if you can be self -aware and honest
20:08
enough to admit that you do struggle with gambling,
20:14
risky spending. the dopamine shot of what it
20:18
is to purchase a new bag, to open a new deck
20:21
of cards, to make that micro transaction within
20:27
a gaming platform. Listen, whether that is 2K
20:32
or whether that's Candy Crush, right? You're
20:35
paying for more coins to level up or to break
20:38
through a level or whatever. Like Alyx Effron
20:42
has stepped into the light. With his own story,
20:46
not like, hey, I want to help people that are
20:49
doing this because it's crazy. It's like, hey,
20:51
it was me. I have a personal story. He's created
20:55
a whole website. The movement is called Collectors
20:58
MD, CMD for short. He releases blogs that are
21:03
very transparent and vulnerable. He also has
21:05
other people within the collective that have
21:08
joined that are now sharing their stories as
21:10
well. If it's you or if it's someone that you
21:13
know and someone that you love. I want you to
21:16
take advantage of the resources that are available
21:18
to you. Alyx is a friend of ours. We've worked
21:21
with him. He wouldn't be doing this if he wasn't
21:24
passionate about it. Alyx, thank you so much
21:26
for taking the time to bring this to the forefront
21:30
and to the light. You already know we got your
21:32
back, and you're going to help a lot of people,
21:34
and I appreciate you leading this movement. I
21:38
appreciate that, Sam. Truly, it means the world.
21:41
If you want to learn more about Collectors MD,
21:43
you can follow us on Instagram at Collectors MD.
21:46
You can also check out the website that we dropped
21:49
in the chat. It's collectorsmd .com. There you
21:53
can find all the tools and resources you need.
21:56
We're going to be hosting our first support meeting,
21:59
which is going to be a virtual meeting on Google
22:02
Hangouts this coming Wednesday at 8. I think
22:07
it's 8 p .m. Eastern, and that's this coming
22:10
Wednesday, April 30th. And if you want to be
22:14
involved in any capacity, join the meeting or
22:17
just have a conversation, please don't hesitate
22:20
to reach out. And Tim, thank you again so much
22:23
for your support, your guidance, and for, you
22:26
know, honestly showing me the light. Man, I love
22:29
you, Alyx, and I'm so proud of you. We are behind
22:31
you. And I'm so glad we got the link in there.
22:34
Next Wednesday is the first virtual meeting.
22:38
Again, if it's you or somebody that you love,
22:40
strongly encourage them to be a part of it. If
22:43
it's you individually, be brave enough to step
22:46
into the light. We heal in group. We do not heal
22:49
by ourselves. You can make a thousand resolutions
22:52
as this is my last break. This is the last time
22:56
I spend like this. I'm not gonna do this anymore.
22:58
You need accountability. You need people to walk
23:01
with you. And you need support. So please take
23:04
advantage of the resources that are available
23:05
to you. And you are going to be living your best
23:08
life very soon. Alyx, I love you, bro. Yes, sir.
23:12
Love you too, man. Appreciate you. Have a great
23:14
weekend. You too. Take care. All right. Peace.
23:18
Yo. Yo. Yo. Fully seen, fully heard, fully known,
23:24
even if you're not agreed with. Huh? This is
23:28
like this is that's how we want communities to
23:32
spawn. Yeah. Right. Like, hey, get all the gamblers
23:36
over here. Get all the porn acts over here. Get
23:38
all the low self -esteem people over here. Let's
23:41
let's help each other like this. We're not going
23:44
to hold each other down. We're going to build
23:46
each other up. But again, you only heal in group
23:49
and you only heal in community. Nobody's healing
23:52
by themselves. Sorry, you're not going to do
23:54
it. A small little thing, Tim, if I may. As a
23:56
parent, kids be playing Roblox, too. My kids.
24:00
And they're grooming the younger generation to
24:03
these microtransactions that is not being seen.
24:06
So I have to monitor my children. Joanne and
24:08
I monitor our kids on how they purchase and how
24:10
they buy things. And it's kind of rewarded based.
24:12
But I see how there's kids that they compare
24:15
themselves to that parents throw bread at these
24:18
games so that they can level up. And then it
24:20
grows their virtual. like stance in how they
24:25
play their games and so it's like i see that
24:28
portion of it too oh bro their social status
24:30
in the game that's right and it satisfies something
24:32
that they don't have in real life that's exactly
24:34
right that's where it gets dangerous that's what
24:35
bro i mean i can't tell you how many times my
24:38
sons have come to me like dad can i have ten
24:41
dollars so i can get robux uh and and and and
24:47
then can i get vbucks on on uh fortnight and
24:50
i'm like what are you talking about? Well, I
24:52
want to get this new skin. I'm like real money
24:55
for fake money, bro. We've gotten Venmo's and
24:58
cash apps from the grandparents. Like, Oh, this
25:01
is for, you know what I'm saying? Like, Hey,
25:02
wait, wait, wait, wait, hold up. And, and it,
25:05
all it is is a gamified break, which is the same
25:08
thing Alyx is talking about. Right. And it's
25:10
like, well, like, well, I get that rare skin.
25:13
Well, like when I open up this up, well, that
25:15
the skin of the gun, the gun don't make you shoot.
25:19
The gun don't, it don't help you play better.
25:22
Reach that dude. Now he's going to go reach thousands.
25:25
I'm good. Are you kidding me? I'm good. Check
25:27
the box. Motives. Motives. Motives. Right? Like
25:31
that's a beautiful thing. You know what I'm saying?
25:34
Today's segment is this is what we doing. And
25:36
this is what we doing. This is what we doing.
25:38
This is what we doing. For sure.