Latest / Collectors MD Features / #17: Confessions Of A Sports Card Breaking Addict | Boston Card Hunter

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#17: Confessions Of A Sports Card Breaking Addict | Boston Card Hunter · Collectors MD Features

0:00
What's up? It's Boston Card Hunter. I'm here
0:01
with my boy, Alyx. We are going to talk about
0:04
sports card breaking and whether it's gambling
0:06
or not. And Alyx is well positioned for this
0:09
discussion. I wouldn't even say debate because
0:11
we'd probably agree on most points because he
0:13
is the founder of Collectors MD and what Collectors MD
0:17
does. is provides an outlet for people who are
0:20
struggling with gambling problems related to
0:22
sports cards and breaking and they provide meetings
0:25
and that sort of thing and we're going to talk
0:27
about that as well we're going to debate just
0:28
all of this stuff like gambling breaking sports
0:31
cards Alyx welcome man Yeah. First off, Nick,
0:34
thank you so much for having me back on. It's
0:37
kind of wild thinking about when we first connected
0:39
almost a year ago, you were like literally one
0:41
of the first people to reach out to me. I think
0:44
literally on day one of Collectors MD and, you
0:48
know, without hesitation. You invited me on the
0:50
show. And just a couple of weeks later, you know,
0:53
we had that conversation and it really served
0:56
as this springboard and, you know, allowed me
1:00
to kind of come out of my shell a little bit
1:02
and speak honestly and openly about a lot of
1:04
the struggles. And, you know, it was it was one
1:08
of the first spaces where I could really. have
1:11
this sort of conversation. So fast forward a
1:13
year and Collectors MD has grown into this movement,
1:16
you know, hosting weekly peer support meetings,
1:18
putting out content. And, you know, it's been
1:22
a rocket ship. So I can't thank you enough for
1:24
your support. Cool, cool, cool. Well, I'm going
1:27
to try. I'm getting a lot of feedback that I'm
1:29
a New Englander and a Bostonian and I interrupt
1:31
a lot. So I'm going to try not to interrupt you
1:33
today. That's all right. I can't help it. All
1:37
right. I can't help it. All right. First thing
1:39
is sports card breaking, actually gambling and
1:42
or people just being dramatic about it. Yeah,
1:45
I think the problem is that people hear the buzzword
1:48
gambling and immediately just assume accusation.
1:53
like you're calling someone reckless or irresponsible
1:56
right and that's not what it is this is about
1:59
the mechanics not just the morality of it all
2:03
so breaking really sits in this gray area you're
2:06
paying money for a randomized outcome where chance
2:10
determines the value and the emotional high is
2:13
tied to whether you hit or miss so That's not
2:17
traditional collecting. That's not what collecting
2:20
looked like when I was growing up, when you were
2:22
growing up. But it's also not a slot machine
2:25
either. It's something sort of in between. And
2:28
pretending that it isn't doesn't protect anyone.
2:31
Some people can engage with that casually and
2:34
just walk away and be totally fine losing out.
2:37
And unfortunately, others just can't. And the
2:40
fact that different people experience the whole...
2:44
activity differently doesn't mean the mechanism
2:47
isn't real. It just means risk isn't evenly distributed.
2:51
So calling this out isn't being dramatic. It's
2:54
being honest about the product actually functioning
2:57
or how it functions and how the human brain is
3:01
wired and how it works. Let's talk about the
3:04
human brain, because I think that's a really
3:07
interesting point there. I do wonder if it isn't
3:11
gambling or if it is gambling. Does this trigger
3:15
the same dopamine cycle as blackjack or slots,
3:18
do you think? Yeah, so dopamine doesn't care
3:23
what label, you know, labels look like, right?
3:26
It doesn't care if you label yourself an addict
3:30
or a degenerate. It responds to patterns. And
3:33
live breaks are built on things like anticipation,
3:36
suspense, the near miss, the social reinforcement.
3:41
the countdown timers, the instant gratification,
3:44
the instant feedback. Those are the exact ingredients,
3:48
the exact formula that casinos use because they
3:51
reliably light up the reward system. And the
3:56
spike actually happens before the card is revealed,
4:00
not after, which is a common misconception. And
4:03
that's why people end up chasing, right? One
4:05
more break or one more box, one more rip, even
4:09
after. you know, going through a bad run. And,
4:12
you know, dopamine isn't about enjoyment. It's
4:16
about the pursuit, the chase, as we call it in
4:19
the hobby. And it teaches your brain that relief
4:21
is just one action away. So when people say something
4:24
like, you know, it's just sports cards, it's
4:27
a childhood hobby, they're skipping the part
4:30
where the nervous system is being trained in
4:32
real time. This isn't a willpower issue. It's
4:35
literally brain chemistry. And the industry,
4:38
whether intentionally or not, is using those
4:40
mechanics to their advantage to ultimately fill
4:43
their pockets at the expense of a lot of customers.
4:46
Yeah, I did consulting in my past life for a
4:49
lot of different companies, everything from South
4:51
American governments to consumer companies. One
4:54
of them was a casino. And you guys would not
4:57
believe how optimized that experience is. It's
5:01
like a department store. I mean, everybody knows
5:03
you can't find your way out of a casino. You
5:06
don't know what time of day it is at a casino.
5:08
They've got it engineered. The pans that are
5:11
at slot machines, those things are engineered
5:12
to create a very specific sound. Like they actually
5:15
will, you know, like cater the sound to you to
5:18
try to get more like you're winning. Even if
5:20
it's just nickels hitting that tin and it sounds
5:22
amazing. There is scents. People have actually
5:25
tested aromas in casinos. There's a reason there
5:29
are drinks. Breaking is a little bit different,
5:32
but you have to always just look around at how
5:34
breaking has evolved to keep you as a captor.
5:38
Right. And that's that's kind of the next question,
5:40
you know. There are some breakers, I think, who
5:43
do it right. I'm not going to name anybody today.
5:46
There are some who do it right. There are some
5:47
who are more predatory. It's a predatory scale,
5:49
I guess, right? And some are high on the predatory
5:52
scale and some are very low and doing it right.
5:56
And then there's like everything in between.
5:57
And it depends on the product too and stuff like
5:59
that. But do you think... That there's lies breakers
6:02
tell themselves like, you know, hey, there's
6:05
some skill to this. You know, you need to know
6:07
a checklist. You need to know what team is popping
6:10
or do some research. Like, what do you think
6:12
are some of the lies breakers tell themselves?
6:13
Yeah. Why break anywhere else? My favorite line
6:16
in the hobby. Yeah. No, I mean, the most common
6:19
lie breakers tell themselves is, I'm just providing
6:22
entertainment. And look, I'm not saying, like
6:25
you just said, Nick, every breaker or not every
6:28
breaker is evil. or a bad actor. But that phrase,
6:34
you know, we're just providing entertainment,
6:37
it can become a shield of sorts. Because if you
6:40
call it entertainment, you don't have to sit
6:43
with the reality that you're essentially operating
6:45
a high speed, variable reward system where the
6:48
customer pays for uncertainty, and it's essentially
6:50
chasing upside. A lot of breakers, I think, are,
6:54
you know, kind of in denial about what they really
6:56
are in this ecosystem. You know, they're not
6:59
just personalities. They're not just rippers.
7:01
They're not just breakers. They're dealers. They
7:05
are the distribution point. They're the ones
7:07
pulling the lever over and over on behalf of
7:09
the audience, on behalf of the customers with
7:12
hype, urgency, the countdown timers, the sudden
7:15
death auctions, the wheel spins, and using language
7:19
like, you know, last call or, you know, one more
7:22
or you're due or, you know, we're heating up.
7:26
Like, that's not neutral language. That's behavioral
7:28
influence. Yeah, this is holding, too. Oh, I'm
7:31
sorry. I interrupted and I said I wouldn't interrupt.
7:33
You're good. You're good. I think, you know,
7:35
the lie, like, we're calling it a lie here. It's
7:38
not always intentional. It's, you know, it's
7:41
a product of this system. And so... because of
7:44
that it's psychological because the moment a
7:46
breaker admits and says something like to them
7:48
to themselves or to their you know internal team
7:51
you know i'm basically running a mini casino
7:53
on a phone the next question is you know brutal
7:57
what responsibility do i have for the downstream
8:00
damage so instead they tell themselves you know
8:02
they chose it they being the customer or it's
8:06
their money i'm not forcing anyone i'm just opening
8:08
product and on paper yeah that is true but in
8:12
real life The breaker is also shaping the environment
8:15
that makes impulsive decisions a lot easier,
8:18
a lot more frictionless. And for some people,
8:20
that environment doesn't just cost them money.
8:23
It costs them relationships, mental health, self
8:26
-worth, sleep, peace of mind. So, yeah, the most
8:30
common line is, you know, the common lie is I'm
8:33
just an entertainer because the truth is like,
8:35
you know, a lot heavier than that. They're the
8:38
operators of a system that can really hurt people,
8:41
even if it was never intentional. Yeah, and I
8:44
want to pause here for a second before the next
8:47
question, just let you guys know, there's a reason
8:49
Alyx founded this company. We didn't get into
8:51
that in the beginning. It's a long story, and
8:54
I think we'll sprinkle it in through these questions,
8:56
especially the next one. Alyx has actually experienced
8:59
this personally, some of these challenges being
9:02
on the other end of it. It's funny, I did a video
9:04
on here a couple of days ago about blame. It's
9:08
so interesting. It's like, do you blame yourself
9:10
or do you blame the system? The answer really
9:13
is both, you know, there's accountability both
9:17
ways, but you know, what do you think, and you've
9:19
experienced this, so you can actually talk to
9:21
this personally, but at what point does having
9:23
fun in the hobby cross the line into addiction?
9:27
Yeah. So I, like you said, Nick, I learned this
9:29
the hard way, but it really crosses the line
9:32
when the hobby stops being additive, like adding
9:35
value as an additional layer of your lifestyle
9:38
and it starts becoming regulatory where it's
9:41
like, The focal point every day, you know, your
9:44
plans, your agenda, your work, your family, everything
9:47
revolves around it. And that's happening more
9:49
and more. And so when breaking becomes how you
9:52
deal with things like stress, boredom, loneliness,
9:56
anxiety, depression, frustration, when it becomes
9:59
really emotional management instead of this form
10:03
of entertainment, which is what it should be,
10:05
the relationship with collecting, with the hobby.
10:08
starts to shift. And that's exactly what happened
10:11
with me. You know, another big signal is what
10:13
happens when you try to stop. If pausing creates
10:16
this sort of agitation or restlessness or fear,
10:21
that's, you know, not about missing out on the
10:25
fun and excitement. That's what we call dependence,
10:29
right? Addiction isn't defined by how much you
10:31
spend. It's defined by why you spend and what
10:34
it's costing you emotionally, financially, and
10:37
relationally. So, yeah, I mean, we can get into
10:40
more of my lived experience as we as we progress
10:43
here. But yeah, I saw it firsthand. And there's
10:47
so many other people that are struggling with
10:49
the exact same thing that have zero idea that
10:52
there are resources out there that can help them.
10:54
All right, we'll get into the resources towards
10:56
the end of this. guys because i i never like
10:59
to present a problem without a solution i think
11:02
that's just a terrible way to go through life
11:04
is to just point out problems without solutions
11:06
so we we will take some steps at the end here
11:09
like maybe you're watching this and you're like
11:10
oh crap maybe i am addicted maybe you think this
11:13
is all stupid and he's like an industry plant
11:16
or something like that, which, by the way, I
11:18
assure you he's not because we talked on day
11:20
one. But I think maybe you want some help at
11:24
the end and I will make sure he has time to share
11:26
that. But so let's say you do want to help somebody.
11:30
What are some of the red flags a spouse or family
11:32
member can watch out for? Yeah, this is a really
11:35
important one because, again, this hobby, this
11:37
idea of collecting, especially with cards, sports
11:40
cards, Pokemon cards, what's really considered
11:42
juvenile. by the outside looking in, people don't
11:48
really recognize it as a problem. So a lot of
11:52
what happens right off the bat is secrecy. Secrecy
11:55
is usually the first one. The hiding the purchases,
11:58
the minimizing costs, the lying by omission,
12:02
the mood swings that track directly with breaks
12:04
or box openings or eBay purchases. It's really
12:07
financial stress without clear expectations.
12:11
We'll also see a lot of, you know, defensiveness,
12:14
irritability, just when being questioned, like,
12:17
hey, why you been on your phone for so long?
12:19
Or like, you know, you didn't go to bed last
12:22
night till two or three in the morning. Like,
12:23
what were you doing? Right. And then people justify,
12:27
they make justifications to make themselves feel
12:30
better. They say things like, I deserve this,
12:32
or it'll even out, or you just don't understand
12:35
the hobby. And so addiction doesn't show up as
12:39
like. chaos at first it shows up as confidence
12:42
wrapped around avoidance and the longer it stays
12:45
unchallenged or unchecked the harder it can become
12:48
to sort of take a step back unwind or you know
12:52
like we were talking about before rewire the
12:54
brain yeah i know um one of my degrees is psychology
12:59
and uh you know we talk you know, a lot of the
13:03
coursework was around addiction is very difficult
13:05
to cure. You have to actually parlay that. You
13:10
have to change the addiction into something that
13:13
doesn't hurt you as much. And so a lot of the
13:15
popular choices are religion, fitness, music,
13:20
you know, stuff like that. Because it's hard
13:23
to just turn a light switch off. You need to
13:25
turn something else on to take the brunt of that
13:28
emotion. So, you know, And people do have a lot
13:33
of success as long as they find something else
13:35
to replace that addiction. It's very interesting.
13:38
The whole thing's interesting. Yeah, I was a
13:40
psychology minor in college. And what's interesting
13:42
is I was in advertising sales for 13, 14 years
13:45
before I started Collectors MD and never really
13:47
had the opportunity to apply some of what I learned
13:50
in college. Granted, it's been a long time. But
13:52
yeah, some of this stuff is really, really interesting
13:56
how the human brain works. Right. You know, I
14:01
guess I have a different view on this because
14:02
I live sort of like a libertarian, but like,
14:05
you know, do breakers and platforms have a moral
14:08
responsibility to protect people or is this just
14:09
personal accountability? Yeah, this is one that
14:13
comes up all the time. Right. Especially, you
14:16
know, people in the comments, the naysayers,
14:18
the folks that are like, you know, you're an
14:21
adult, you know, just just make an adult decision.
14:23
Just stop. If you're doing something harmful,
14:26
not just to you, but those around you, stop the
14:28
behavior. So it's really both. It's always both.
14:33
Individuals are 100 % responsible for their choices,
14:36
especially adults. That doesn't go away. But
14:39
the systems are designed around things like urgency
14:42
and scarcity and constant access. And so those
14:47
things don't get to pretend to be neutral. Platforms
14:51
know exactly what drives engagement. They have
14:54
the best of the best marketing teams putting
14:57
together these promo messages and the product
15:01
itself and how to market it in a way that will
15:04
pull the heartstrings of collectors. It's not
15:08
by coincidence. And so breakers also know exactly
15:11
how to hype any product. They understand how
15:15
hype influences behavior. And when design...
15:19
you know, choices, intentionally reduce friction
15:23
and increase impulse. This whole idea of responsibility
15:27
doesn't just go away just because the transaction
15:30
is optional. We can ask people to be accountable
15:34
and ask systems to stop pretending they don't
15:37
shape outcomes at the same time. They can coexist.
15:39
That's not anti -business. That's not anti -hobby.
15:42
That's just having a mature adult conversation.
15:44
Well, it's like, I don't know, alcohol, right?
15:46
Like you have kids and If you're a good parent,
15:50
you talk to them about, you know, you're going
15:52
to go to college, you're going to high school,
15:54
parties, things are going to happen. This is
15:56
how you can be responsible, right? Don't drink
15:59
15 beers your first day, you know, something
16:01
like that. And there's a little bit of accountability.
16:03
Watch where your kids go. Make sure they're not,
16:05
I don't know, drinking six packs in the basement
16:07
or something like that. But also, you know, you
16:10
don't want that alcohol company like... catering
16:14
to kids you know like advertising and kids commercials
16:16
which obviously isn't allowed and it might seem
16:18
crazy but back in the day cigarettes and stuff
16:21
were in sports illustrated and and things like
16:23
that so it is it's always both and it always
16:27
will be both with any activity like that um so
16:31
yeah it's a good take on it now have you have
16:33
you seen somebody personally lose their life
16:36
savings through breaking or have you heard any
16:38
stories like that Yes. So this none of this is
16:42
theory for me. And this is where we can come
16:44
back a little bit to my lived experience. I didn't
16:47
wake up one day and just lose everything in like
16:49
one dramatic moment or, you know, because of
16:52
one break or one tilt session at the casino.
16:56
It really happened slowly. And, you know, it
17:01
was like one break, one rip, one purchase at
17:03
a time. And, you know, it wasn't like I wasn't
17:06
thinking like I felt like I was using logic,
17:09
you know, but I was justifying. I was always
17:12
believing that that next hit, that next big card
17:15
would fix the last. And it happened. So there
17:19
was that false sense of hope. There was an illusion,
17:22
right? Because there were times where I hit a
17:24
massive card and was able to sell it for five
17:27
figures and then recoup a lot of my losses. But
17:30
instead of just stopping, I would just keep going.
17:32
And so I would tell myself that I was in control.
17:35
I was in the driver's seat until I just wasn't.
17:38
And so watching money disappear while convincing
17:41
myself it made sense is a feeling I wouldn't
17:44
wish on anyone. And so beyond myself, now every
17:48
week in our peer support meetings, we hear these
17:51
anonymous versions of the same story. People
17:54
who chase losses. People who hid debt from spouses.
17:57
People who didn't realize how far it went until
18:00
the damage was already done. People who have
18:03
lost everything because of sports cards. Not
18:06
just their life savings, but their homes, their
18:09
cars, their spouses, their kids, their jobs.
18:13
These aren't rare horror stories anymore. They're
18:15
patterns. And pretending that they don't exist
18:17
doesn't protect the hobby. It protects denial.
18:20
Yeah, I think, to be fair, I've not as many,
18:25
but I have heard story, bad stories for collectors
18:28
too. They just like buy stuff that, you know,
18:32
they just, I don't know. They bought something
18:33
for no reason, some prospect or whatever, and
18:35
it doesn't pan out. They lose a ton of money.
18:37
You can lose money that way too. Absolutely.
18:39
And maybe they don't even intend to flip, but
18:41
they all of a sudden now they have an illiquid
18:44
asset. That's tied up a lot of money and that
18:47
can cause stress to the whole, the whole industry.
18:49
It's just so fascinating. Which leads to this,
18:53
you know, what do you think is more dangerous?
18:55
You got a casino, a brick and mortar casino.
18:58
Now, I'm aware that you can place bets on your
19:01
phones now. I did myself for the Super Bowl.
19:04
Or a phone in your pocket with Whatnot notifications.
19:08
Yeah, so a brick and mortar casino, it has walls,
19:12
right? You have to physically get in a car and
19:15
make the concerted effort to drive to a physical
19:18
destination. And so because of that, there's
19:20
a sense of physical friction. You have to go
19:24
through several steps in order to get to the
19:27
table, right? Your phone doesn't have any of
19:30
that. It follows you everywhere into work, into
19:33
bed, into moments of vulnerability. And so these
19:36
push notifications manufacture this sense of
19:40
urgency. They collapse, you know, the space between
19:43
impulse and action. And so when access is just.
19:47
24 -7, constant, in your face, that opportunity
19:50
to pause and reflect just completely disappears.
19:53
And without being able to pause and reflect,
19:55
even the smartest, most disciplined people can
19:59
end up making decisions they would have never
20:01
made otherwise. So that's really the inherent
20:03
risk. Yeah, you know, casinos post very clearly.
20:08
You can go look up roulette odds, house advantage
20:11
in five seconds. You can just Google that or
20:13
chat to you or whatever. Same thing with roulette.
20:17
Poker is a bit more of a game of skill. So, you
20:20
know, obviously there's a rake there at the casino.
20:24
And I feel like I'm a half intelligent guy. I
20:28
haven't really, I've broken a couple of times
20:30
just for fun. I don't fully understand the odds
20:34
of serial number breaks and pick your player,
20:38
pick your team breaks. I can't. I can't get that
20:40
in my head in five seconds. Now, yeah, if I sat
20:43
down with a pad and was like, you know, I spent
20:45
like a couple of days on it, I could probably
20:46
come up with the VIG. But I have spoken to breakers
20:50
about their margins and some are quite honest.
20:51
Some say 20%. I think the repackers are making
20:54
80 % in my opinion. But I don't know. It's like
20:59
a societal thing, right? It all changed in, I
21:02
hate to go all sociology on this, but in 2007.
21:06
The iPhone came out, man. And a lot of things
21:09
changed. One funny graph I like to show people
21:11
is the iPhone release and the iPhone usage. It's
21:17
a curve going like this. And then another one
21:19
I like to show is hemorrhoid use. Googling hemorrhoids
21:23
and usage. It's the exact same curve because
21:26
everybody's sitting with their phone in the bathrooms
21:28
or they're hooked to their phones. And I bet
21:31
you there's probably correlations with accidents.
21:34
and texting and, um, a hundred percent, we've
21:38
just turned into cyborgs and, uh, we're not meant
21:41
to be a hive mind like that. We're primates,
21:44
you know? Yeah. Just, just to piggyback off that,
21:46
Nick, think about where we are in today's day
21:49
and age with technology, with smartphones, with
21:52
access now, AI being on the cutting edge of,
21:55
of everything. Yeah. What is the world going
21:58
to look like? in five years from now, in 10 years
22:01
from now, in 20 years from now, right? I firmly
22:04
believe that technology, now that AI especially
22:06
is involved, is just going to continue to expand
22:10
at an exponential rate. Well, let's talk about
22:12
that. Yeah, what kind of impact does that have
22:15
on the hobby? Let's talk about the world. We'll
22:17
talk about the hobby in five years. I think AI
22:20
is going to be the end of society. I mean, I
22:22
have a lot of people agree. I've lived through
22:26
a lot of the Internet 1 .0, 2 .0 social media.
22:29
I've never seen anything like this. I've met
22:31
people that literally don't think for themselves
22:33
at all. There's somebody I won't name him on
22:35
IG, but he's got over 10 ,000 followers. Every
22:38
single thing he does is AI. When he DMs you,
22:40
it's AI. And when he has a conversation, it's
22:42
AI. And I am. I am actually worried about our
22:48
ability to critically think going forward. And
22:51
man, it's going to be interesting. But then people
22:53
probably said that about the car, the train,
22:55
the nuclear bomb, you know, everything else.
22:58
But sports cards. Right. Like if you're using
23:01
AI, that's not cheating. I think if you're using
23:05
it to, you know, be more efficient, to help you.
23:09
with certain activities, operations, whether
23:12
it be work -related, personal, you're more or
23:15
less just taking advantage of the technologies
23:17
that are available to you. The same way people
23:20
started using typewriters back in the day instead
23:23
of writing with a pen. It's more efficient. And
23:28
so if you use it correctly, if you use it the
23:31
appropriate way, then... That's fantastic. But
23:36
if, yeah, to your point, if you're just using
23:37
it for quite literally everything and no longer
23:41
putting together your own thoughts or words or
23:44
opinions or beliefs, I mean, you know, it's subjective.
23:50
It's not healthy. It's not healthy. So what do
23:53
you think the hobby looks like in five years
23:55
if this really isn't kept in check and people
23:58
continue to have problems like you've outlined?
24:00
You know, what do you think our industry looks
24:02
like? Yeah, so I think burnout, the burnout that
24:06
we're seeing across the board, just starts to
24:08
accelerate more. You know, the trust erodes.
24:11
The more people join breaks and leave, they end
24:17
up just walking away, but not just, you know,
24:21
with their tail between their legs. They're ashamed
24:24
and they're feeling all of these different emotions,
24:28
right? And so I think this sense of churn. that
24:32
we're seeing across these platforms will eventually
24:35
slow down and the hobby will end up in a really
24:38
dark place if we don't start to make proactive
24:41
changes. And so I also think that regulation
24:44
will eventually come. I don't know when that
24:47
will be, but if we, again, aren't proactive,
24:50
it's not going to be thoughtful or hobby friendly.
24:53
It's going to be reactive to the harm that's
24:58
being done. And so. Yeah. And then like even
25:01
worse than that, if nothing changes publicly,
25:05
if there is no regulation and the damage just
25:07
ends up staying hidden, you know, people will
25:10
disappear while everybody, you know, in the industry
25:14
who are sort of on the other side, breakers,
25:17
platforms, manufacturers just sort of tell themselves
25:19
that it's all it's all fine. And so, yeah, like
25:23
hobbies don't collapse from criticism. They collapse
25:26
from denial. And addressing this doesn't weaken
25:29
the hobby. It's really the only way it survives
25:32
long term. And just to be clear, this isn't about
25:34
being anti -hobby or pessimistic. It's actually
25:38
the opposite. This is just realism rooted in
25:42
real care, real passion. I really genuinely care
25:46
about the hobby. And we want the hobby to survive
25:49
long -term. We want it to be healthy, sustainable,
25:51
and something that people can actually participate
25:53
in without quietly hurting or losing themselves.
25:57
And not just adults, kids too. Because if we
25:59
continue to normalize a lot of this unchecked
26:02
hype, a lot of the behavior around urgency and
26:05
FOMO and the lack of guardrails, we're teaching
26:08
this next generation that risk without reflection
26:11
is just part of the fun. It's just... par for
26:14
the course so real reform and real accountability
26:17
aren't threats to the hobby they're how it grows
26:20
up they're how it earns trust you know and protects
26:23
people and build something that's meaningful
26:25
and and lasts so if we actually love this space
26:29
then pretending everything is just fine isn't
26:32
you know um loyalty it's it's avoidance so yeah
26:36
i mean if we um If we don't keep this in check,
26:40
I'm going to be a little bit more grim here.
26:42
I'm pretty good at forecasting industries. I
26:45
did that for a living for a while. I'd say in
26:49
five years, if this doesn't get under control,
26:51
you're going to see two -thirds of breakers go
26:54
out of business. And you'll see that last third
26:57
consolidate into a few big companies that will
27:00
always be here. And that's going to change things
27:04
a lot. It's going to change the liquidity of
27:06
the slabs you're sitting on. It's going to change.
27:09
The repack companies, it's going to change everything
27:12
because what's going to happen is, you know,
27:15
people are just going to smoke 200 bucks and
27:18
they could be like, what did I get for this?
27:19
And then even worse, you're going to have 16
27:21
year olds doing it. That'll be the first regulation
27:24
that comes. We're going to see some state. There's
27:28
just too many lawsuits going on. There's one
27:29
for Whatnot right now in Utah. You'll see an
27:33
age restriction in some state and then Whatnot.
27:35
It's just once they're forced to do it in one
27:37
state, they'll just do it everywhere. And then
27:39
everybody else will do it. And that's probably
27:42
a good thing, but I don't know. We'll see, man.
27:45
We shall see. So this is really gloomy, really
27:50
gloomy stuff. That's not, that's not what it's
27:51
intended to be, but it's, which is again, we're
27:54
being realistic. Yeah. Now, if you, if you're
27:57
watching this and you're like crap, okay, I'm
27:59
addicted to this or I'm, or. I'm trending towards
28:03
a problem. Or maybe you're totally fine and you're
28:05
just a collector and don't care, but you know
28:07
somebody who might be dealing with this stuff.
28:09
What are some of the resources that Collectors MD
28:11
has and how can you find them? Yeah, if any of
28:14
this resonates with you, it doesn't matter if
28:17
you're a breaker, you're on the industry side,
28:21
you're a collector, or you're just someone who's
28:24
starting to question their relationship with
28:25
the hobby. What we always say is you can't...
28:29
get through tough times in isolation, right?
28:32
You have to lean on your peers. You have to lean
28:36
on community. And so that's what Collectors MD
28:38
is here to offer. And so you can reach out anytime.
28:42
We have a website, collectorsmd .com. You can
28:45
email info at collectorsmd .com. We have social.
28:50
We're on pretty much every social platform. We
28:52
have tools and resources on our website. You
28:55
can see all of our social channels at bio .collectorsmd
28:59
.com. And beyond all that, we offer education,
29:02
open conversation, and peer support, right? Not
29:06
judgment, not mandates, and not, hey, you have
29:10
to quit in order to heal. Everybody's different.
29:15
Everybody has a different journey and a different
29:16
path. And so we meet folks where they are. So,
29:20
yeah, we just we have it's a place to slow things
29:23
down, be honest. And ultimately, our mantra is
29:27
collect with intention, not compulsion. I got
29:29
one last question for anybody that's still listening.
29:32
The brake mats that you've got. I know Rip Hamilton
29:36
uses one. I texted him and I said I was like,
29:39
actually quite proud of him for doing that. I
29:41
gave him a lot of crap in my early days, but
29:43
we get along well now. Danny's my boy. What do
29:46
you say about. People saying like, oh, well,
29:48
that just makes it okay. Like this break is just
29:50
going to put a break mat down and that makes
29:51
it okay. Yeah, it's a totally fair question.
29:54
And I get why people would ask that. The short
29:57
answer is, you know, the mat doesn't magically
29:59
make everything okay. What it does is it changes
30:03
the tone and it introduces things like an opportunity
30:07
to pause. It creates awareness. accountability,
30:11
maybe curiosity within a space that historically
30:14
hasn't had any of those things. So the whole
30:17
RIP responsibly message, and this is part of
30:19
our initiative that we've rolled out in the hobby.
30:21
And, you know, RIP Hamilton is not the only big
30:24
breaker that's leveraging the message to, you
30:28
know, ultimately create a healthier and safer
30:30
space for their customers. But using it isn't
30:33
like a hall pass. It's a signal. It says we acknowledge
30:37
this can be risky for some people and we're not
30:39
pretending otherwise. You know, what actually
30:41
matters is what comes with the mat. You know,
30:44
are there limits? Are those limits encouraged
30:47
or are they ignored? Is language responsible
30:50
or hype driven? Are people pressured to chase
30:52
or supported to, you know, pause, slow down and,
30:56
you know, really like make purchases intentionally?
31:00
Is there transparency when someone says? I need
31:04
to step away. So the mat alone, again, isn't
31:06
the solution. It's intended to be a layer of
31:10
awareness so that people can ultimately change
31:14
their behavior. And so we've never claimed a
31:17
disclaimer solves everything. It's about harm
31:20
reduction, not harm denial. You can enjoy breaking.
31:23
You can enjoy collecting and be honest about
31:26
the risks. Those two things can coexist. So that's
31:29
the whole point of Rip Responsibly. I just had
31:30
a great idea for a follow -up episode. I am going
31:34
to get a behavioral psychologist that deals with
31:36
addiction on this channel. And I think that would
31:38
be dope because it may not, you may have no addiction
31:42
with sports cards whatsoever. And you just collect
31:43
wax from the eighties, but maybe you're addicted
31:45
to something else. You know what I mean? And
31:47
I actually think that's going to be a cool discussion.
31:49
So that's on my, that's on my, thanks to you.
31:51
That's all my checklist for today. Brilliant
31:53
idea. Alyx, this has been awesome, man. I appreciate
31:57
you always do always. give you a platform here,
32:01
you know, to talk to me and stuff like that.
32:03
Cause I love what you're doing. If you guys want
32:05
to hit him up, I've got his Instagram under his
32:07
name there. Feel free to DM him, check out the
32:09
website and jump on a meeting if you need it,
32:11
or at least tell somebody about it. But thanks.
32:14
Thanks so much, Nick. Appreciate you.