Published January 04, 2026 | By Alyx E, Founder of Collectors MD

As I read today’s CLLCT article asking industry leaders what they’d change about the hobby, I found myself nodding along. More transparency. Fewer conflicts of interest. Cheaper wax. Better access. Stronger education. More in-person connection. All valid. All necessary. And all pointing toward the same underlying truth.

The biggest issue in collecting today isn’t a single product, platform, or policy—it’s the culture we’ve normalized around speed, scale, and optimization at all costs.

The hobby didn’t become unhealthy overnight. It evolved—quietly—as friction was removed at every step. Ripping got faster. Buying got easier. Grading became default. Market prices became scoreboards. Somewhere along the way, intention got replaced by momentum. And for many collectors, the joy of collecting slowly turned into pressure to keep up.

That’s why so many of the changes experts want to see aren’t really about mechanics—they’re about restraint. Slowing things down. Making space for thought. Re-centering why people collect in the first place.

Protecting the integrity of the hobby means putting people first and building spaces where intention can survive the pressure for more.

At Collectors MD, we see the downstream effects every week. Collectors asking how to stop spending. Families trying to make sense of losses that spiraled faster than anyone could intervene. People often realizing too late that what started as fun had quietly become compulsive. None of that happens because someone lacks discipline—it happens because they’re human inside systems engineered to push harder when vulnerability shows up.

And yet, the hobby often keeps moving as if this reality doesn’t exist.

This isn’t about blaming companies or shaming collectors. It’s about acknowledging that when growth, hype, and volume become the primary incentives, responsibility has to be intentional—not assumed. Safeguards don’t weaken the hobby. They protect the people inside it. Transparency doesn’t reduce excitement. It preserves trust. Education doesn’t kill fun. It sustains it.

The most powerful answer to the question, “what would you change about the hobby?” isn’t a single feature or reform. It’s a shift in mindset.

From extraction to stewardship. From volume to intention. From constant escalation to conscious participation.

Collecting doesn’t necessarily need to be slower for everyone. It needs to be safer for those who need a pause. It needs visible off-ramps. It needs language that normalizes stepping back. And it needs leaders—across platforms, brands, and communities—willing to say that long-term health matters more than short-term wins.

That’s how the hobby grows without losing itself.

#CollectorsMD
A hobby built to last must care for the people who carry it forward.

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