Published November 29, 2025 | By Alyx E, Founder of Collectors MD

Over the last few days, conversations around Collectors MD have stirred up a wave of reactions—some thoughtful, some defensive, and some rooted in misunderstandings, projections, and long-standing insecurities that run deeper than the comments themselves. It has revealed something essential about the modern hobby landscape: the moment you challenge a system built on hype, profit, and velocity, the system pushes back. Not because the message is wrong, but because the message is inconvenient.

When we clarified who we partner with and why, the focus immediately drifted toward personalities, affiliations, and manufactured narratives. But the truth is simple: Collectors MD has no association with platforms people are quick to assume. No partnerships with Fanatics, Whatnot, Arena Club, or any of their parent companies. And yet, that was never the real point of the criticism, because the criticism was never about accuracy—it was about discomfort.

For some, it’s easier to attack the messenger than to examine their own relationship with ripping, selling, content creation, or the business models they depend on. It’s easier to question someone else’s credibility than to sit with the parts of themselves that feel threatened when the conversation shifts toward transparency, boundaries, or the emotional cost of compulsive patterns.

Underneath the surface of these exchanges, you can feel the subtext: fear of losing influence, fear of being exposed, fear of having to change. When people’s revenue depends on pace, pressure, and perceived dominance, even the gentlest call for intention can feel like an attack. That’s not about us—that’s about the stories they tell themselves to stay comfortable.

Tension always rises when accountability enters a room built on performance. In those moments, ego reveals what’s fueled by greed and what’s rooted in real change.

Collectors MD has never been here to police the hobby or to shame anyone. We’re here because the reality is that many collectors overspend in silence, hide purchases from partners, feel the internal pressure to keep up, and carry shame they don’t know where to put. We’re here because countless individuals have lost the joy of a hobby they once loved. And we’re here because real support cannot be conditional. It cannot be limited to the safe corners of the space. It cannot hinge on whether someone else’s ego feels soothed.

Support requires presence. It requires stepping into the same rooms, platforms, and communities where people are actually struggling—not just the curated, comfortable places that applaud awareness without ever doing the work. Harm reduction doesn’t happen on the sidelines. It happens in the trenches, in the places where pace and hype drown out clarity, and where people need grounding the most.

The pushback we’ve seen lately is proof of exactly why this work is necessary. It shows how deeply tied identity, validation, and status have become to the hobby. It shows how quickly people leap to defend the systems that benefit them—even when those systems contribute to the stress, shame, and exhaustion others carry privately.

But the presence of noise doesn’t diminish the importance of the work. In fact, it validates it.

Collectors MD was never about pleasing everyone. It was about helping the people who need a place to land when the noise gets too loud. The people who don’t have sponsorships, platforms, content channels, or safety nets. The people trying to navigate a hobby that moves faster than their peace can keep up with.

And those people remain our north star.

#CollectorsMD
When the truth shakes the room, it’s often because the room needed shaking.

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We’re re-uploading every episode of our podcasts—one per day—to make sure our new members and followers can catch up from the beginning.

If you’re new to Collectors MD, these conversations are where it all started—honest, unfiltered discussions about the realities of collecting, recovery, and rebuilding a healthier hobby.

We’ll be sharing episodes from The Collector’s Compass & Behind The Breaks covering everything from gambling parallels in collecting, to mental health, to how we find purpose beyond the chase.

Whether you’ve been here since day one or just joined the movement, this is your chance to revisit the stories that shaped our mission.

Subscribe on YouTube, follow along daily, like, comment, and help us spread the message: the hobby gets healthier when we do.

Collect With Intention. Not Compulsion.

The Collector's Compass #15: Reform Or Repeat? We Need To Fix The Hobby Before It's Too Late

#CollectorsMD | #RipResponsibly | #CollectResponsibly

Published November 15, 2025 | By Alyx E, Founder of Collectors MD

Some days, building a movement feels electric—full of momentum, purpose, and clarity. Other days, it feels like you’re carrying a boulder up a hill by yourself. Most people see the outcome: the meetings, the posts, the partnerships, the messages from people who say Collectors MD has helped them breathe again. But behind all of that is the part most people never talk about—the quiet grind of doing something bigger than yourself with no roadmap, no guarantees, and no one to hand the baton to when you’re tired. Especially when that “something” runs against the grain of an entire culture that’s content with staying the same.

The truth is, I experience the same swings everyone in this community does—the highs where everything feels possible, and the lows where doubt shows up louder than intention. There are days I wake up motivated, dialed in, overflowing with purpose. And there are days I stare at my screen, exhausted, wondering if any of this work is truly even making a dent. When you care this much about something, the emotional weight hits in both directions.

But even in those swings, I’m reminded of something profoundly important: Collectors MD was never meant to be a one-person mission. This is peer support, not leader support. A movement built on shared stories, shared accountability, and shared willingness to show up for one another. I may have started it, but I can’t—and shouldn’t—be the only one holding it up. The strength of this community comes from all of us pulling in the same direction, not from any single person trying to shoulder the entire load alone.

Building a movement rooted in meaning, impact, and real change can feel like hauling the weight of the world uphill on your own—until others step in and help carry it with you.

Here’s the part that stings a little: sometimes you finally catch momentum. Someone reaches out. A respected shop, platform, or organization expresses interest in supporting your cause. A conversation feels aligned. A door opens just enough for you to imagine what could be built together. Then suddenly the energy shifts—they disappear, get busy, go quiet, or change direction entirely. You’re left holding the enthusiasm you walked in with, trying not to let the silence turn into pessimism and self-doubt. It can feel overwhelmingly deflating. Not because you need validation, but because you see how many individuals could be supported if more people were willing to link arms instead of standing on the sidelines.

I’m incredibly grateful for every individual and organization that’s stood beside this movement. But with that gratitude comes an undeniable urgency—because even though we’re helping dozens, even hundreds of people right now, there are tens if not hundreds of thousands more struggling in isolation who don’t even know Collectors MD exists yet.

But this is the work. Movements don’t grow overnight because the road is smooth. They grow, slowly but surely, because of someone’s stubborn persistence to keep showing up—even when the road can be brutally bumpy. They grow because someone refuses to let the mission shrink just because the support isn’t always immediate. They grow because the overarching purpose outlasts the storms that pass through. Those people we haven’t reached yet? They’re out there. And we will reach them. It will take time. It will take patience. And it will take persistence—but that’s exactly what we’re built for.

I remind myself often that every meaningful change in my life—recovery, healing, connection—began with a small spark that became something bigger only through consistency. Collectors MD is no different. The lows don’t invalidate the movement. The setbacks don’t weaken the foundation. And the silence from others doesn’t erase the voices of the people who show up every day, every meeting, every message, because this community gives them something the hobby never did: honesty, belonging, and a place to set down the weight we carry and talk about what’s really going on—our habits, our struggles, our highs, our lows.

If you’re building something in your own life—a new pattern, a new identity, a new way of showing up—and it feels heavy or lonely at times, I get it. But keep going. Be relentless. Be a force to be reckoned with. Not because it’s easy, not because people will always meet you where you are, but because the work—the grind—matters. Your future self deserves what your present self is fighting for. Your purpose is bigger, stronger, and more enduring than any moment of doubt that tries to stand in your way.

#CollectorsMD
Every brick you set—every small effort, every hard moment—strengthens the foundation you’re building, even when no one else sees it.

—
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In this episode of The Collector’s Compass we’re continuing a powerful conversation that began back in August—this time turning awareness into action.

Our guest, Alijah (@Hoosier_Pulls), has been one of the loudest and most authentic voices pushing for reform, transparency, and accountability within the hobby. After our first discussion around repacks, short-fuse auctions, and the hidden gambling mechanics shaping collector behavior, we’re bringing it full circle with a deep dive into guardrails, reform, and real change.

Together, we unpack how the hobby can evolve responsibly—without losing the joy that makes it special. From realistic spending guardrails and self-exclusion tools to platform accountability, influencer transparency, and community-driven reform, this episode explores what a healthier future for collectors actually looks like.

Alijah shares how intentional collecting isn’t about walking away—it’s about walking smarter. We talk about the role creators play in shaping behavior, why EV context and sponsorship labels matter, and how Collectors MD’s partnerships with Birches Health, Right Choice Recovery, PGCC, and Gamban are helping collectors set boundaries before burnout begins.

We also introduce Unboxed Powered By Collectors MD, a new weekly community meeting created in partnership with PGCC—Thursdays from 7–8 PM ET / 4–5 PM PT—where collectors can engage in open conversation about reform, recovery, and safer engagement.

Whether you’re a content creator, a breaker, or a collector trying to find balance again, this episode offers real solutions—not just critique. Because the future of the hobby depends on more than passion—it depends on protection, empathy, and intention.

Also make sure to check out our full discussion on hoosierpulls4689's channel—where we first unpacked the truth about compulsion, reform, and what real change in the hobby looks like.

Subscribe, comment, and join the movement. And remember to collect with intention, not compulsion.

Watch The Episode On YouTube

Learn More & Join The Movement:
Website: collectorsmd.com
Socials: hopp.bio/collectorsmd
Weekly Meeting Sign-Up: bit.ly/45koiMX
Contact: info@collectorsmd.com
YouTube: ‪‪@collectorsmd‬
Instagram: @collectorsmd

Follow Alijah:
YouTube: ‪@hoosierpulls4689‬
Instagram: @hoosier_pulls

#CollectorsMD | #RipResponsibly | #CollectResponsibly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehy3lM0rYPc&t=491s