Hey everyone — been a bit quiet on Mantel, but I’m back and active again.

I collect and sell sports card singles, mostly low-end commons and parallels, and I just started scanning a new batch this week. Nothing flashy, but I enjoy the process and the volume side of the hobby.

Curious what everyone else is working on right now — sorting, scanning, ripping, or listing?

In this episode of The Collector’s Compass, we dive into one of the most pressing and often avoided questions in the modern hobby—why does a space built on nostalgia, community, and joy so often drift into manipulation, exhaustion, and financial harm?

Our guest, Charles Howard (@CollectorCharles), is one of the hobby’s clearest and most respected voices on market behavior, hype cycles, grading inconsistencies, and the underlying mechanics that shape collector psychology. Through his channel and commentary, Charles has made a name for himself by cutting through industry noise, challenging harmful narratives, and unpacking how modern collecting culture pushes people toward risk without them even realizing it.

Together, Alyx and Charles examine the uncomfortable realities many collectors feel but rarely articulate: the manufactured hype behind new releases, how price floors and hidden volume shape perceived value, the ways breaking formats mimic casino mechanics, and why scandals never seem to create real accountability. They explore how content creators, platforms, and market makers influence collector behavior—and how easy it is for excitement to transform into pressure, chasing, or burnout.

The conversation also revisits the recent episode with Professor Sports Cards, using that moment as a lens to highlight how often serious issues are minimized, laughed off, or dismissed as “too heavy” for hobby content. Charles offers a deeper, clearer breakdown of why these subjects matter—and why collectors deserve transparency, guardrails, and honest discussion rather than constant highlight reels.

This episode points toward a healthier future for the hobby: one built on awareness instead of confusion, intention instead of impulse, and accountability instead of silence. Charles shares what needs to change structurally, what collectors can do individually, and how community-led movements like Collectors MD can help reduce harm while keeping the joy alive.

Whether you’re a seasoned collector, a returning hobbyist, a content creator, or someone trying to understand why the hobby feels so different today, this episode offers clarity, grounded insight, and a path forward that puts people—not hype—at the center.

Subscribe, share, and join the movement toward intentional collecting—because understanding the system is the first step toward reclaiming control.

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 Charles:

YouTube: ‪@CollectorCharles‬

Instagram: @collectcharles

#CollectorsMD | #CollectorCharles | #RipResponsibly | #CollectResponsibly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzunBYeQZ-4

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 #17: Can Card Collecting Lead To Gambling Addiction?

#CollectorsMD | #RipResponsibly | #CollectResponsibly

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 #14: The Wife Of A Compulsive Collector

#CollectorsMD | #RipResponsibly | #CollectResponsibly

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 #12: Smarter Collecting With The Smarter Collector

#CollectorsMD | #RipResponsibly | #CollectResponsibly