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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Published January 03, 2026 | By Alyx E, Founder of Collectors MD

More than 26 million cards were graded in 2025. Let that number sit for a moment.

That isn’t just a data point—it’s a signal. A reflection of how deeply the hobby has shifted, and how quietly a new expectation has taken hold: if a card is decent, it should be graded. Not because it needs to be sold. Not because it’s part of a long-term plan. But because the industry has conditioned us to believe that grading is the natural next step—almost a requirement—rather than a choice.

For many collectors, grading has become less about intention and more about reflex.

Here’s the part that often gets lost: intentional collectors do not have to grade their cards. If you’re not planning to sell, optimize profit, or chase market validation, there is nothing wrong with protecting a card in a simple toploader, a one-touch, or a display case. Preservation and enjoyment do not require a slab. Value does not only exist when something is encapsulated and assigned a number.

And yet, the current infrastructure of the hobby pushes us in the opposite direction.

When grading becomes frictionless, omnipresent, and culturally reinforced, it stops being a tool—and starts becoming a trigger. It accelerates spending—grading has become prohibitively expensive, especially at scale. It encourages over-optimization. It nudges collectors toward decisions that feel urgent rather than considered. Suddenly, ripping doesn’t end when the pack is opened. It continues through submission fees, shipping costs, insurance, and the emotional rollercoaster of waiting for a grade to define whether the card—and by extension, the rip—was “worth it”.

That’s where #RipResponsibly intersects with intentional collecting.

Volume doesn’t equate to intention. More slabs don’t mean smarter choices. Sometimes, less truly is more.

Ripping responsibly doesn’t just mean setting limits on packs, boxes, or breaks. It means pausing before the next step. Asking why you’re grading. Asking who the decision is really for. Asking whether this move aligns with your goals—or whether you’re being pulled by momentum, comparison, or fear of missing out.

None of this is anti-grading. Grading can absolutely make sense—for resale, authentication, protection, or long-term planning. But when it becomes automatic, unquestioned, and financially stretching, it’s no longer a neutral choice. It’s part of a broader pattern where speed replaces reflection and optimization replaces enjoyment.

Intentional collecting gives you permission to opt out of that pressure. To collect for connection, not constant validation. To protect what you love without overextending your means. To remember that not every good card needs to be maximized—and not every moment needs to be monetized.

The hobby doesn’t become healthier by grading more cards. It becomes healthier when collectors feel empowered to make decisions that fit their lives, their finances, and their values.

And sometimes, the most responsible move isn’t another submission—it’s choosing to slow down and appreciate what you already have.

#CollectorsMD
Intentional collecting means choosing what adds meaning—not automatically following what the system rewards.

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Collect With Intention, Not Compulsion. #RipResponsibly

#CollectorsMD | #RipResponsibly | #CollectResponsibly

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Published December 31, 2025 | By Alyx E, Founder of Collectors MD

As this year comes to a close, I’ve found myself reflecting on just how much has changed in such a short amount of time. What began less than a year ago as a deeply personal idea—born from lived experience, frustration, and a desire to create something better—has grown into something far bigger than I ever imagined.

Collectors MD started as a conversation. It’s now a community. A movement. A space people show up to when they need clarity, support, or simply to know they’re not alone.

The last ten months have been humbling in the best way. We’ve built support groups, launched partnerships, implemented tools & resources, created content, started conversations that many people were afraid to have out loud, and connected with collectors across the country who quietly needed this space more than they realized. None of this happened overnight. And none of it happened alone. Every message, every meeting, every shared story has shaped what Collectors MD is becoming.

What started as a simple idea has quietly turned into something real. Not because of scale or visibility, but because people showed up with honesty, openness, and a willingness to sit with uncomfortable conversations. That’s what built this space—not momentum, but intention.

What I’m most grateful for isn’t growth in numbers—it’s growth in honesty. The willingness people have shown to talk about impulse, pressure, regret, recovery, and responsibility. The courage it takes to admit when something you love has started to hurt. The trust it takes to show up anyway. That’s what this year has been about.

Looking ahead, I feel grounded—not rushed. There’s so much more to build, but there’s also clarity now. We know who this space is for. We know why it matters. And we know that progress doesn’t come from perfection, but from consistency, intention, and community. The goal has never been to fix the hobby—it’s been to protect the people inside it.

As the new year begins, I’m carrying forward a deep sense of gratitude. For the conversations. For the momentum. For the reminder that growth doesn’t always look loud—sometimes it looks like steadiness, honesty, and choosing to keep going.

There are better things ahead. And we’re building them together.

#CollectorsMD
Progress doesn’t come from rushing forward—it comes from reflecting, realigning, and choosing to grow with intention.

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Published December 26, 2025 | By Alyx E, Founder of Collectors MD

There’s a phrase I’ve heard my entire life: If you have an idea, go for it. If you have a passion, follow it. If you feel called to help, contribute, or give back—lean into it.

And yet, for most of my life, I didn’t.

I always procrastinated. I would wait for the right time. I would tell myself next year. I would tell myself after things settle down. I would tell myself January 1st. I would tell myself tomorrow. And every single time, tomorrow quietly became never.

Until one day, something shifted.

Collectors MD didn’t come from a business plan or a perfectly timed launch. It wasn’t something that had been sitting in the works for months or years. It came from a singular moment of clarity—one I couldn’t ignore any longer. It came from a dark place. A place of burnout, struggle, addiction, confusion, and a growing realization that I couldn’t keep living on autopilot. I had spent years wrestling with patterns I didn’t fully understand yet—chasing, coping, numbing, distracting—and one day it hit me with absolute clarity: this is what I’m supposed to do.

Not someday. Not when things feel safer. Not when I have it all figured out. Now.

There’s a moment when everything gets quiet—and clear. Not because the road ahead is easy, but because you finally understand why you’re on it. This was that moment for me. The realization that Collectors MD wasn’t just an idea—it was a responsibility. A way to turn struggle into purpose, and lived experience into something that could help others find their footing again. Clarity doesn’t come with certainty. It comes with a choice. And once you make it, you don’t turn back.

Starting Collectors MD didn’t magically fix everything. The road has been painfully hard. Some days it’s unbearably overwhelming. Some days it feels impossibly big. And if I’m being honest—in the last nine months, I’ve probably accomplished only a fraction of one percent of what I ultimately want this to become.

But that’s the point.

There is no finish line. There’s no moment where you arrive and suddenly feel “done”. The goal isn’t completion—it’s continuation. It’s showing up a little more honestly each day. Learning. Adjusting. Getting better. Helping one person. Then another. Then another.

Real change doesn’t come from grand resolutions. It comes from small, consistent decisions made when no one is watching.

As the new year approaches, I keep coming back to this: if you feel the pull to do something meaningful—don’t wait for permission. Don’t wait for perfect timing. Don’t wait for January 1st.

Start now. Start imperfectly. Start scared if you have to. Don’t wait for anything. Zero excuses. Just start.

Sometimes the most important step isn’t the bold one—it’s the quiet decision to show up anyway. To sit down, take a breath, and begin building something before you feel ready. Progress doesn’t announce itself. It starts the moment you choose action over hesitation.

And just to be clear, that pull isn’t just reserved for big moments, either. It doesn’t only show up when you’re starting a company or building a movement. Sometimes it shows up as the quiet thought to take better care of yourself. To finally start that diet you’ve been talking about. To step into recovery. To join a support meeting you’ve been circling for months. To walk away from habits that no longer serve you. To pick up a hobby that brings you peace instead of pressure. To make one small choice that aligns you more closely with the life you want to live.

Most meaningful change doesn’t arrive with fireworks. It shows up as discomfort. As hesitation. As a nudge you keep ignoring because it feels inconvenient, scary, or premature. And sometimes, the hard truth is this: growth requires getting comfortable being uncomfortable. Because real change rarely waits for a clean slate or a calendar reset. It begins the moment you decide that staying the same is harder than trying something new.

If you’re feeling that pull right now, listen to it. Not next week. Not next year. Today. Right now. Even the smallest step counts—because that’s how real momentum starts: one intentional choice at a time.

Intention only matters when it’s honored through action.

#CollectorsMD
You don’t need to have it all figured out to begin. You just need the courage to take the first honest step.

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