how to escape the loop?

It seems to me that Magic has become a MLM scheme, with "local game stores" rising in small towns, operating for a couple years or three until all the money from players has dried up, then going out of business. Then the players who have closets full of boxed merchandise try to resell that on the open market to other suckers, but it all ends up going for a massive discount boxed lot eventually.

The people who play Magic for fun and not as a way to make money just print their cards at the local library/print shop or order from MPC.

It's worth noting, I think, that the business model Hasbro has with LGS is very similar to a MLM, in that the store buys the product from Hasbro, rather than just charges Hasbro for shelf space and takes a percentage of profits like a proper modern retailer like Wal-mart does.

There are also shopping addicts in there with their "pile of shame".