Actually Change Things?

[mchenrycards]

The internet also brought in tons of collectors to this hobby. I know if the internet wasn't available I would more than likely not be apart of this hobby. Without the internet it is so much more difficult to have a deep collection especially if there are only one or two hobby shops around (and in some cases none).

The internet brought a card show to everyone's home but it also destroyed many great card shows and even more card shops. I think the greatest contributor to the decline of the card shop, outside of the economy was the onset of the internet. I just found irony in your statement in that if there were no internet there would be many more card shiops around with incredibly deep collections to buy from. I can think of 15 card shops in the Chicago area that were established before the hobby went crazy who are no longer standing because the had a hard time making ends meet. Many of these owners are selling what is left of their shop online but sadly, that camaraderie you got at the shop itself is now gone.

 

[Austin]

I liked the hobby much more before the internet.
Sure, you can find anything you want now on eBay, but it's turned many collectors into accumulators and hoarders.

Before the internet, you had to hunt down cards in card shops, at shows, buying packs at drug stores, trading with friends, writing dealers in ads from hobby publications, etc.
It made you appreciate what you have much more and every card had a story of how and where you found it.

Now, most collectors scour eBay every day, buy cards in a few seconds, then throw it in a box when it arrives.
Hardly anyone appreciates their cards anymore because they're so easy to get and don't mean as much.

I had much more fun as a Rickey Henderson collector in the '80s and early '90s with my 100 or so different Rickey cards, because the hunt made the hobby so much fun. Same with set collecting.
It was a rush crossing a hard-to-find card off a checklist. And completing a set was an awesome feeling.

 

[maxe0213]

The internet brought a card show to everyone's home but it also destroyed many great card shows and even more card shops. I think the greatest contributor to the decline of the card shop, outside of the economy was the onset of the internet. I just found irony in your statement in that if there were no internet there would be many more card shiops around with incredibly deep collections to buy from. I can think of 15 card shops in the Chicago area that were established before the hobby went crazy who are no longer standing because the had a hard time making ends meet. Many of these owners are selling what is left of their shop online but sadly, that camaraderie you got at the shop itself is now gone.

I liked the hobby much more before the internet.
Sure, you can find anything you want now on eBay, but it's turned many collectors into accumulators and hoarders.

Before the internet, you had to hunt down cards in card shops, at shows, buying packs at drug stores, trading with friends, writing dealers in ads from hobby publications, etc.
It made you appreciate what you have much more and every card had a story of how and where you found it.

Now, most collectors scour eBay every day, buy cards in a few seconds, then throw it in a box when it arrives.
Hardly anyone appreciates their cards anymore because they're so easy to get and don't mean as much.

I had much more fun as a Rickey Henderson collector in the '80s and early '90s with my 100 or so different Rickey cards, because the hunt made the hobby so much fun. Same with set collecting.
It was a rush crossing a hard-to-find card off a checklist. And completing a set was an awesome feeling.

You are entitled to your opinion but IMO the internet made cards much cheaper (which was a huge downside) but also opened up the hobby to a much wider audience than before.