Ebay and other sports card dealers on the internet have definitely lowered card values and hurt local card shops over the years. There will always be changes, as technology advances, with no sign of slowing down.
Is that a good thing or bad ? Well, it all depends on which side of the technology you are on.
If you were a blacksmith in the 1890's, you were on the verge of losing your job to automobiles and mechanized farm equipment. If you were a file clerk or key punch operator in the 1960's, you would lose your job to a computer. If you were a photo processor in the early 1980's, you would lose your job to digital cameras. The list goes on and on and will continue until who knows when. Just like the song by Zager and Evans, In the Year 2525.
You have to adapt. You have to be able to see which way your industry and customers are moving and try to keep one step ahead.
Card shop owners can move their inventories online, but the prices aren't likely to come back to what they were in the 1980's and 90's. Oh, there will always be some cards that command higher prices, but buyers have so many options now and it's so easy to search so many different venues for the lowest price.
My two sons and I never had access to a local card shop. The closest thing we experienced was the card shows at the local shopping malls. Which, of course, are on the verge of becoming extinct also. There are a few that still seem to thrive, but not in our area. There are some flea markets around also. That is another option.
Life is just moving too fast and everyone wants everything to be too easy !
Ok, off my soap box and back on to my comfy swivel chair. Back to the computer, to show you the Indian cards I purchased online, so you wouldn't have to drive clear to Ohio to see them ! ( not that you would anyway !)
