It would be interesting if we could see what would have happened to chip collecting since 1995 if eBay had not been in the picture. I think a lot of us who live in remote areas where the nearest collector may be 500 miles away probably wouldn't have gotten hooked quite so easily.

I do understand Travis' point about eBay taking a lot of the fun out of hunting for chips. I wish I had gotten into the hobby back when most people considered them "junk" instead of running to their computer to see what they can sell them for. But, if not for eBay and the ability to buy chips year round I probably wouldn't have gotten into the hobby at all.