I think its kind of a double-edged sword. I think pre-internet we were sort of stuck with finding game-worn items at card shows, flea markets and publications. In one instance, there are more resources to find game-worn items. However, there are also more resources for less-than-ethical sellers who doctor up team-issed blanks, commons and such.

I think the internet has given us as consumers many great resources for research, (i.e. GUU, Getty's Images etc. ) so now we're much more knowledgable about the hobby and hopefully are less likely to become fraud victims. Honestly, before GUU, a lot of collectors, myself included might have been more inclined to take the word of some authenticators at face-value without knowing their prior track record.

Bottom line, the internet is a great resource for the hobby...but just that another resource, not the end all and be all of game-used collecting.