I've been building and restoring cars, and other things long before the internet, and certainly eBay existed. Started my first build in 1965. Old school is certainly slower and more time consuming, but, I also find that it is more accurate, and, most times, cheaper.
That said, I do use the internet now to find stuff, but I rarely, if ever buy anything from eBay, or Craigslist any more. In fact it's been 11 years since I purchased anything from eBay, and except for a bass guitar being sold locally on CL, have not purchased anything from there in 4 years.
Salvage/scrap yards, friends, Hemmings, swap meets, etc. still work fine. I haven't been in a position where I "have to have it, now", because this is a hobby, not an occupation. My first real resto took me 12 years, and I enjoyed every minutes of it. The search, the discovery, the disassembly, the clean up and the search for parts and the rebuild.
Did everything myself except the machining of the engine, and the finish paint. In some cases I spent months looking for a particular part. But, I found it, with no internet. IT still works if you're willing to invest the time. That's a decision each of us have to make for ourselves.
...oh, and one other thing, the old school way there are only two people bidding on the part, or the car, that would be the buyer and the seller. ;)
