Scott Wool and his business partner started their business in 1987 as a brick-and-mortar store, but online retail saved it. Scott now has two brick-and-mortar locations, but running specialty shops like Omni Comics & Cards has become impossible without an Internet presence. According to Scott, people are busier and have less disposable income these days and as a result, specialty stores cannot survive on foot traffic alone. Today, Scott runs one of the largest online novelty stores in the country, and even purchases items from walk-in customers to sell on eBay. Along with the rest of the U.S., Connecticut has been experiencing economic downturn since 2008, and there is simply no way this small business could have survived without its online sales. Scott has lived in Connecticut his entire life and as a long-time member of his community, he is always getting involved with various charitable organizations. Scott hosts about 200- 300 charity auctions per year and raises money for cancer research, brain injury charities and local colleges. Since the next specialty store like this one is in South Dakota, Scott is sure he isn’t putting any local main street shops out of business.