I was checking on some boards for game stores and knew one store was gone for years, I just thought maybe importing games and consoles didn't warrant a store in Japan for US market.
I did have friends that had to close their stores around the time of the Dreamcast due to the import game scene dying down, also eBay and online was becoming popular.
But then after reading on the boards, I found out the guy lost his store during the earthquake and it burned down. While he is ok, it forced him after 13 years to pack up and move back to the states.
Sadly, I had to sell out to a eBayer selling in my area just to clean my inventory and make a few dollars. He got a great deal, I still made a profit so it worked out. Been thinking of starting up the business again this year once I can get a better cash flow to buy out stores or large wholesale lots.
The current trend is export retro gaming hardware and software out from Japan. (For the Japanese otaku dismay lol)
I know a lot of people make money selling "trash" on Ebay for collectors.