I buy online and for several reasons.
1.Driving is difficult for me even though there are 3 local shops pretty close to me.
2.They are not the friendliest. I have taken classes from each of them. I guess I don't feel that they are open to the newbie. They also seem to resent it if you get ANYTHING else from another place AND they seem to resnt it if you ask for help on something other then what the class is teaching. They feel that they are giving free advise and are opposed to that. I get more help here and youtube.
3.I have more of a selection online and can take my time making decisions. Sometimes it takes me days to decide.