I shop my one little local quilt shop at every opportunity when possible. It is invaluable to have a "real" shop to go to, no matter how small. There is nothing quite like the personal touch and if we don't support them when we can, they won't survive. I have experienced ordering a wide backing fabric that wasn't even close to the color it looked on my monitor, had to send it back and with great trepidation, order another color and pray. I also had to pay shipping twice for this one. This wouldn't happen at your local quilt store, you know what you are getting. You can also feel the quality of the fabric at hand. So, yes, I shop there whenever possible for what I need.