Hi liquidskin,
You can read more about the pros and cons of an online vs a local purchase in post #2 here and in this topic. If you are considering both then I would first narrow your choices down to a list of finalists (both online and local) that are all choices between “good and good” (where you would seriously consider purchasing any of them) and then if there are no clear winners between them at this point I would make a final choice between them (see post #2 here) based on a combination of “best judgement”, your personal testing on your local options, your conversations with each online manufacturer/retailer you are dealing with, and all the other objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Phoenix