I'm in the unique position of having the option of ordering on-line and not feeling bad for my local hobby shop. The nearest hobby shop that has the r/c equipment we use is about 10 miles from my place. Being disabled and not able to drive, that puts me at a disadvantage to just going down the road to their shop at my convience.
I find that by taking my time and investigating my options, I can usually find the best deals before I lay my money down. Sometimes I can find better items than I originally was looking for of the same caliber, i.e. a stainless steel item instead of a plastic item that was originally advertised (and sometimes for the same money). My best advice is to take your time, search the local shops in your area, then go home and look on-line with a search engine like "google". You just never know where you'll find the items you'll want or need, sometimes they're listed as 1/10th scale and you'll find they're perfect.
Good luck
- RCT