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Until a few weeks ago, I was in the local store camp, but I'm having second thoughts.
If the price is the same - or nearly the same - I would prefer to walk into a store, see the product first hand, ask questions of the salesperson (admittedly not always a profitable task), and walk out with the product in my hand.
The reason I am changing my mind is my recent experience with a tablet computer that developed a fault after about a year. I took the product back to the store where I bought it. They sent it to the manufacturer. Three weeks went by and nothing happened. After another week, they told me it needed a new motherboard, and they were waiting to get a cost estimate for that. Another week later, they had received the estimate, and decided to have the item repaired, which could take at least another ten days.
At that point, I told them I had lost patience, and asked for a replacement, which they agreed to give me. But it took me five weeks to get to that point.
Now, compare that to another case, where I had bought a piece of luggage from Amazon. After a few weeks, the inner lining disintegrated. I phone Amazon to complain. They sent a replacement immediately, and it arrived the next day. And it was in a reusable container which they said I could use for returning the defective product. And I didn't need to arrange a courier because they let me drop it off at a convenience store within walking distance of my home.
Maybe I'm wrong to assume that Amazon will always beat a local shop in customer service, but my experience in these two cases suggests otherwise.
Mike
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