Market Research: Buying local vs. online. Please help!

[Mr.nintendo]

- how perishable the item is (fish/coral/frozen food)
- fragility (how easily something is broken during shipment, regardless of whether or not the vendor replaces the item)
- technical aspect of the item (how beneficial would it be to buy local so that you can get some local technical help, the Neptune controller comes to mind)
- ease of shipment (the higher the weight/size of the item, the more it'll cost to ship, ie. salt)
- availability (obviously, if the product is only available at a local shop, or only online, you'd only buy from there)


Perishability is number one for sure, I would never spend a crapload of money for something from an online vendor if it's arrival is questionable.