Freebase Dali

For that, I think it's varied. I've certainly been in multiple scenarios regarding it.
For instance... I played an Ibanez acoustic belonging to a friend, and loved it so much, I bought the same one online. The only difference here is that I made the purchase online and waited a little longer for the delivery.

I also kinda dislike the fact that most of the stuff you buy from the music store is, in a way, used. If it's on display, it's been mishandled by someone for sure. I'd rather buy a pristine version of that, while using the store version simply as a general guide for sound quality. I think the music shop (at the horror of the music shop owners) should only be used as a testing ground.. and when you make your decision, you buy it from the manufacturer online and for cheaper prices because there's no middleman.
I could be wrong about all this, but it's how I've been doing things since the late 90's and it hasn't failed me yet.