Ive had a variety of experiences on buying hardware online. Once I ordered a pair of pedals and when they didnt come I called the place. They told me they were back ordered, at which time I canceled the order. Sure enough what came about 3 weeks later? The GD pedals and I had no end of aggravation sending them back. All just to save a few bucks. I had a few other bad experiences with non-reputable dealers as well.
In the end it just isnt worth it to save a few bucks. Now, when i can, I get everything from the same company I bought all my video gear from back when I was doing event video. So I ordered a EVGA GTX780 from them a few weeks ago, B&H Video, without knowing there was going to be a big price drop due to a new AMD card coming out. I checked B&H yesterday and saw the card I spent $659 on a few weeks ago going for $539 <Jaw Drop>. Thats $120 and not peanuts, not for me at least. So I call them and find out they have a price protection garuntee that lasts a month and that my card will be refunded the $120 difference. NICE!
I almost bought the card from another place for $650 to save $9.00. 9 bucks is 9 bucks but it just isnt worth it. Ive found that out the hard way. So now I have 3 or 4 places I buy from, and only those places will I buy from.