This thread has interested me as I was curious about the preference of mail order vs. brick-and-mortar. I live about 6 1/2 hrs from the beach, but whenever possible make my purchases at the local beach brick-and-mortar store (Kites Unlimited in Atlantic Beach, NC). What I wind up doing (and I did it just a few days ago) is call the store and tell them what I want. In this case it's a Sedgwick vented Rev I. Then when I get a chance to go (in about 3 weeks), the kite is waiting for me, ready for me to fly for my few days at the beach.
It's inconvenient for me to just get my stuff there, and on some occasions when I can't wait that long, I use mail order such as GWTW. However, my concern is that if we don't patronize the brick-and-mortar kite stores, they'll go out of business and we'll lose the ability to see and touch the merchandise before buying it. And all we'll be left with are the drug store and discount house kites to "see and feel".
MHO.
Doug