Most places will ship items to your house. My nearest hobby shop is an hour away, and all it takes is a phone call, and if it's in stock, it's in the mail. It maybe cost a bit more...but I'm known by more than a 16 digit sequence. To me it well worth it when I can announce myself on the phone as avg_joe, and that's good enough.
It's nice to get personal attention from somebody who knows what/how/where you drive, and has experience to offer advice to their customers. You can only do that by cultivating a personal relationship with a real live person...not 'the lady at tower'.