RE: When you buy RC gear do you shop price or brand?
First and formost, I shop for reliability. That means buying the brands that are reliable. That means shopping where the people are reliable. Second is price. Fortunately you can have both.
But those things aren't always where you might think. Sometimes those places are Ace Hardware or AutoZone or Sears or Walmart. Over the years I haven't nocticed model related products are often comprised of non-hobby products. They have been repackaged, relabelled and sold at hobby shops for much higher prices. Ace Hardware, for example carries blind nuts and lock nuts and bolts in all the sizes we use and for pennies a peice. They carry piano wire, a great assortment of glues, sand paper, tools, Epoxy, blades, brass tubing, paints, LockTite, and on and on.
If you need a good motor or a good radio, its difficult to beat Tower Hobbies. If you need a bolt or some hardware, its hard to beat Ace. If you need a servo, or some wheels, and you need them today, then you might give the LHS a try. There is a 50/50 chance they will have what you need.