right before i start ranting on i'll make it clear that i havent ridden much lately and the last thing i bought for myself was my demo 8 in france, but here goes.

i used to use chain reaction a lot, i could get stuff i wanted easily and cheaply, ok so sometimes its didnt come in a box. big deal. the box just gets binned so is a waste of materials. most stuff has turned up fine, but the hayes brake i needed for my old super8 was scratched, oh no i thought, but in all fairness the first time the bike gets put upside down to take the wheels off in a gravelly car park they were gonna get scratched anyway.

i have to travel about 50 miles to get michelin tyres, thats each way, so prob use 10 or 15 quid in fuel which is a pain. so i order em or buy em when in france.

price has been mentioned as an overwhelming factor in this so here goes.

i earn 12 grand or so a year, after paying board and various loans and bills for things like car, insurance bike, phone bill and all that jazz i'm left with 60 quid a week to live on that includes petrol money, keeping the car tip top and socialising, so yeah if i can save 30 quid by going mail order i will, thats half a weeks spending money.
i can fit most stuff myself so thats not a problem, i get my local shop to build my wheels as they seem to be the only ones who build wheels i dont trash. i go in occasionally for a look round with my dad nut in all fairness i've seen enough bike kit over the last 8 years to actually be arsed to look at yet another stem or fancy pair of cranks that are set to be the future when some old school middleburns would do me for a lot longer.
i go in there to buy pressies for my dad, for instance he wanted some 50/50 pedals for his downhill bike for chrimbo and i knew the shop were getting em in so i rang they had one pair i took em. while i was there i bought him a dvd and a few other bits but that's a couple of times a year. you can get advice off forums and riders at the trails. another nearby shop is a chain store and a few of my mates work there, it's toss and feels surgical, theres no shiney bits hiding away and no comp 16s hanging up on the wall, no character. i also used to work with one of their higher staff who i severely dislike cos of his attitude and the fact that he was meant to be an ex race team mechanic and couldnt bleed a set of hopes. years ago he was meant to blled my dads brakes and did a shocking job of it and i ended up re doing it myself even tho i had to learn how. the brakes were then sound. my dad got charged a fortune for the service and i wasnt happy about it.

why put up with that when i could get some fluid from halfords and do em myself.