I'll second all opinions of trying as much as you can. I also found that it is important to go past the honeymoon period, which in a shop is impossible by definition. So I also became a BC buyer (then seller) to get my hands on as many basses as possible, try them at home, see if I still love them in the long run. 20% were mistakes; 60% were great at first but not keepers after a few months; 20% I still have. You lose a bit of money (shipping, differences in buying/selling price), but you get to know all kinds of basses really well - for me, it was worth it.