I will try them out first wherever possible.
I've bought one bass (an Ibanez 5er) on Ebay and was very lucky with the price and the condition of the bass.
I've had 4 new Rics from online stores, all great and I still have them.
One new custom colour Fender FSR P online from PMT, which I had to set up, but mint and lovely. Never seen one in-store.