They all carry the same stuff, they all charge the same prices and
I assume they all have the same ability to stick an address label on
a box and hand it to the UPS guy.

So, other than the obvious need to minimize sales tax, what
contributes to your decision?

Locality. I live and work within about ten miles of an HRO outlet.

On the down side, buying from them does involve state sales tax.
That's true even if I were to try to order through one of their
out-of-state outlets.

On the positive side, there's a lot to be said for having responsive
and near-immediate after-sale support. On a couple of occasions, when
I've been sold a radio or antenna which developed a problem within the
first few weeks after purchase, they've been quite willing to do an
over-the-counter exchange for a replacement rather than requiring me
to ship the product back to the manufacturer for warranty repair.
I've had enough *bad* experiences with warranty repair on electronic
equipment over the past thirty-plus years to find this to be a very
real and tangible benefit.

It's also a great place to run into people and hear interesting
conversations. They'll also give a small discount on accessories to
hamclub and ARES/RACES members, which makes up for part of the sales
tax on these items.

I do buy some stuff (small antennas, connectors and adapters, etc.) at
the local ham-oriented flea markets or at local electronic-surplus
stores.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!