I am pretty sure local stores sell alot more than online as in the end people like to go out and buy presents at the mall etc and not everyone has jumped on the online shopping for many reasons like access or concern about security etc.  Just curious as to how data is collected if at all from online retailers or even for local stores with online stores like best buy and circuit city is there a percentage that is attributed to online vs local when making sales estimates.  Main reason I ask this is because I been keeping track of online sales of the 360 and the elite  has been sold out for weeks now.  The pro has been selling out as well though it wasn't until recently where you couldn't find any at all or have future availability similar to the Wii.  Are the sales online poor indication of how well things are selling since they are a very small percentage of the overral sales or is the 360 selling out online mainly the pro and elite a good indication of really good sales?  Obviously sales should be good since it is the holidays but you look at the PS3 which I also been checking along with it and have never seen it sold out online, is it that SONY is keeping up with supply compared to MS?  How does online compare to local?  Would be nice to hear what ioi does if anythign when it comes to online sales.

 *This is for USA only.

I buy stuff in-person more because I prefer to get stuff immediately, as opposed to waiting for days/weeks before receiving what I want.

However, sometimes you save a lot by buying online. So it's sometimes very worth it.

One big reason I think people buy local is because if they don't like it or have any issues with the item they can return it easier.

Yeah, that can be a major influence. For me, it's not, because I never buy anything I don't want to keep (not to mention I buy two types of products the most - food and games... and neither can be returned if I don't like it :p).

i usually get thing from the store like that i dont have to wait to long

Example of a good reason to buy online:

Just got two brand-new DS Lites on eBay for $180.

Also got Mario Kart DS for $16.50.

There are good deals with bundles, used items, or just good sales online...but generally I buy games from stores.

You have to wait for the game to ship, and it's likely I won't get a game on its release date if I bought online...it almost always seems to arrive a day, a few days, even a week after the game's release...and that's just unacceptable.

I always buy computer parts online, as there's no retail store that sells components like graphics cards, processors, etc at a competitive price. But for games, it's usually no question...if it's a new release, I always buy instore.