Unfortunately we humans seem to want the lowest price rather then the best quality. Just remember the majority of the money you spend at online places like Amazon (or even large comany's like Wal-Mart) will end up in much fewer hands then if you were to buy from a local store. And local stores end up closing shop because people want the cheapest price, but without competition prices will rise.

People who support large multinational company's connot complain the that rich 1% are greedy buggers because it's our choices that it is feeding them.

Amazon is useful and convenient but I try to avoid it unless its necessary or if they have a worthwhile enough deal. I think there is some merit in supporting the local economy.

I buy as much of my game equipment from brick and mortar stores, usually gives me the best service. Games themselves I usually buy from GOG or Steam unless they're console games of course.
I avoid Amazon like the plague.

1: I bought mine from Komplett, the Scandinavian Amazon in many ways (only miles better on customer service and warranties, been buying all my PC gear there for 12-13 years now). Not only are they auhorized dealers of all the biggest brands, they even have their own warranties that go beyond the manufacturer's in many cases. I bought a Sony TV.

2: Yes, I went to a store and checked out the TV. The people who work there are clueless, they know nothing about tech besides what their manager taught them, they talk shit about owning every item they show to customers, they try to sell useless insurances that are borderline fraud (big deal here in Scandinavia, its been debated for years now) and whose "coverage" is already included in the purchasing and consumer laws of the country. What's scummy to me is charging a huge premium on the same product and pairing it with staff who have little to no knowledge of what they're peddling, and then trying to scam the simpler minded consumers into buying worthless insurance that goes right in the pocket of the business in question.
"People like me" will always be around, if the store can't manage to make decent offers for potential customers, they'll lose them, that's the same in all business. If I couldn't go to a mass market store like Media Markt any more, I'd just go to an enthusiast store, they have the knowledge and give proper demo's of the products and they give actual advice, they also sometimes offer incentives for owners of certain brands when they trade in etc.

Bonus point 3: The elecronics stores here are bastards; when they get a new product or product line, they have already negotiated with the manufacturer and gotten permission to change the model names, each store chain will assign a unique model name to the same product. For instance, if you get a TV, a Sony KDS658505, one chain might call it a KDSB658505S, another perhaps KDBS6585055, this is completely legal and it makes price comparisons more or less impossible, to trick the consumer into paying more than it's worth or keep them from going to a cheaper competitor. Washing machines, hairdryers, fridges and freezers and a bunch of other products are the same thing, it's a disgusting practice and a really, really good argument, paired with the worthless insurances, to not give these stores credit.

Besides, the bottom lines these stores are showing aren't exactly looking grim, so "people like me" probably won't kill them any time soon (and, no, don't compare it to gaming piracy, which I don't do, in that case I would never actually buy the product, it'll be like saying piracy harms Gamestop instead of developers, for instance, and I do actually buy a product in this case). You have principles as an AV manager, that's fine, but I have principles as a consumer and I value them just as highly. Maybe your store is fantastic, has great staff with actual interest and knowledge on the products they sell and you don't sell fraud insurances and cheat with model names, if so; kudos and good luck.

Bonus question? Do you sometimes buy certain gorcieres in other stores because they're cheaper? I hope not, you're ruining the stores if that's the case.

I didn't know Fry's price checked Amazon.  If I did then perhaps I would have bought it there.  I was going to get one for me and one for my friend though and they only had one wireless. 

Got a TV for Christmas one time and it was bought from online and shipped.  First one was dead on arrival.  Wouldn't even turn on.  Got another one shipped and it worked fine for a year then started turning itself off and then eventually doing it too frequently.  Gave it a rest for a month or so and it started working again for about 4 months.  Had my parents take it to a repair place and they said one of the boards was cracked that it had been dropped.  My dad got the board from online and replaced it and it is currently working.  I figure that is best to buy from a store with TVs because they won't just be tossing around the goods so much for store delivered compared to an individual home delivery.

I have to admit I am a terrible consumer.  I am impatient and probably already a little upset from traffic.  I just want to get in and out as soon as possible.  I usually don't just shop around.  I don't want to be doing price checking either.

There is always differences in prices between brick and mortar and online here in Austin, TX.  A game for 3DS could be released and it is 40 at stores and can be seen at 30 or 35 on Amazon.  Personally I just wait a few weeks or months or years after release and get it new on Amazon for 15-20.  Only must have games or games I know won't go down in price (Mario Kart, Smash, etc) I will buy at full price.

Going to the store to pick up a game is part of the experience I enjoy. Buying online is just not the same and I won't even purchase digitally.

What is the point of supporting an obsolete job?

That's counter-productive and hinders economic and social progress.

Never had issues with online bought products, my first gaming rig worked perfectly for 5 years, my second for 6 years (and still being used by my nephews). You have to choose stores that are good on support. In your examples, you need to transport the product yourself, which might not be so easy with a 65 inch TV (as in my example), you'll need a rental car, or borrow someone's, and you need equipment to make sure it's positioned in such a way it won't get damaged by you, because that voids practically every warranty there is. You also need to communicate with a store where most people are clueless on the matter at hand, whereas I contact directly a section that knows what they're talking about, waiting times are also usually shorter and you need to deal with a middle man regardless.

So for me; free transport in suitable vehicle with little to no risk of damage caused, all the way to the door and help carrying as well. Great customer support with deeper knowledge on the products, swift and simple return policies without you needing to physically transport the item in question manually to the store (again, driving back that 65 inch TV would be a real pain). To top it off, all of this is cheaper, or even free and the manufacturer's warranty is still intact and unchanged throughout.

Of course, you can run afoul of bad luck, as in your case, but you can just as easily be unlucky and drop your item on the parking lot when you're carrying it to the car, or have a speed bump screw you on the way home, in both cases the manufacturer warranty is void and there is no one company responsible for the costs and grievance. I don't see any advantages, to be honest.