I buy all on my reels o/s and the rest of my tackle locally.
I have bought Downriggers, Stellas, Tiagra's, Fireblood's and even top quality rods....
I have had atleast 100 Transactions with overseas......Saved probably about a Minimum of $200 per purchase.....
And recently one of the Tiagra's had an issue and i took it to Shimano and they fixed it under warranty even though it was a o/s model....
The same thing happened to a mate with a certate 2000....
I get my savings oversea's and still support local stores by spending $$$$$ here in Oz on Lures, Line, Gear in general.....to me....anyone who buys top end gear locally is crazy....
I bought 2 x Electric Scotty downriggers from the states for $430 AU each delivered to my door when the dollar was strong..........
Here the same rigger is $1100 ......I c ant even buy a manual here for that price