Light, it's a sign of the decadence of the times that you have to tell people "DON'T BUY FROM BIG BOX STORES!"
Go to your local dealer. He (or she) will work hard to make you happy, will do everything to find what you want, will hire decent guitar/amp techs, will take trade ins, AND, when you need a set of strings, will have 'em for you.
Everybody wants instant gratification, low-low-low prices (along with low-low-low service) and the latest bling.
Me, all my electrics and basses are '50s-'60s designs (Precisions, a Les Paul, a 335, an SG) or even older (two flat tops, two spider bridge resos) so maybe I'm not happnin' enough. But I guarantee, the day when the local stores all shut down will be the day that music takes a turn for the worse.
I deal with my local music store. Sometimes he comes out better than I do, sometimes the other way. He sold my Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gent for 7X what I paid for it (try THAT at GC!) and will always talk. We trade amps, cases, and I make him happy and he makes me happy. My worst nightmare is that one day I'll wake up and he'll be gone and there will be a GC in his place.
He's your friend...and, if he isn't, maybe you're doing something wrong.