I started out online ordering like many with my first bass but I’ve come around to the @Gio approach. When buying new, nothing substitutes for trying out your basses by hand in the shop yourself.
I tried several BB734A’s before picking the one I bought. It wasn’t the lowest priced one, either - it looked and felt the best out of all of them. Little subtle things, even though it’s a production bass.
Due to availability I may order online someday again (for example, really hard to find Gretsch even close to reasonably priced in shops here.) And for used, the online market is too huge to ignore. But if I am dropping big money on a new instrument, it’s worth the slight premium to me to buy in person when possible.
I posted some thoughts about this when I bought the BB a few months back:
I did similar in-store selection with my Warwicks. Though they were maybe more price-driven (one of them I got new as a floor model at a steep discount and actually turned a profit selling used.)