I think your best bet is to go local if you can. I have a good relationship with the personnel at the store I go to and get hooked up with discounts, freebies and samples all the time - not to mention the good advice when needed!
Totally! - even if the price is close to what's on the web, you come out ahead by not paying shipping. And you don't have to wait for it, you got it in your hand and you are growing... lol
WWW
BTW - you can get a cheap microscope to view your trichomes with at Radio Shack for about $10.00RadioShack.com
that said, i just bought ballast + bulb for a little 150HPS i need for $57 shipped, but would have paid at least 120+tax here. it just depends ... and takes some patience and research. i would love to have it, um, now ...
I got my lights of ebay at a pretty good price... im running 2 250 watt HPS's and bought em for about $150 with free shipping.. (price converted from £)