Egghead is right on the money with his advice. I live in Seattle so finding a bow shop other than the nock point is difficult. I bought a Ross bow and had the guys at the Federal Way Sportsmans Warehouse set me up. I pulled down the bow reviews from bowsite and archerytalk and picked several within a given price. When it was all said and done I shot close to a dozen bows and it came down to the Martin Bengal or the Ross 331. The Ross won because it felt just a little bit better than the Martin.

After you get your bow set up properly its not like you need to run to the bow shop every other week. If it were me I wouldn't worry too much about buying from a shop out of the area. If you need service go back to them or bring it to a local guy who will work on it.