I have to admit to being the sort of philistine that buys on-line for various reasons.
I'm also a bit old-fashioned in that I want my music on CD (I've sort of moved on from vinyl).
In all truth, though, I can't recollect any specialist classical music outlets even back in the seventies or eighties: at least not in north Cumbria.
I must expand my classical collection. At the very least I have to get more Rachmaninov...drool. Maybe I should make enquiries about classical outlets?