Does anyone remember the days before the internet when you could call (or mail) a company and get a printed catalog?
You would look through the catalog and actually fill out the order form in the back, mail it to the company with a check or credit card information and in a week or ten days your order would appear on your doorstep. If the company you ordered from was out of the state you lived in you did not have to pay sales tax either.
I ordered plenty of components and equipment from several different outfits out of state this way, the internet just makes it more convenient.