My issue with at least some LBS is that they are staked to a single flagship brand. Recently I popped into my more regular one only to find out they switched flagships and no longer carried my favorite tires. That combined with not being enamored with the styling of the big 3 brands means there is more variety to my liking on Craigslist. I would think Craigslist competes with local stores as much as anything. It often seems that many Craigslist postings are from the same handful of 'independent dealers'.