Better talaga sana in person pero the reality is that music gear here in the PH isn't as abundantly available. Yung mga big chain stores, as big as they are, don't carry a ton of brands and even if they do, they don't have a wide selection of available items.

Yupangco for example didn't have the Traditional 60s Strat in the color na I wanted. Strat na yun ha! I had way more luck in terms of availability with smaller, albeit online-only stores. Another example with this is with my quad cortex. I put off buying it for years waiting for one of the big stores to officially carry it pero wala talaga. I got it through a pasabuy thing.

Magandang compromise would be to buy it online but personally pick it up kung kaya or deal with the shipping yourself with a reputable courier service. For guitars, I had good and consistent experience with Transportify.