beatzfreak said:
We have the opposite situation here in NYC. The smaller shops are more likely to sell grey goods or are not authorised resellers. From past experience, I feel safer buying from B&H or Adorama. Plus I've found the service at both of these stores very good, though I would never expect good service at B&H on a Sunday.
Even J&R has good service and, best of all, they price match.
For you then, B&H IS your local store.... and yes, B&H definitely has an excellent reputation, regardless if one is buying in the store itself or is ordering from online. If I'm ever in NYC again I'm going to make it a point to visit B&H just to see what the place looks like, as through the years I've heard so much about it from people online....
I think what was meant by "big box stores" is something like the national chains: Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Micro Center, etc. In my area, for instance, I've got more choices than most, since I"m in the suburbs of Washington, DC. We've got the "big box stores," and, well, frankly, if I'm buying a camera I'd rather buy it, even a P&S, from a store in which cameras and photography are the specialty rather than just another department within the store with "x" amount of inventory. I also tend not to go to places like Ritz, although obviously they are a camera shop, because unless I'm just running in to grab something quickly like an accessory of some sort, I am not confident that the store personnel are going to be that knowledgeable about the camera gear that they sell, especially the more professional stuff.
That said, if I had already read reviews or had talked to others and had a good idea of which P&S I wanted, then I'd go in to Ritz and get it there if for some reason I were unable to get to a full service camera shop. I still prefer to buy more professional-level gear from a shop which specializes in it and in which I know all the store personnel are very well versed in their merchandise. Many of them have been photographers for years and they, too, experience the same joys and frustrations of photography so that there is a level of understanding there beyond the simple which camera model is best.
As an example I will most likely work Sunday and Monday prior to Memorial Day in order to get Friday through Tuesday off. Sure it means working 10 days straight, but having time off without using vacation time is worth it IMO. 
