Good luck finding a place to test drive ANY tool these days, even when you don't go on-line to buy. Sears has multi-line merchandise, and I'm reasonably sure the lady buying some new panties isn't going to be thrilled to find sawdust in them when she gets home. The same holds true even at HD and Lowe's, where testing tools could readily fling dust into washing machines and telephone systems.
Most of the distributors are now gone in this area. They primarily served two markets, furniture manufacturers and schools. The schools mostly bailed on woodworking classes a decade or so ago, and most of the furniture places are in the process of folding their tents, in anticipation of moving to China or Viet Nam or a similar place. But what the hell. That's where most of the tools are coming from now. And when I say most, I don't mean 51%. It is more like 90% and rising.