what I do is this: go to the big box store and get my hands all over the demo unit, maybe more than once. I then find the item on amazon renewed or ebay refurbished at a massive discount and return it within a week if it sucks or isn't working for me- which I haven't had to do in years

that's an extremely smart way of going about it. I should be less shy about using the demo units they have out! >:0 Thank you for your tips!