Then again, you can ask.

I was all set to buy tires for my car from tirerack.com. I called the mechanic near my workplace and asked if he was willing to install tires that I brought in. He said he'd like to win my business, so he did some research and told me the price of the tires he could give me. It was only a hair higher than the mail order place. I do want to support a local business, and it was a smal premium to pay.

So for once, I used a big online company for research and bought locally. Normally, people do the opposite. In the end, I was very happy with my transaction.

You could ask your LBS to bring the price down a bit. Tell them they don't have to match it but make it worth your while to buy from them. They may go for it. But they won't if you don't ask.

Of course, don't do this too often, and don't try to nickel and dime them to death.