Actually, if you go look at the lines that Leisure Pro reps now, most of their lines come with "full manufacturer warranty" as they are "Authorized Dealers" for most of the lines they rep.
More manufactures are joining the 21st century and making LP authorized. Aqualung is becoming the Kirby vacuum of diving.
I guess I am in the minority, I still prefer buying my gear from an LDS. I do however use scubatoys and leisurepro for research.
I prefer to buy LDS also, except mine (non-scubapro shop) is selling mainly discontinued items at retail. We buy something from almost every LDS we visit, but online is the reality.