Last monitor I tried having shipped was outright ruined during shipping. Yeah, no more of that unless I have zero other options.
Micro Center or Best Buy are my spots for picking up a monitor - yes, this can and will limit my options. At least I know that most likely the monitors at a brick and mortar store will be well packaged because they tend to come on a truck where the monitor(s) itself is shipped properly on a pallet and is secure. None of this crap where the box gets handled by probably a dozen+ people as it's pushed, tipped, tossed, shoved and dropped as it makes its way through the parcel network for companies like UPS/FedEx/USPS/DHL.
As for dodging a dead pixel, stuck pixel or light bleed - that's a different story all together. I've picked up monitors before from retailers that ends up with something like this. I had to drive back and exchange for a new one. It happens.