Since I was buying remotely before the internet, I didn't avoid it when it became an option. There's all sorts of ways to protect yourself. You can get screwed locally.
I've been on the receiving end of so many too good to be true deals that I don't buy into that mindset. If helps if you're knowledgeable about what you're looking at... makes it much harder to be fooled by counterfeits. I am a proponent of walking away from any deal, local or remote, that smells funny but that doesn't have to be based on the price. There's all sorts of other squirrelly crap that people can do that raises red flags.
I'm also a proponent of doing your own setups. I don't however find it necessary to be able to do fretwork or cut nuts much less advance tweaking. learn how to adjust a trussrod, set string and pickup height, set intonation, shim a neck... these don't require special skills or tools.
Every bass doesn't have to have much of a risk. Deal with established pros or sellers with a track record and the risk can be very little IME.
(Full disclosure: I'm a Public Works Director for a municipality, so I totally "get" it!) 
