Talk with your friends or neighbors that have a pool. Find out if there were any problems along the way and how the store handled them. Even if you don't get a recommendation, you may find out who to avoid. The same goes for installers too (unless you plan on doing it yourself). If the store has a good reputation then odds are good that their recommended installer will be good too.

Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable purchasing something like this on-line unless I could go and see it in person to check it out. Even then, how easy will it be to deal with a problem even if it is covered under warranty? At least if the store is local (and reputable) that should make service issues easier. They can also help you with little things like getting up to speed with operating and maintaining the filter and pump (which isn't a big deal but helpful if you never owned a pool before).

I just got a Doughboy 24' round. It seems like a quality pool and the company seems to have a good reputation.

Here's a link to check out:

http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/abov..._problems.html

Good luck.

Peter