Other ideas
I've bought half a dozen different items from MSA and have always been impressed with their service, selection and price (well, it's cheaper than VicBrit, anyway). However, I've always bought directly from the store in Orange, CA. It's a 3-4 hour drive, but worth it to me to get the right item the first time. However, on the rare occasion the part is back-ordered, they have shipped it to me no charge (wasn't a big part, I admit) and it arrived fine about a week later.
I have also attended the Z Car West Coast Nationals, put on by MSA, for the last two years, and it's great. On Sunday, they close off the street in front of the store and get about 300 Z cars in there for people to admire. The store also does big biz that weekend, too, and if you get there on Saturday (there's a rally held elsewhere then), they have bargains galore on discontinued and/or slightly damaged stuff. There's still some left on Sunday, but you have to get there early. I guess what I'm getting at is that I usually "make a list" of all the stuff you want to buy, then hit the show and buy it all in one big road trip. It's a pretty fun weekend. Of course, if you're east of the Rockies, this might not be manageable.
By the way, at both the show and normal business hours, you practically stumble over all the catalogs in the store. Last time, they told me they're putting a new one together, so that might account for delays in catalog requests. I've also noted that, just like any other business, some MSA guys (like Sal) are very helpful and knowledgable, and some aren't.