Competition is a double edged sword
It's needed to prevent a monopoly, but must not be too many retailers for the market to support and causing them to have to fight too hard on prices
Off the top of my head I think I bought two of my original pistols new (delta 68 and wsf) and my two magfeds (dam and hammer)
I think all the rest have been second hand. In gun purchases the retailers have not done well out of me for the years I have been playing
Hardware prices are not dictated by the shop but the manufacturer, the shops all either go for rrp, compete on their margins, postage, different specialization etc
A real factor that is a winner is the service - do they support you as an individual by turning up at the events you go to, do they have accredited tech guys that attend events, do they supplement the manufacturers tech support
Do you actually care about those or are you reliant on the £ in your pocket?
Both options are valid
Paintball overall is pretty much a niche market, slice that into the styles and there is not the true market to support a lot of competing traders.