Hello, sorry for the frighteningly late response, haha.
Hm, as for what I would ask for an in-store thermostat? I am honestly not sure, I'd actually prefer to take other's advice on that one. The only thermostat I've ever worked with is from Vivarium Electronics and it was a bit more expensive that what most people would look into at PetsMart. I'm kind of curious as to what cheaper thermostats are recommended in the hobby!