Do I buy my tickets from the states? If so, can you recommend the website/company? I think Ingo said I should wait 'til I'm there and just get them at the station (in March), but I'm not sure...

Whatever I've read by Ingo sounded eminently reasonable and knowledgeable. I'd take his word for it. But if you're in Como a little earlier, I wouldn't wait until your departure date to buy the tickets.

I also will be in Como in March, what part of March are you going? I believe I will buy my ticket when I arrive in Zurich, spend the night then train down to Como the next day.

Sounds like we're going in opposite directions. My trip is from March 19-26. The first few days will be in the little town of Chiavenna in the Italian Alps and then off to Zurich for 3 days. I've already been to Lake Como and won't be spending much time there--just seeing the Villa Carlotta which I missed my first time around and using Como for car rental and trains.

Buy them there when you first arrive and get it over with then. I see no need to buy them in advance through an agency in the US which may charge you S+H fees, etc. You may not even need seat reservations which are vastly overpriced when bought through many overseas agencies.

Excuse me if this is a dumb question: are train stations the only place to buy them there? Getting to the train station in advance could be an inconvenience.

You can buy them at any travel agency displaying the Trenitalia logo as well.