Store auditioning and then buying on-line from others. How do you feel about it ?

I always try to support good local dealers when you can find them. In the long run they can save you money by offering good advice and sometimes can link you with great deals on trade ins from other customers. But many dealers aren’t great and have bad attitudes. For those I don’t care. 

Brick and mortar dealers can go straight to Hell.

There, I said it.

Small selection, poor attitudes, RUSHING CUSTOMERS, goofball markups, and generally being useless.

Can someone explain why I must pay huge amounts to visit some dealership's small mostly useless showroom during working hours so I can have the exclusive privilege of having them ship a box to me I could just as well get from the manufacturer?

If you have a little showroom with not quite what I want and you cling to me playing 30 second snippets and chat at me, the only thing you're going to sell is the idea of me leaving.

There's like 100 shows a year, I don't really NEED to go to a dealership. So just be like those "by appointment only" dealers that are just local distributors there to take a chunk of my bank account for the exclusive privilege of buying audio gear. 

" Brick and mortar dealers can go straight to Hell."

After reading a good sampling of your posts, it appears to me that your attitude might be the sole reason your journey in high-end audio is less that satisfying for you. 

+1 dill. Though I can understand madavid0's sentiment.
When I recall the pretentious attitudes that more than a few dealers in Manhattan gave me, I too, wished them an eternal residence in a fiery pit.
Thankfully, not all of them deserve such a fate.

B

I was in a local high end store today to purchase some records and it was a thoroughly pleasant experience.  They had some nice speaker playing so I sat to listen.  A salesman asked if he could help me at all.  I explained I wasn't currently in the market even though I really like the brand of speaker playing.  Told him I don't wish to bother him especially if he has another customer who is in buying mode.  But since the speaker was already playing thought I'd listen for a moment.  He was completely pleasant, said they completely encourage sitting, relaxing and listening to anything, and no problem about not being in buying mode.  He'd play any system I'd like.

Good move.  That's the way to treat customers if you can do it.  I know that a number of times over the years I've been in a similar "I'm in the market at this time" mode (and made sure the proprietor knew it), but when the proprietor played me a system or two I was like "Hey, that was pretty damned nice."  It put the bug in me which later turned into my purchasing the item later on from his store.

If I get the itch for yet another speaker, e.g. for a second system, now I have what I heard at the store in the back of my mind.