Audio stores going out of business?

I have gotten locked-out of a few brands that are not sold in my area. Most high end audio manufacturers--to both their credit and detriment--protect their distrubuters. So that makes it nearly impossible to get something mail-ordered. And on top of that I cannot audition the stuff. Sadly, I may be forced to find the best that HTS or Tweeter has to offer and make my purchases there.

Things seem to be booming here in Atlanta.

living in the nj-ny area,there are quite a number of so - called high end shops,yes they sell very expensive audio,and carry the brands we most lust for,but sincere and informative information is a lost art.you could walk into any of these dealers and the mix bag of information from sales person to sales person is a joke.profit and commissions are priorty,i feel we as music lover's and audiophlies are really catching on to the primary interest of audio manufacturers and dealers.MONEY.this is leading to a decline in new 2ch audio system's.look at the USED market.

It's a tough buisness.
I own a small used audio store here in Minneapois,and in a span of about 1 year I have seen 3 hi-end dealers close their doors.I suspect the two remaining ones are struggling
as well. The used market is not much better thanks largely to E-Bay and the likes. I can't tell you how many times a cutomer has mentioned a used piece that they have,and when I ask what their plans are for it they say "oh,I think I'll throw it on e-bay cause I'll get more that I can selling it locally".
Folks,If you have a dealer or even a used or consignement shop locally that your on good terms with,Please support him! The brick and mortar guys have expenses like rent,utilities,insurance,after sale repairs[unavoidable]
sales tax, and a host of others that most folks don't realize just to keep the doors open.
Sorry about the rant,But this buisness is not all a bed of roses and the customer needs to realize that the stores don't run on kool-aide.

Cornfedboy - I saw a Soundtrack on on the way to DIA this Xmas. Scary. It dwarfs the Tweeter stores here in Dallas, which are popping up like cockroaches.
My TT dealer(out of state) was forced to locate his store in his house because his dot-com investors bailed. Says he likes, though, and he gives me the impression that he will sell audio no matter what misfortune he encounters. All my other chickies are accounted for. Good luck, guys.