I have been fortunate to have 3 dealers I do business with. One in Nashville, one in Denver, and one in Louisiana that send me components to audition in my listening environment. I live out in the country in South Dakota.
I also found the post by @vinylvalet quite interesting and to a degree to be true. Not sure where he gets his or hers economic information from?
Consumers have voted with their money; very accurate Chinese counterfeits at aliexpress for a fraction of the price including many popular cable brands, buying out of state from small mail order dealers to avoid local sales tax, plenty of great gear on the used market with a lot more to come at the next recession, many great kit and DIY options and the recent trend towards high value factory direct with little or no dealer mark up (Schiit, PS Audio). I also believe this relatively small market can’t possibly support all the brands and models available now. Many will fold in the upcoming recession and there goes your warranty, used value and repair options.