Walking Into A Brick & Mortar High End Audio Store

There is an interesting piece about what separates mediocre dealers from good dealers from superb dealers written by Jim Smith on the site for High Fidelity Report. Based on the criteria that Jim describes, I'd say that only a fraction of dealers I've encountered over the decades meet his standards.
Cajun: I hear you, but think about this: if the car shopping (say an older exotic) involved the kind of work on the part of the dealer comparable to asking an audio dealer to set up a particular turntable/cartridge with a particular rig in the shop and you went in on a Saturday, asking that the car dealer let you do a compression test on the motor, and put the car on a lift to see the underbody, and maybe pull a wheel, I doubt you'd get much traction as a casual walk-in. You'd call first, and say, I'd like to look at this car, and have a quick PPI.
I walked away from a car once because the sales guy was busy with another customer, and I hadn't called in advance. (It was a vintage exotic). I shoulda bought the thing; it's value skyrocketed over the course of the next couple years.
Enjoy the Audis.

Mitch4t, I have known a B/M dealer since I moved from NY 36 years ago. I really don't know of any anywhere in Texas now. The internet is responsible for this. When I lived in Tallahassee for eight years, there were three B/M dealers and typically I would visit two of them regularly. They were within walking distance of FSU. There was little access to buying anything outside where you lived in those days, except when I went to conferences in Chicago, NYC, or Atlanta. I could not buy London Decca cartridges in Tallahassee but could and did in Chicago, but most of what I bought was from those two local dealers. All the audiophiles in knew (about six) were in town. But along came AudioMart, a monthly for sale listing. I met three guys through it to whom I still occasionally communicate.

Later came the internet and being able to seek best buys, learn other audiophiles experiences, etc. Now Tallahassee has no B/M dealers, Houston has maybe one, Chicago's are all in the suburbs, etc. I know several dealers who operate out of their homes. I suspect that all local dealers will vanish in the future with a few exceptions, such as grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations,etc. I'm presently in New Mexico and know of a wood burning stove retailer in Taos. He survives, no doubt because many heat their homes there with wood burning.

Yes, it would be nice to hear components before you buy them, but I guess reviews, whether professional or just from friends, shows, like Rocky Mountain AF, and occasional visits in big cities have to serve your interests in new products. Lots of cars are sold over the internet now, but no doubt they are test driven first at local dealers. In the case of cars servicing suggests that dealers might earn more doing that rather than selling cars.

Tbg,

I don't know where you are in Texas, it's a big country. But Galen Carol at Galen Carol Audio in San Antonio is a great guy and is an excellent example of an exceptional brick & mortar audio dealer.

Audiodistinction, I haven't had any dealings with Galen in a long time, but he operated out of his house when I last did.

I had mentioned early on in this thread that if you walk in, I'm sure a large percentage end up buying if they didn't intend on buying. Cajunpepe did this the same thing with 300k worth of Audi's. (Good man. Never liked the bimmers and I did own one ages ago).