Subdoofus, I couldn't agree with you more. I am an engineer and I never wear a suit or even "business casual" (ok maybe a couple times a year) but never on a weekend shopping for audio gear. There are two high-end stores in my area, one I refuse to do business with because they ignore me when I walk into their store. I have to help myself to the equipment and when I do, they seem bothered that I'm touching their precious electronics. They become pushy asking me how much I expect to spend on a system today. I already own a "system" so usually I'm looking to upgrade a piece. Their college drop out sales people all wear white shirt and tie and most of them aren't even pressed and neat. I probably make several times their income in a year but I don't wear it. I wear blue jeans, sandles, and t-shirts. Because of the way I'm treated at that store, I *do* use them sometimes for auditioning gear then I leave and *buy* used on the internet or from an internet dealer. Lately I just avoid them and steer my friends to another dealer.
By contrast, there's another dealer in the Denver area who's been in the business a long time and he basically runs his store out of his house. It's an older house but large and well kept with a huge basement for the home theater gear. He carries some high-end brands and some value brands and he encourages me to play with anything I like, offers to loan equipment to me for a week at a time or longer, and gives me a 20% discount off the top w/o even asking. Anything I audition from this store, I buy. Just this past summer I bought my tube amp, a tube preamp, and FM tuner from his store. In this case it wouldn't be right for me to save a couple bucks buying off the internet. I value his service and fair price. But if there's a piece he doesn't carry and the other store does, I'll *use* the other store and buy from an internet dealer.
By contrast, there's another dealer in the Denver area who's been in the business a long time and he basically runs his store out of his house. It's an older house but large and well kept with a huge basement for the home theater gear. He carries some high-end brands and some value brands and he encourages me to play with anything I like, offers to loan equipment to me for a week at a time or longer, and gives me a 20% discount off the top w/o even asking. Anything I audition from this store, I buy. Just this past summer I bought my tube amp, a tube preamp, and FM tuner from his store. In this case it wouldn't be right for me to save a couple bucks buying off the internet. I value his service and fair price. But if there's a piece he doesn't carry and the other store does, I'll *use* the other store and buy from an internet dealer.