How many times can u visit a hifi store before it annoys the store if u plan on a purchase

I remember back in 1977 going to Lyric HIFi in Manhattan to buy a Dynavector 20B cartridge. Mike Kaye owned the store then. After sizing me up as someone not likely to spend thousands he made me wait in the vestibule while he went to fetch the cartridge. Apparently this was his behavior if he didn’t like the cut of your jib.

@curiousjim : "...and I just chuckled."

I managed a stereo store back in the mid-1970s and we had several types of "regulars." 

• Those who bought piecemeal, coming in to buy a single component as their budget allowed.
• Those who stopped by on a regular basis to check out the new brands or models that we'd picked up.
• Those who were interested in audio as a hobby and would stop by to chat. These people generally fell into one of two categories. There were those who were enjoyable and courteous and understood we had a business to run so never took us away from customers there to buy.  They were always welcome in our store. Then there were the arrogant jerks that seemed more interested in arguing, belittling, wasting time and interfering with sales.  Guess what we thought about them!

So, how often are you welcome at a store? It depends on you. (Of course, there is no shortage of arrogant jerk audio store owners and salespeople, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out you don't want to spend time there.)

+1 @celtic66  You get it.  Cheers 

In the 80's there was a Boulder Sound Gallery in downtown Denver. As I worked downtown I'd pop in about once a week to see what was new or just shoot the breeze. I never gave them the "someday" line. I never monopolized their time and when there were other customers, I'd just nod or wave and stay out of the way. 

It didn't take long until they were comfortable with me and moreso when I did start buying things. (I had a young family and money was tight.) One day I went in to buy some Monster Cable and connectors to make my own. They asked if I'd be interested in a barter: I'd make cables for their listening room and in return, I'd get mine for free. Win-win! 

Eventually I bought my Acoustat 1+1s and an ARC SP3-A that had come in on trade. 

My point is, there's a right way and wrong way to hang out in an audio store or any business for that matter. Don't be a dick and you should be okay.