Or it may be that the merchandise was no longer his; his creditors may have seized the assets (legally) to secure their debts. Or the merchandise may have been used as colaterral for loans that were not repaid (pretty much the same thing, I guess).
Insolvency
I have visited and bought from a small high end shop for the last two years. Just today I went down to the store to buy some accessories. The store was dark and the front door had a sign on it: "Insolvency sale delayed until Monday because of sickness." I was shocked and sad since the store was run by two trully passionate long-time audio hobbyists into vinyl and nice tube gear. It was different, innovative, carried hard-to-get equipment from small, underground manufacturers. Here is my question: over the years when I bought a piece of equipment from the store, they would keep the warranty card with the promise to take care of repairs if the item broke. Now that the shop is gone, I have several pieces of equipment whose warranty I am unsure of. Will the manufacturer repair if I just show a receipt from an out-of-business audio shop? I assume that I will not be getting any of my current orders from this shop (luckily, I did not give them any cash deposits in advance). Have any of you had similar experiences?