Joe
I think we have all been there!
There is always the 'dance' involved when seeking to form a relationship with any new dealer.
The bad ones will give themselves away by some of the tricks you mention plus displays of sheer arrogance, rudeness and disinterest.
If this is your experience, then walk away and keep trying until you find a dealer who is also an enthusiast and interested in getting you to where you want to go.
It is a two-way street though and we as customers should be prepared to demonstrate that we are serious purchasers and not just 'tyre kickers' out to waste the time of someone who has a living to make.
If we fail to support dealers they will eventually disappear, along with the opportunity to benefit from their experience, knowhow and access to some really good gear!
Steve.
My System:- dCS Vivaldi Transport + dCS Vivaldi Apex DAC + dCS Vivaldi Master Word Clock + dCS Vivaldi Upsampler Plus, Aurender N20 Music Server/Streamer, TW Raven One tt/Graham Phantom II/Transfiguration Orpheus L & Audio Technica ART20 mc's, Whest Titan Pro, D'Agostino Momentum HD pre/S250 MxV power amp, TAD CR-1 MKII loudspeakers, REL Gibraltar G2 subs, Coherent Systems BD Mains, interconnects & speaker cables, Sablon Audo EVO USB cable, Tellurium Q Ultra Silver power cords, Ziro Disclosure & Vertex Roraima Hi-Rez power cords + Furutech FI connectors, Stillpoints ESS racks/component stands, Vertex Aletheia PSU2 balanced power supply, Coherent Systems RTZ3 ground box + CR/BD cables, Acoustica Applicata DaaD room treatment, Mutec Ref10 SE-120.