Would you trust a local dealer to help you put

NO. Most dealers salesmen will just sell you what they need to sell. Either what makes the most money, or what they have in overstock.
If they think they will never see you again, they sell you crap, if they think they can sell you more real soon, then they just might sell you something decent.

It is true a few dealers might actually sell you what you would really enjoy. But i am afraid there is really no way to know which dealers are honest audiophile lovers, or just wanting to maximize off your ignorance.
And the pressure on the dealer/salesperson to move unwanted stuff or overstock is HUGE...

So all in all, as an idea for neophytes to go to a dealer,, and just buy whatever they want to sell you.. no. You should have a good idea of what you want to buy before you go into a store, and have a distraction free audition. (nothing worse than a short audition a earsplitting levels, all the while the salesperson yammering how great it sounds).

I guess i just do not trust strangers.
Just like going to a used car dealer. Buyer beware.

totally agree with elizabeth on this one

I actually would trust a couple of local dealers that I'm familiar with. I do agree with Elizabeth about strangers, though. My local dealers are not strangers to me and I already know them to be "good". I would have no qualms sending someone to one of those. The owners are there every day and are likely to be on the sales floor helping customers and I think they care about their satisfaction. The hard part is figuring out which dealers are good ones. The best looking store near me is very impressive but is not the best-the best ones are either a bit shabby, small, or filled with cigar smoke but they can put together a great system and they have some of my money.

Nothing to stop you from asking them to put together a system on paper and, if possible, auditioning the stuff in their shop and if possible in your home. But before you buy you should check the internet forums and see if the advise is sound.

I wasted a lot of time and money when I first started out with high end stuff relying just on merchants for advise. Elizabeth's comments are very realistic.

I would not personally, but its always better to consult with someone knowledgeable and trustworthy when one is not sure what to do alone.

I know a local dealer that I would trust for the most part if needed. There are others I would not. It all depends...