Starting a high-end audio shop... Am I crazy?

I know 2 dealers that cater to 2 channel only. One of the dealers comes from a wealthy family so whether he makes money or not doesn't matter to him. The other dealer recently told me that if it wasn't for 1 great customer he has he would close up tomorrow. I say keep your job and dabble on the side that is my advice.

People are just one mouse click away from a better price these days.
How can you compete with that?

Your desire to 'throw money out the window' is equal to your desire to burn piles of cash on a useless fantasy.
Sorry, but nearly ALL the stores I know of that are 'bricks and mortar' are either going bankrupt, or are nearly doing so.
Only the really big private stores have a chance. you got $25,000,000.00 to invest on a 'midlife crisis'?
If you started a web business, you might have a starter business.
Locally in SE Wisconsin:
Flanners: just moved to a BIG new location, does TV and install big time. (they are the $25,000,000. store) great place!
Sound Investments: How they stay in business is a mystery?
Audio Emporium: nice place (no comment here, just too close to home.. I like them)
Sound Stage: turned into a small, barely surviving 'last stand'.
So!!! you too can go grey worrying about loosing everything you own.
Why not just blow $80,000. on a Corvette?
Or find a hot babe and run away to Mexico?

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is have you made any contacts with manufacturers yet? If there are exisiting dealers in your area for desirable lines you will likely not get those lines. You may be stuck with less desirable lines that are harder to move. Opening a brick and mortar store has a lot of up front costs that you stand a good chance of losing if you don't make it. Additionally, the business will become a time hole, you have to be there when the store is open then you have to take care of all the other things like installations, stroking the good customers, accounting, local politics, etc. I don't recall the number, but there is a very high percentage of small businesses that fail in the first year, and many of those are selling much more popular items. High end audio is such a small sliver of the overall electronics market that it will be an uphill battle. I would definitely go with the recommendation of sticking with your current job and doing this on the side. I think many of the small time folks run the business on the side and use it to feed their hobby. I think the bottom line is, how much can you stand to lose? That will determine how deep you should get into this!

I agree with Rec and Gregm. The overall customer base is relatively small, there is very little support infrastructure, and something not mentioned by either - a fair number of us (part of your customer base) are natural-born cheapskates. I, too, would highly recommend starting your efforts as a "paying hobby." As Gregm noted, the "value proposition" of high-end audio is "weak." The most successful dealers I have run into have something which makes them "sticky" as counterparts. They cater to their customers like personal servants, they specialize in one particular kind of item (only independent manufacturers, only analog, etc), or one particular kind of sales (low margin high turnover, low turnover but one-of-a-kind (or very rare) items), or they have a personality which drives them to be mavens. In each case, the "value" is in the person offering the goods, not the goods themselves.

As a personal aside... Every now and then I try to think of myself trying to make a business out of my hobbies. I have been able to imagine success in a few different hobbies. Audio ain't one. There is A LOT of competition out there.

That said, dreams are there for a reason... best of luck!