I dont have a store nearby, so i do most of my headphone exploring by buying and reselling used headphones. Havent made a profit nor a loss in 20 or so headphones. But in my country (Netherlands) the market is pretty bad, especially with the higher end stuff. People try to sell their (ab)used stuff often for more than new price and get annoyed when you offer them a more realistic price.
Only just recently started entering the hobby and realised that where i stay is the Mecca of the iem world, Singapore. Audio shops like Zeppelin where you can demo almost high end iem and dap you dream of, to visiting Crinacle’s hangout where you can demo his own personal collection. It’s also the home to upcoming major brands like fatfreq, symphonium, nightjar acoustics, subtonic. Count myself very lucky