Thanks what kind of local dealers do you recommend? I'm a Richer Sounds fanboy, but they aren't very good for headphone choices...
Most dealers have clearance offers for surplus stock, obsolete stock, open box, seasonal sales and returns etc. Keep an eye on websites. Some I have used include:
Peter Tyson, got my Oppo PM-2 and Audio Technica MSR7 at good discount (£440 & £140 respectively), new sealed and no complaints about the service;
Polar Audio Ebay shop, they are the UK distributors of Beyerdynamic and I got my T5P II for £399, they were sold as B stock but they were brand new and I suspect they wanted to reduce stock without damaging price level for potential future re-stock, again no issues at all;
Hifiexpress EBay shop, got my Denon D7200 for £315 + £15 postage as B stock. Box had been opened but the contents were immaculate, very positive experience;
Hifiheadphones, got my Etymotic ER4 SR for £220 clearance, again a very positive experience.
I like Richer Sounds and have bought quite a lot from them. The local branch is a five minute drive away and they have always provided excellent service and good support but for some reason my headphones have been bought elsewhere.
The only negative experience I had was with the Harman direct sales shop with B stock AKG N90Q headphones. They were excellent headphones but when they had issues I was very unimpressed with customer service.