If you know what gear you want, check out the manufacturers list of stockists / distributors. When I bought my MT2496 I went on the m-audio website and found that one of the shops in town carried it (digital village, cambridge) so I picked one up on my way to work the next morning.
It's also my experience that many music shops carry audio technica mics, not the models we'd be interested in, but I'm sure they would order them if you asked.
Not sure if that helps a lot...
regards,
stephen