Availability of 27mm f/2.8 WR?

You're absolutely correct, small friendly local camera shops where you could actually see what your are buying are almost a thing of the past. There are two camera stores left in my area; one is about 40 miles South and only sells Nikon, while the other is about 25 miles North and is part of a New England chain with eight or nine stores. But the chain store has radically changed over the past four of five years to the point that I have no interest to go there. The store used to be fully stocked every major brand and the entire staff were retired professional photographers or camera technicians. But now, the staff has been replaced with warm bodies that don't know zip about photography and are just there to push what the company is looking to unload, and that's about all you find in the store now. If you want to look at something else, it has to be brought down from their central warehouse in Boston. I did that to look at a lens I was interested in and when it arrived with their weekly delivery, I went to the store to check it out, but the warm body on duty was already bagging it up, still in the box, and ringing it up. When I told him I just asked to look at this lens and had no idea yet if I'm going to buy, he just looked at me with a deer in the headlights stare and finally said, I don't think I'm allowed to take it out of the box. So I walked out and have not been back.

I have also noticed that Adorama Roberts, and several other large US dealers are selling stuff on Amazon and eBay. B&H seems to still be going it alone.