> Has anybody else heard of this?
> Howard

I'm sure that in some cases it's true. Certain chains will actually get their own unique model numbers that are very similar to other numbers in a given product line, so that you can't price match easily (most box stores will match the prices of their competitors on identical items). This is especially true for membership warehouse stores like Costco who often sell below what normal retailers can sell.

Maybe more to the point is that there is a real demand for cheap stuff. People make a lot of relatively large purchases with doing little to no research, and so it's in the manufacturer's interest to also keep prices down by offering cheap models. I honestly have no clue if it's the box stores demanding it or just the manufacturers responding to market pressures. Probably both.

Stephen