I was at Lows a few days ago looking for some screws I could use for framing. I have a tough time driving nails at different angles and like to always have 3-4 inch screws handy. I couldn't find them. I bought them there before but couldn't find them. An eager employee asked if I needed help and I told him what I wanted. We looked and looked. They had painted deck screws and other painted screws (very pricey). Then he said most people just use the drywall screws so they don't carry the normal screws anymore! Drywall screws? Those brittle black things? I told him they are not good for framing, that they aren't strong enough, but he just said that is all they carry because that is what sells. The only other screws anywhere near the size I wanted were in those little packs of 5 or 10 at some outrageous price.
Oh, and another Lows special... I happened to be looking at emergency lighting and looked at the 6 volt gel cell batteries. By dumb luck I looked at the expiration dates! Three out of 4 were expired. I asked if they will discount them for clearance and they got all huffy about it. Then one master brain manager took them into the office to read the voltage. When he came out he said that all they need is to be charged. (I'd guess that means they aren't even over 6 volts anymore). I asked him what kind of load did he put on them to test and he got all pissed off and mumbled something. So still (since last time I walked by and checked) they are trying to sell old expired batteries, for EMERGENCY lighting. That's great, when it comes to an emergency, they sell old batteries that are likely to fail.