Just got an email via eBates. 30% off Kenmore Elite appliances today and tomorrow, with a 6% rebate if ordered via eBates.com. I'm fully applianced-up and installed now, but I hate not to pass on a bargain. This is not a bad one if you're on the verge of buying.

Since no one has chosen to address this query, let me share what I found out on my own shortly after I posted it: that was a phenomenal deal that I should have jumped on the minute I saw it. I did not and the unit was sold later that very same day. I have since learned that the reason why the unit was marked so low had nothing to do with it being an LG product. Instead, and as I learned from a different sales rep and the showroom manager, it was because it had been sitting on the showroom floor for 8 months. In order to get it out the door and to be able to bring in faster-moving merchandise, the manager took the drastic step of marking it all the way down to 75% off. Why it didn't move faster defies explanation except for the fact that it was to close to avocado green in color.(Not exactly a popular appliance color in 2011. lol) But, for me, that color was no problem since the unit would have landed in my basement laundry room, far from public view. FWIW, the showroom manager also explained to me that that model was one of about dozen or so other units of various models and manufacturers, that he'd marked at 75% off as "managers specials." He explained that he goes through this "get 'em out the door" exercise about once per quarter. It just so happened that the day I casually strolled into the store, that Kenmore Elite gas steam dryer was the last of those "specials" still sitting there. With a price tag like that, it was screaming for me to take it home. But, again, having been out of the laundry appliance market for so long, I didn't recognize it as such. :-( Oh well, if there's anything I've learned from this it is: (1) do your homework before you hit the showroom! This way, you at least have a basic understanding of what you're looking at and know whether or not something is a good deal when you see it and (2) if you're looking to make a budget purchase, give yourself time to scour the scratch and dent showrooms on regular basis.

Just called today for my credit. Appliances come on Monday! I was gone all weekend, but just happened to go through the newspaper before it went into the recycle bin. Sure glad I did--got $675 back on what I thought was a good price.

Frigidaire is simply the Electrolux's North American subsidiary for major appliances. If an Elux appliance is made here, it is made in a Frigidaire factory. The "Electrolux" brands are used for the more upscale models with Frigidaire brands being segmented between plain Frigidaire, Frigidaire Gallery and Frigidaire Pro (which sometimes aimed at the Elux market, too.) They pretty much all come out of the same factories. There will be some variation in materials, but the differences are mostly a matter of features and capabilities and design/aesthetic/appearance. Going upmarket does not necessarily mean more reliability and durability. Sometimes the extra features mean that there are just more things that can go wrong and result in more problems as you go further upmarket (which apparently has been the case for SxS and FD fridges bardged as Electrolux and Frigidiare Pro).