Agreed, I've had the same experience with clothing. I have a 15-year old sweater that is still in better condition than the ones I purchased one or two years ago.

It seems to me that most stores either sell counterfeit products, or all mid-tier brands have given up and sell low-tier products for the same old prices. It's no surprise then that consumers are flocking to low-price, low-tier stores: at least they know what they get.