"The issue really is the greed on the part of retailers. This forces manufactureres to find ways to reduce production costs so that they can make just a small margin."
I'm not convinced it's really greed...the retailers aren't doing THAT well.
I think a large part of the problem is the ever more prevalent, ever less effective, ever more costly advertising.
The whole advertising model is, in my opinion, breaking down. The rare times I watch broadcast tv, I change the channel the second a commercial comes on, same with radio. I'm an marketing person's worst nightmare.
You are not alone. They will never be able to stuff TiVO back into that genie bottle. Once you get used to watching programs commercial free, there is no going back.
However, I must say that commercials are getting more entertaining. I prefer to watch NFL football in real time so I get the commercials. Some of them are very funny. Only problem is, I have no idea what they are selling. For example, there is this series of "Vonnage" commercials that is hilarious. Just today, they showed some dumb blonde playing with sharks after getting wacked in the head with a "Vonnage" box. I have no idea what "Vonnage" is (I think it's a computer graphics card) but their commercials are great!
I got you beat. I quit watching TV completely. I hate commercials. If I want to watch something, I watch a DVD. Now I have satellite radio. so I never have to hear them.