Sometimes, customers who are happy with their inexpensive mowers will upgrade to pricier models sold only by independent dealers.

But analysts say the trend is still intact; the 1997 data is a result of large sales of children's bikes and a push by stores to cut inventories to make room for pricier models.

It was not the one Joe had selected; Tannim had switched it on him for a pricier model with a CD player in it.

Does Veracruz stack up favorably against its competitors, and can it undercut pricier models from rival brands?

These pricier models are likely to offer sophisticated control panels and feature the newest technological advances in the industry.

The silvery WinBook X1 is about an inch deeper than its competitors, a depth that accommodates a 13.3-inch screen on the pricier models.

The two-way radios are sold in pairs for $29 to $129; pricier models have more channels, additional features (like access to weather broadcasts) and claim a longer range - up to five miles under some conditions.

A pricier model might just have added features that have nothing to do with safety.

"A salesperson who knows that you're ready to buy may be willing to sell you a pricier model for the same price to nab the sale," the magazine says.

For one thing, the convertible-sofa trade had changed: the industry was shifting away from Castro's pricier models to lower-priced sofas, Ms. Castro said, and the company's sales had declined by 30 percent between 1986 and 1992.