That shocked me when I was there. But I loved it. And the beers at the shopping mall were wonderful too. 
I always just assumed that the items purchased at HD were of lesser quality–depending on the item. I don’t see the fraud involved IF the light fixture is made of a cheaper metal, thinner, with a skimpier coating on the brass etc. It’s gonna be a cheaper price, but then-you get what you pay for.
I haven’t seen what the OP describes–the hoodwinking of the consumer by goosing with the specs etc.
Waht I have experienced, with handtools for the garden, is mostly in design and materials. The good trowels have a heft and balance, a “handedness”, if you will, that the cheaper ones lack. They will have better connections for the handle and shovel part, the handle will be made of a better grade of wood, the angle of the face of the shovel part will be more finely honed etc.
Garden tools take alot of abuse–I have found that it pays to buy top of the line (not from specialty catalogues–there you are paying for the name etc), but top of the line HD (hand tools, not power-don’t know about power) do very well.