I've found that this kind is very common; a company will build a good reputation on high-quality products and then slowly lower the quality to make more profit.
It's almost to the point where there should be trademark laws that start to enforce a type of product to protect consumers. Like when Pyrex changed the composition and started breaking. I know it's not feasible to so cleanly draw such lines - for instance, I'd prefer if Lenovo wasn't allowed to use ThinkPad on their current line of items.