Polly, why do you think they would do something like this? Lots of thoughts go thru my mind. Could it be that they (somebody) was pretty far along with a hybridization program and abruptly decided to discontinue it for some reason? Maybe it was replaced by another higher priority program? And these were put out there to recoup at least some of their expense. I don't think they were put out there to reap a profit, do you?
At any rate, its very interesting. I agree, I think you should go ahead and buy a flat if you have the room to row them out. Something else I saw recently that one doesn't see anymore--a regional B/B store like HD selling individual bags of 15 mixed Trumpets for $14.99 (imported from the Netherlands) I passed on that.