‘Other’ MP3 players getting widespread markdowns?

Reader nt wonders where all the folks are who said the iPod shuffle would be a flop. Apparently, they're busy marking down their players. I ventured out to ye olde bastion of capitalism, The Mall, this evening and noticed that, almost universally, in every electronics store I
went into (and believe you me I went into them all. Even the kiosks. I sold two phones at the T-Mobile kiosk before anyone noticed I wasn't an employee.), the 'other' MP3 players were marked down. Typical markdowns were between $20 and
$30, and it was pretty much across the board: Creative, Rio, MPIO, etc.

Is this merely a phenomenon localized to my Ithaca, NY burg? Are other folks seeing mondo price drops from the
other manufacturers who are so
disparaging of Apple's new, feature-impoverished player that can't be kept in stock?