Bill, you make a good point about a dealer of anything not wanting a defective product in his showroom, but at the same time, a new car on the showroom floor and a toilet on display are hardly comparable. And that said, it is unlikely that a plumbing supply would use a defective toilet for a display. A plumbing dealer would inspect incoming merchandise very carefully and return a defective unit immediately. It should be noted that no one on the forum that I am aware of say that ALL AS toilets are faulty, just that those sold to discount stores seem to have a much higher percentage of defects. Is that proof? Probably not in court, but for many professional plumbers it's proof enough that they don't deal with them. If AS seems to be the best deal for you, go for it. There are many folks that have them and are very satisfied and maybe you will be too.