Dear Johnsellman,
I purchased a Lowe's Master Forge LP Vertical Gas Smoker from Lowe's about the same time you were looking. Upon investigation some stores only received one for display and some did not get any for display. According to the Lowe's home office in North Carolina, (Charlotte I think) this is a new item but due to the weight and stacking requirements of these items, (they can not be stacked higher than 4 units high), they must be ordered from the Lowe's web site or at a Lowe's store, then they are shipped to the store within 5 business days and you can go by and pick it up or you can have it shipped to your home but the shipping to home is exorbitant. I called my local Lowe's Store, spoke with the manager of Lawn and Garden, told him what I wanted and the item number that I had retrieved from the Lowe's web site. He took my information, my credit card information and told me they would send me an e-mail when it arrived and a phone call. 3 days later I did receive a phone call from the store that my item had arrived and could be picked up at any time, I also received an e-mail from Lowe's telling me it was ready for pick up at my local Lowe's Store. I went to the store showed them some photo ID and my credit card and they even loaded the Master Forge Smoker into my Honda CRV. It was no problem at all to purchase this from Lowe's.
I have not smoked with mine yet but have gotten it put together and ready to go, it is a beautiful unit with plenty of adjustable vents and adjustable chimney, 2 good fitting doors one for wood chips and water access and one big one for access to the food. This keeps the smoke chamber temperature up when you have to add wood chips or water. From what I see this is an excellent unit, heavy duty enough for my use, easy to put together, just follow the instructions! I am sure if you go on line to Lowe's.com you can find the unit along with the description and specifications. To me it was well worth the money charged.