W Tyler,
I'd seen it a little lower than $299 but this was local and HD assembled it. Of course, after I picked it up I saw how simple it would have been to assemble. I had a really bad experience with the assembly of a gas grill several years ago. I also wanted something fast for a 4th of July cook. I bought it over the phone on July 3 and picked it up around 8:00 on the 4th.
I've read where some folks around Atlanta have found a few at HD for $41. HD does some strange discount pricing. Maybe Weber is changing something or it may just be some local HD thing. I've gotten some real good deals at HD over the years but this is one of the best I've heard of. I went down to my local and they didn't have the WSM. I'd like to have had another one for those one or two times a year that I'd like more capacity. Unfortunately, I doubt my wife would see it that way. A man can go broke (or show up on Hoarders) with a house full of "great deals."