I'm sure this is not news to most people, but for what it's worth....
I looked up tires at the Firestone website, picked out the tire I wanted, called the closest shop and then went in the next day. When I got there, they "were out" of that tire. But had the next more expensive in that type on hand for $15 more each. All the specs, including speed rating, etc., were the same online. I asked what's the difference, and was told "this one is a much, much better tire." So I thought, $15 is OK -- better tire and I can stop checking around.
So the salesman wrote up the order, and the total for 2 tires was $95 more than the cost of the tires. I was surprised at the total and asked him to break it down. That included required charges (tax & disposal fee), installation, balancing and 2 different warranties. Removing the warranties, the total was sill $60 more. Which was OK, but add the extra amount for not getting the tire I originally wanted, I decided to keep shopping.
Long story kind of shorter..... I called another shop of the same brand, they sold me the original tires I wanted, and got out with the total $30 less than the first shop.
Also, I asked the 2nd shop what was the difference in the 2 tires, and he said "nothing except just one has raised black letters on one side."
I know this is not much of a price savings, but the point is - the first shop was not being truthful but was within a mile of my house. The 2nd shop was truthful and 5 miles away. So everyone loses, except the 2nd shop.