Your right that's why its a must that the consumer knows what he or she is buying.
I wish more people would do this, but it's often not the case for people new to the hobby or just don't care that much about fish.
This is how I got started with tropheus. Got one from petco many years ago. I threw him in my 125G african cichlids tank, I really liked him, and he did well. Then I learned more about them and I have kept several colonies since then. I currently have a two small colonies in my 90G, again mixed with malawi haps and peacocks. If that petco didn't have a trepheus, I may have never gotten started on them. So, I am glad they carried one.
That's a very cool success story but I have my doubts about the average big box store customer who purchases these fish.