An update if anyone is interested.
So I got the money back as I said, and discovered another Panasonic outlet. Apparently there were two, and not only one in the city as I had been lead to believe.
So I went and asked for the G10, which they had, and decided to test it before buying.
Would you believe it... single horizontal black line.
W T F!?
At this point I am thinking Panasonic, like other companies, ships its trash to this part of the world where people are less likely to be able to create a fuss that hurts their reputation as much.
The messed up thing is that plasma has spoiled me, and I don't want a new LCD. I may risk buying a piece that is working in store for a 10 day replacement guarantee.