Doesn't a retailer sell cheaper than MSRP?
Not always.
MSRP is just a suggestion. Most of the time the MSRP = retail. Some items, like vehicles, kitchen appliances, furniture, machinery (the type you find in factories, not the type you find in the garage), and other large items, MSRP =/= retail. That's when you get discrepancies in price and the whole "wholesale" scheme going on (although it's not illegal, just a buzzword to make it seem like you are getting a deal).
Manufacturer sells it to wholesaler for a lower price, they sell it to retailer at a slightly higher price who then sells it to the customer at a slightly higher price than they paid but still usually lower than MSRP, no?
MSRP is what the manufacturer
suggests the retail price to be. What the manufacturer sells it to the wholesaler and/or retailer is not the MSRP, but the manufacturer's price.
That's why, if you go shopping for a large item, you don't ask what the MSRP is, but what the manufacturer's price is, the actual cost the retailer/wholesaler purchased the item for. That's the amount you know the retailer/wholesaler will
not go under, and if you get that item for that price, you know that the sales person lied to you.