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Cerritos-based Craig Consumer Electronics Inc. said a change in an accounting method resulted in a 1996 loss of $5.98 million, or $2.04 a share, as opposed to its previous estimate for the year of net income of $56,000, or 2 cents. The company said at year-end 1996 it had about $5.6 million in vendor credits available which were initially booked as accrued for accounting purposes. Because of the accounting change, the company said it recorded the vendor credits as they were actually realized, instead of as accrued.