With low-end, hi-def TVs in the $500 range, does it make any kind of sense to spend a quarter of that again on cables? Yes, I’m feeling a bit smug and superior today for having spent all of $14 some months ago on a generic HDMI cable at Fry’s (had to search for it — not in the video cable isle for obvious profit reasons) which, as the article mentions, works just as well as Monster Cables at more than 10x the price. Say it with me… digital ain’t analog… digital ain’t analog…
Monster Cables, Monster Ripoff: 80% Markups
Ever wonder why gadget store employees push Monster cables like they’re crack? Bitchin’ markups, just like you suspected all along. That’s what we found when a Radio Shack employee sent us his store’s entire inventory list, which included the wholesale and retail price of every item in stock.
Some cables, like the 19ft HDMI-DVI cable, have markups as high as 80%. Retail: $179.99. Wholesale, $99.40, a profit of $80.54. Or consider the 16 ft S-Video cable, which Radio Shack buys for $61.24 and sells for $114.99. We found non-name brand versions of both on Meritline.com for under $20. It’s not just limited to Radio Shack, Best Buy charges the same retail price, and, presumably, gets them for a similar wholesale price.
Here’s the thing: digital cables, by definition, have no signal loss. A cable is either digital or it’s not. As long as its built to HDMI standards, the only difference between a “fancy” digital cable and a no-name one is the price.
The article lists the markups on all the Monster Cables.
Two problems with Monster Cable & Retail Store.
– Too much quality for what they do
– Too high a markup
If you really want boxed Monster Cables, eBay has a huge selection and roughly 75% cheaper.
Or do what I did, the 1.99 – 5.99 cables from eBay for no-name (all black & gold tip).
What’s funny is debating this with the store salesmen. When I got my Samsung HDTV setup, of course they tried to sell me roughly 400$ worth of cables.
Well, he chose the wrong guy to push. He even called over his manager to convince me.
(idiots)
Needless to say, for years, I’ve used 75 ohm coaxial, screw-on connectors (onto the bare wire), then screw-on coax-to-RCA.
Perfect for analog sound, video, 3-wire composite HD.
#1 – ditto – including trying to sort the salesman.
Radio Shack – I was a store manager in the 70’s and cables amongst other things is their cash cow. Today, Radio Shack (Best Buy) awards sales associates for Monster cable sales, battery sales et al. They are not meant to sell a sound system without the cables – period. Accessories are what makes the store and that is pounded into your head!
I bought a very good HDMI to DVI cable at a “rip the foreigners off” computer market in Shanghai for $4. A DAMN good HDD USB case I use is about $7 and so on.
Cheers
The average everyday person buys these cables. I tell them not to, but they don’t listen. The packaging is so pretty, they can’t NOT buy it.
There’s little profit in the big items like HDTV’s. The profit on accessories are very high, 200% or more. Many sales people have to meet quotas on these products, so of course they’re pushing them. The impulse or uninformed consumers are prime targets.
http://www.monoprice.com got 4 hdmi cable that work wonderfully for a $5 each
#5 FUD – Fear Uncertainty and Doubt
Sales people – Radio Shack, Best Buy et al
Advertising – Call before midnight tonight, quantities are limited et al
Government – War on Terror, National Security so we can do anything the fuck we want to keep you safe, nearly constant orange alert.
Gee, no matter what it is, from Monster cables to Terrorists we are being sold something every minute of everyday!
Cheers
Look carefully at the pictures and the text of this article.
1. The item pictured is a COMPONENT cable. This is an *analog* signal thus a better cable could make a difference.
2. The only digital cable mentioned in the article is the HDMI-DVI cable. At $179 retail the customer should have his head examined and the dealer should be soundly thrashed for paying almost $100 for it in the first place.
3. The last cable mentioned is S-Video – another *analog* cable. Once again quality applies but when I can buy a 6ft S-Video cable at Walmart for $7 why would I consider paying $20.
There have been reviews of these premium quality cables for HDMI/DVI connections and the consensus is that under $30 it makes *NO* difference.
Monoprice is your friend. If you don’t buy from them, at least use it as your starting point.
I meant 30 FEET not $30.
It’s _all_ a big ripoff, it’s not just the digital cables. Blind tests have shown that no human can distinguish so-called high-end cables from ordinary lamp cords. The JREF even offered a price of one million dollars to John Atkinson of Stereophile Magazine and Dave Clark, editor of Positive Feedback Online, if they could successfully distinguish audio cables in a double blinded test. Needless to say none of them have even attempted to collect the money.
This is news? I thought it was common knowledge.
#10 Mister Uncle Ben – Radio Shack used to lifetime guarantee all there branded cables “Realistic” and “Archer” in the 70s early 80’s (I left the US in 83)
I had some old audio cables that I had in my cable box from that time were bad so when I was in the US in 2005 I took them back to Radio Shack for replacement.
Of course the sales associates didn’t know anything about it and neither did the manager which was expected. I stood my ground and finally after the manager called his district manager they replaced the cables and made me sign a paper that the warrantee was satisfied.
I love being a right arsehole sometimes! 🙂
Extended warranties are a scam and is another thing that Radio Shack pushes especially on Cell phones. FUD in action!!
Cheers
Monoprice is also a good alternative for those wo aren’t in the bay area (which, from my understanding, is where most Frys are). HDMI cables around 4$ for 6 feet!
#11 Arthur –
JREF, James Randi is a great place to read about the wacky audio shit general nonsense as well being sold.
http://www.randi.org/joom/content/view/127/27/#i1
Cheers
I was told to leave a Best Buy last year after taking an old couple that was buying a flat panel tv aside and telling them that they may not need an HDMI cable at all and they for sure did not need a $70.00 cable.
I had listened to the sales guys hard sell and was disgusted. This guy had absolutely no idea if the couples source equipment (cable box, sat receiver etc) was even equipped with HDMI. He never asked if they had cable, dish, whatever.
One of the Magnolia guys came over and told me I was “interfering with customers” and that I needed to leave.
Old people should not be allowed to shop for electronics without a chaperone.
Odd how high quality analog video cables have audio connectors. I remember when the RCA connector was called what it is, a phono connector. For you young punks, phono is short for phonograph. A phonograph was used to “spin stax’o’wax.” “Stax’o’wax” were…..nevermind.
Hey – I’m making a fortune selling cryogenically treated wall outlets on eBay. Please stop with this cynical bashing of high end componets.
(My secret for cryogenically treating the outlets? I leave $0.19 wall outlets outside overnight whenever the temperature is going below -40)
#11, Arthur,
I agree. I was about to point that out so maybe I could just repost what you already said.
Monster is defiantly way over priced. I only one 1 and it is 50 ft long.
I recommend everyone go read Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” Then come back and tell me what you think you know of quality. If you have never seen a true HD signal (MOST OF YOU I BET) then you are not a good judge of quality. Anyone who claims they know about HDMI technology and the bandwidth demands of a Deep Color 1080p signal with Dolby True HD audio and says there is no difference in the cables shows that are just blovating and think they are smarter than those who can afford better things. I have bought the entire range of cables and there is without a question a difference between the really cheap cables and something like Monster. Not that Monster always makes better cables or that they aren’t overpriced. They don’t and They are!! The big difference is Drop Outs. There are different specs for HDMI and not all cables are capable of the bandwidth that is required for all signals. To claim otherwise just shows that you know nothing more than the average layman about HD.
#21, j:
It is true that there are more than one HDMI standard, and the different standards require different bandwidths. But if you have, say a HDMI 1.3 capable cable it will be as good as any cable with the same specs (bandwidth of at least 340 MHz). My advise to anyone is to purchase the least expensive cable that meets the bandwidth requirement. It will be indistinguishable from a more expensive cable.
PS. But remember that not all so-called “HDMI 1.3 compliant” cables actually give you all the features that the standard offers. Just don’t be fooled into believing that the price alone says anything about what features a HDMI cable has.
I’m shocked! Shocked! So the $29.95 USB printer cable they sell at Best Buy is exactly the same as the cable I bought at the dollar store for $1 !
Serious question for anyone: Does it make a difference if I use a USB 1.0 cable to connect a USB 2.0 device to a USB 2.0 port?
Arthur
“My advise to anyone is to purchase the least expensive cable that meets the bandwidth requirement. It will be indistinguishable from a more expensive cable.”
I couldn’t agree more!!!
The problem is that a lot of the “cheap” cables are not 1.3 compliant. Even if they say they are.
Price has never been a factor. I buy what is best. Like I said I only own 1 Monster cable and the only reason I bought it was that they were the only ones that could provide me a quality cable a 50 ft. I own a bunch of different HDMI cables at the 6 to 10 ft. lengths. I find that for a good cable you are looking at around $50. Not $10. Every cable I bought at $10 and $20 were worthless except for people that own cheap TV’s and components from Bestbuy or Circuit City.
#24: Nope
#26
Well????? Uncle Dave I have noticed I don’t get quite the same bit rate with a USB 1 cable. It is close enough but all things being equal……..
I use eSATA and fiber channel for most stuff anyway. USB is for cameras and crap devices.
While the article is correct that Monster Cables are overpriced (and always have been), it’s silly that they use a comparison of the wholesale and retail RadioShack prices to backup their assertions. Those RadioShack wholesale prices already reflect a ridiculous markup (probably at least 4-10x) on cost.
Monster Cable has always been an example of the power of marketing. In fact, the typical semi-knowledgable assertion “well, yeah, they’re overpriced, but at least they’re top quality” is also incorrect. A lot of Monster Cable products, particularly speaker wire, are not even very good quality (e.g. 16 gauge wire).
And, more generally, everything said in the article about markups on Monster Cable applies to ALL accessories. As others have noted, accessories are the cash cow of the electronics departments of BestBuy, Circuit City, Radio Shack, etc. Markups of 800% or more are not uncommon on accessories in these departments. Monster Cable may be one of the easiest targets, because of their high profile and similarly high prices, but they aren’t–by any means–the only, or worst, offenders.
I shall throw in two things here. a DUH! and a Ha Ha.
Oh and here Chicago where I am playing shut in. It’s a matter shipping cost plus how other stuff I need to buy.
Cables and cleaning supplies and other computer nick nacks from wherever the price is cheapest, baby.
All “high end” cables are a ripoff. Any atheist should be able to figure that one out.
On Radio Shack lifetime guarantees: I know a couple of people who have brought life guaranteed vacuum tubes back to RS within the past 5 years. Once you get past the counter help who thinks it is a light bulb, and get to someone of authority, they will try to find you a new tube, from some cache in Texas somewhere or from other sources. Alas, the replacement has a 90 day guarantee, and if no replacement is available, they will pay you based on (IIRC) the last tube price list they had, which was circa 1985 or so.
#17 Perry Noiya “Odd how high quality analog video cables have audio connectors.”
If I remember correctly back to my electronic days audio cable is 75ohm but the RCA plug and jack is 50ohms due to the physical dimensions of the conductor to the dielectric – there is a formula I got buried somewhere… There is loss of signal from the impedance mismatch but not much to worry about.
#25 J
Standards are created so as anything complying with that standard has predictable and reproducible results. The problem is not the HDMI standard but whether the cable you bought is certified to the HDMI standard. That sir, is a makes all difference in the world! 🙂
I can buy LAM cable that looks like CAT 6 but is not certified CAT 6. See my point?
If you buy cables made to a standard and are certified as being such from a reputable manufacturer there is no difference from the consumer fashion cables like monster. Good certified cables do not mean expensive – you just need to know where to buy them.
There are counterfeited cables everywhere and that is what you are seeing as poor performance.
Cheers
You are NOW just finding this out? this scam has been going on for a while now