Does anyone know why HDMI cables are so expensive?

[Bownesian]

I checked them out at Best Buy and the options were 50$ or 70$ for a cable. When I look at online stores, the cheapest are about 2$.

I get a feeling that if I were to order some online, I would end up with something that didn't work.

Does anyone have any widsom about this issue?

[HotHotHeat]

Memory Express is a good place to buy them.

[bigalspratty]

Cables have a ton of mark up in them.
If you get a good branded one, thats the way to go. I wouldnt invest in the best, but make sure it does what you want it to. Like 1080P versus 720P/1080I. I wouldnt spend over $75 on a monster cable. I like the monster stuff myself, because it comes with the lifetime warranty, and it is exchanged over the counter at any futureshop or best buy.

Just my opinion on the subject.

[kukkudo]

try www.monoprice.com

[Methanolic]

Princess Auto.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by kukkudo

try www.monoprice.com

Yup. Monoprice is the place to go for cables. Nowhere else.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by bigalspratty

Cables have a ton of mark up in them.
If you get a good branded one, thats the way to go. I wouldnt invest in the best, but make sure it does what you want it to. Like 1080P versus 720P/1080I. I wouldnt spend over $75 on a monster cable. I like the monster stuff myself, because it comes with the lifetime warranty, and it is exchanged over the counter at any futureshop or best buy.

Just my opinion on the subject.

Except that for the price of one Monster cable you can probably buy 10 from monoprice, and swap them out every time you wreck one. When was the last time you invoked the lifetime warranty on a cable anyways?


For HDMI and other digital interfaces, digital signals don't degrade due to wiring (until you get to absurd lengths, and then you need another solution no matter what kind of cable you use) - it either works, or it doesn't. So spending more money on "better" cables is a waste of money

[BlAcKNoVa]

Got mine from monoprice aswell. Great site.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Bownesian

I checked them out at Best Buy and the options were 50$ or 70$ for a cable. When I look at online stores, the cheapest are about 2$.

I get a feeling that if I were to order some online, I would end up with something that didn't work.

Does anyone have any widsom about this issue?

Also recommend monoprice.com, have many cables from them and many friends with cables from them, never had a bad one.

As to why they are so expensive, because people will pay the prices, no other reason. People associate cost with quality.

[QuadCityImages]

From CNET:

Expensive cables aren't worth it
If you walk into your typical electronics store to buy an HDMI cable, you're likely to see prices upward of $50 with promises of better performance and faster speeds. Do you really need to spend that much money on a single HDMI cable?

Absolutely not--those cables are a rip-off. You should never pay more than $10 for a standard six-foot HDMI cable. And despite what salesmen and manufacturers might tell you, there's no meaningful difference between the $10 cable and the $50 cable.

[silentsim]

monoprice is awsome !

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by fotze

Just minutes ago I ordered two ipod touch wall charger cables, two touch silicone skins, 1 12 ft ps3 controller charger (usb cable), 1 6ft usb cable and 1 15 foot gold plated HDMI cable for 17 bucks, the shipping was 10 bucks.......from monoprice.

There aren't many companies out there where after you finish a purchase you feel like you are absolutely robbing them. We can all be assured that monoprice will not be that cheap for long, unparalleled value there.

I really think there is a business plan where you simply buy monoprice stuff and re-sell it.

Oh ya the hdmi cable was $6.83.

Exactly, when I needed an HDMI cable for my PS3 I bought 3 because they were so damn cheap. Monoprice rules. If you honestly think Monster Cables (or anyone else) are better, stop sniffing the glue. I saw a study and it showed they were both the exact same quality, except hugely long distances.

[OBCT]

No hyperbole: If you can wait a week for shipping, monoprice wins every time.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

Except that for the price of one Monster cable you can probably buy 40 from monoprice, and swap them out every time you wreck one. When was the last time you invoked the lifetime warranty on a cable anyways?

Fixed for you. Although your point is solid.

I have never had an issue with my HDMI cables I bought from monoprice.com. I bought 4 of them on sale for $2.50 each and 4 bucks total shipping. I did have to wait a whole week for them to arrive though, so if you are in a real hurry, Memory Express sells them for about 35 bucks each IIRC.

[photon]

Originally Posted by fotze

I really think there is a business plan where you simply buy monoprice stuff and re-sell it.

Someone already did it, they're called Monster Cable!

[NuclearFart]

Put me in the Monoprice group too. My brother in law wired his whole house with speakers, buying everything from monoprice and literally saving over a thousand dollars in the process.

Monoprice needs to advertise themselves, its a shame they seem to rely on word of mouth.

[Old Yeller]

Originally Posted by fotze

I really think there is a business plan where you simply buy monoprice stuff and re-sell it.

A decent 10 FT HDMI cable from Monoprice is $9.00.

A 3.2 ft HDMI Monster cable from Futureshop is either $60 for the 'MC 550HD' or $84 for the 'MC 750HD'... who the hell knows what the difference is, probably wire gauge but really who cares.

You could mark your product up by 500%, name the HDMI cables something fancy and set up shop like a lemonade stand a foot off Futureshop's property.

[Bownesian]

Thanks everyone. I was pretty sure it was a rip-off and after reading Wikipedia and an internet search, I was pretty certain it was but it's good to poll the good folks at CP.

[OBCT]

Originally Posted by NuclearFart

Put me in the Monoprice group too. My brother in law wired his whole house with speakers, buying everything from monoprice and literally saving over a thousand dollars in the process.

Monoprice needs to advertise themselves, its a shame they seem to rely on word of mouth.

I'm glad you brought this up!

I am not against the principle of advertising, but recently I've been trying to avoid being suckered into buying things just because they're well advertised.

Monster cables probably spends more money on advertising than on the cables themselves. Same with Bose and their speakers. I could go on and on.

The point is, when consumers buy these products, part of the payment price goes straight back into the company's advertising budget to continue the cycle. This doesn't mean the products themselves are inferior or bad, it just means they're overpriced - especially in comparison to similar products that carry less hype, far less overhead, and practically no advertising budget (ie. monoprice).

As much as monoprice might benefit from the added exposure of a couple good advertising campaigns, I suspect you'd be surprised at how well they do with a budget aimed on a wholesaling mentality, where thin margins and consistently large volume with almost no extraneous costs (threads like this are free word-of-mouth advertising for them because their price point and product quality are so good). Advertising is expensive, and I'd rather not pay for it through my purchase of anything.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by NuclearFart

Put me in the Monoprice group too. My brother in law wired his whole house with speakers, buying everything from monoprice and literally saving over a thousand dollars in the process.

Monoprice needs to advertise themselves, its a shame they seem to rely on word of mouth.

Not really, everyone who knows cables already knows (or should) monoprice. Usually people who want a cheaper route than the stores go on the internet, ask about cables, and within 10 minutes will have 2-3 replies telling them about monoprice.com. I just find the gimmicky stuff from Monster such garbage. Read anything on a Monster packaging and you'll be laughing all the way to your car, such BS.