10 July 2008

HDMI cables

I was looking at flatscreen televisions at Circuit City last week, and a salesman tried to get me to buy some Monster HDMI cables... for $69.99!? I'd need the HDMI cables to connect a digital cable box to the television, but... $69.99!?

Fortunately, I seemed to recall my brother having bought HDMI cables for much less, so I held off on a purchase until I could talk to him. I'm very glad I did. MonoPrice.com is an online retailer of cables and accessories with a good reputation. I purchased two 6-ft HDMI cables and a component cable for the Nintendo Wii, all for less than $20 including shipping. The cables arrived nicely packaged, with the ends wrapped in protective foam.

What I find astonishing is that Circuit City only carries Monster brand HDMI cables. Nothing else. They must know they're ripping off ignorant customers. If they don't know, why don't they know?

I've always rooted a little for Circuit City as a competitor to keep Best Buy honest. But after this experience I've perhaps gained a little insight into why Circuit City is doing so poorly. First CompUSA... can Circuit City be far behind?

UPDATE: Hmmm, it's just occured to me that I have no idea whether or not Best Buy sells Monster HDMI cables, or sells more than one brand, and for how much. I'll have to remember to check the next time I'm there.

1 comment:

Stargazer (original profile) said...

It's all the same! Best Buy, Future Shop, they all promote Monster Cables because they make huge profits on them. Even their store-brand cables are over-priced.