HDMI cable scam used to fool in-store customers?
By Darren Murph 
posted Dec 17th 2007 10:14AM
posted Dec 17th 2007 10:14AM
We'll be straight with you -- we aren't inclined to believe that this is even remotely close to factual, but considering the lengths big box retailers will go to in order to make sure you leave with a totally overpriced cable or two in your bag, we suppose it's not outside the realm of possibility. Reportedly, GizmoRepublic walked into an unspecified "big box store" and went to check out a display touting the superiority of Monster cabling. Upon further inspection, he realized that the difference in picture quality wasn't due to the gold-plating or fancy braiding, but rather the use of composite cables on the non-Monster TV. Of course, there are photos of the scene posted in the read link, but even still, we've got our reservations about the whole thing. Regardless of what happened in one particular store in one particular setup, one thing's still quite clear: there's simply no need to waste your hard-earned dollars paying for fancy packaging.
I wouldn't say anyone has necessarily knocked BB's service plans, but they are what they are. For the most part, they are pure profit considering most well-made electronics these days will outlast the warranty anyway, therefore costing BB nothing. If it makes you feel better to have a piece of mind, go for it.
I was actually asked to leave a Best Buy because I was helping a customer save money by not purchasing the Monster cables, and the Sales Associate got just a bit too upset with me. Ultimately I think I saved them about $100 bucks, but I lost myself a friend at Best Buy.
you guys do know that probably at least a third of the price of any HDMI cable is to pay the trademark the inventors put on the tech right? thats why companies are so hesitant to put HDMI into their devices because they have to pay usage rights.
I worked at best buy.
the mark up on hdmi cables are ridiculous.
you can get a 130 dollar cable for 15-30 bucks.
Having been connected to the industry for some time I'm not even slightly surprised
Average cost to the retailer for 6 foot Monster cable of any type.
$6 or less
Average cost to the consumer
$60 or more
Average margins for store branded cables are the same or worse.
When in doubt, that pimply faced clerk knows nothing. They probably got hired yesterday and stuck on the floor this morning with their only training being "Sell our 'services' and attach top dollar accessories, our customers leave spending less than they intended to, don't let them"
Do your homework, price shop online first. Be sure you know enough to know if the sales clerk is full of crap, just because they aren't on commission doesn't mean they have no hidden agenda.
monoprice.com
/thread
Not only is this being done at big box retailers (as previously witnessed and attested to), but Monster Cable *themselves* did it at CES two years ago. It was a main feature in their booth that was just inside the main hall.
And to address the profits in cable, it's no different than almost any other type of accessory - they're usually marked up 100% (as are warranties and a few components). But markup doesn't matter as much as perceived value does. That's why there's a ton of effort spent to upsell the overpriced cables and accessories. If you believe the hype, you'll be happy to spend a lot of money.
And if you think 100% is a lot of markup, check out furniture, jewelry and prescription drugs.
OK, to be fair, I'll say up front that I'm an A/V retailer. And I sell Monster cables to customers. Before you bash me, I sell the cables on the strength of their warranties, not because 'monster's video/audio quality is better.'
But I have an insight that might help with this debate: I can see the margins on items when they're sold.
If I sold NOTHING but televisions, my margin would peak out at about 3%. Now that's just cost vs. sell price. This wouldn't actually be enough to cover our operating costs.
In order to stay in business, we have to attach things like TV stands, cables, audio equipment, etc.
By all means, if you want to buy the cheap cables, do so. Unless they were put together by monkeys, a conductor's a conductor.
Just be ready to see a backlash in TV prices as retailers are forced to increase margins to cover costs.
I am a degreed audio engineer and a home automation systems installer and programmer. Needless to say, I make cables for a living. This article makes me sad and also makes me laugh at the same time. There are so few differences in cabling for audio and video that using the best cabling for almost any application is not worth the extra cash. The reason why Monster charges so much is a joke. The only reason why it would be somewhat worth it is because of their lifetime warranty. I have wired my entire recording studio with mogami and proflex cabling and compared it with monster and some other big names and there is no percievable difference. When you look at the one detail that is forgotten, balanced (3-wire; seperate grounding) cabling is the best over un-balanced (2-wire; ground shared with negative). All of the phono cabling used for hdtv and audio are unbalanced cables. Not good for over 100'. After that, there is noticable high frequency attenuation. I got a chance to talk with Bill Whitlock, President of Jensen Transformers and he'll tell you why unbalanced cables and signals are a scam. So, once you know that unbalanced signals are used extensively in consumer products, does it really matter if the cable is super-rated this or that? Also, don't get me started on optical cabling versus co-axial digital. Do the 1's and 0's in a digital signal really care what cable is used? No. Let's not even get into directional cabling too. What a joke. Be aware Joe Consumer and do not fall for BB retailers' scams. It's your lack of knowledge that pads their pockets. WHen it comes right down to it, it's your responsibility to know what your money is buying. Not the BB retailers. They'd take your money whether you know it or not.
My cousin was just tricked into buying a 3 foot HDMI Monster cable for 99 bucks and a Monster Power Bar for god knows what.
I just rolled my eyes.
I have RCA HDMI cables, 6 foot from Walmart that work perfect and even carry TrueHD and DTS-HD-MA to my receiver.
I would never buy Monster.
Go to Monoprice.com and get the 6' HDMI cables for cheap!
I have them and use them in my current setup and they work great!
I'm very shocked a retailer would do that... You'll make more money off the no-name cables than you would with the monster cables... I think for a $159 HDMI monster cable, the retailer will make about $30 off the cable, , the $129 no-name cable with the same length will actually net the retailer about $100...
So i dont know why you would push monster... Monster sells itself anyways...
I knew some guys that worked at Best Buy. The markup on cables is typically around 100% regardless of brand. So the stores make the same % profit for any brand. Its just when they sell the overpriced Monster cable thats even more cash.
Also the markup on the TV's themselves is fairly low. Thats why they push the warranties and overpriced cables so hard.
You are wrong. I purchased a Monster HDMI cable for a day to compare that name-brand cable to a $7 HDMI cable I got from Monoprice. During the checkout the kid at the register chuckled that he just bought the exact same thing for half the listed price. This was at Best Buy, and employees are (or were) charged 5% over the store's cost. So, the $100 list price went for $50 for the employee.
BTW, at 10 foot lengths I could not perceive a visual difference between the two cables using the same source (Sony PS3, Toshiba HD-A2, and HDMI-fed HTPC with test patterns) and the same display (Vizio GV42L). Thus, I returned the $100 HDMI cable to Bad Buy and ordered several more HDMI cables from Monoprice.
Since that original testing I have also used a $45 1.3b complaint 4x1 HDMI switch from Monoprice with these sources to feed into an HDMi-to-VGA converter to feed a CRT projector that projects onto a 92" diagonal screen. Never would I consider buying something like this in retail again. Heck, online beats Wally World.
Heath is right. I used my bestbuy discount to buy all sorts of cables before I got a real job. A $60-$70 cable will run an employee about $3.99...So BB is making at least 50 bucks of profit off a cable sale. Computer, printer, stereo and and other device manufacturers all do the same thing. You don't even get a printer or usb cable included in the box any more because I'm sure the big box stores ask them not to include them.
Monoprice.com has served me and all my friends well for some time now. I can get around 10 HDMI cables from there for the price of one over-priced, over-hyped monster HDMI cable.
When looking for cables, just look for something with a good sheild and rated at the proper specs (like 75 Ohms for video and digital coax). Anything above that is just going to cost you more money and give you nothing in return for that extra cost.
Got an HDMI cable from Amazon for 75 cents. Works perfectly.
Fools and their $$ are easily parted. I was fooled once by the Monster hype when we bought our first HDTV. The next two - Walmart cables!!!!! And even with that, I see I can get much cheaper online now!
Thankfully, I've been able to save friends and family hundreds by steering them away from Monster the past couple years. My in-laws returned theirs when they heard my advice.
Even after discussing with them in length about this kind of stuff, my in-laws still fall victim to their own stupidity. They are the type of people who always buy the extended warranty at Best Buy on everything, always get the most expensive cables. They are a salesman's dream customers, they'll buy whatever they're told to buy.
i see no different in picture qualiy, but i guess the monster cable would do good if youre wiring around an area that may get lots of electrical interference... I still wont plunge, i paid like $14 for a 12 foot HDMI... Awesome picture!! and it carries the digital sound... so screw monster...
They do this at local best buys all around the Chicago area too.
This makes me very angry. It really just amounts to Joe 6-pack abuse, plain and simple. Who wants to join me in creating an online petition to punish these shameless companies? Please guys, I need your help if we want to effect any meaningful change in this under-reported but important issue. Let's put aside the blu-ray vs HD DVD divisiveness for just a moment and unite in making Joe 6-pack abuse a thing of the past. Thank you.
Don't knock Best Buy's service plans. Anyone who DOESN'T buy them is an idiot. They are basically upgrade plans. For instance, my iPod service plan from 2006 is good till 2009. At any time I can walk in, say mine is broke, and get a newer model . Not bad for $49-$59. I have already done this with my Xbox 360 several times (upgrade to Elite, upgrade to Elite with two bonus games).
Not everyone is dishonest.
That's a replacement plan, not a service plan. The service plans are the ones to avoid.
I've seen this done at a Best Buy in Toronto.
Hi, this was photoed in Canada - I took the pictures.
If you're in Canada you'll see the same display setup in just about every Future Shop and Best Buy. I would be very surprised if they're not doing this one in the US too.
I bought no name HDMI cable and Composite cables at Wal-Mart for 20 bucks together. They work great and I only spent 20 bucks.
you all are assuming they are comparing no-name hdmi cables vs Monster. maybe they are comparing the cheap composite cables that come with the tv/dvd/etc vs. buying a good hdmi cable? in that case it is perfectly valid
A digital signal is either 100% there, or it's not there at all. Anybody who knows HD should know this.
And this sort of business practice should be a jail-able offense. It's flat-out fraud unless they make it clear they're using different formats and not just different branded cables.
Unfortunately zerocorpse, you are wrong.
While it's true that with a digital conection you have the "cliff" effect, where you see an image or you don't, this does not mean that they are all created equal. If you do any type of intelligent search, you will find things like cat's eye, DDC, timing issue, etc, that can all cause problems when using cheap HDMI cable. I am by no means saying that you should buy Monster, I hate them as much as Bose. What I am saying is that you shouldn't buy monoprice, pay the extra $10-$15 for a Comprehensive, or similar brand.
Ridiculous. I've had the most expensive, and I've got monoprice. I see no difference. None. Not a pixel's worth of difference. My $90 cables are in no way different from the $6 monoprice cables.
Now WHY should I pay$90 or even $35 for a cable when I can get it for $6 instead and have the same results?
Warranty?!?! Nope. I could buy TEN of the $6 cables and replace bad ones for less than the cost of most big box stores' "warranty" cables. Not a good argument.
At $6 a cable, I can afford to get a bad one now and again. So far, they've all been perfect, though.
Nick Franklin,
I only wish that was true with the iPod. I had a 3rd gen that I bought the warranty for. I sent it off because of battery issues hoping for a new one. What I got in return was my unit with a new battery (I assume) and a ton of scratches. I complained out the condition. They sent it back off and returned it to me like new, but still my old one.
Witnessed @ Circuit City in San Diego. I almost lol'd.
This should be reported to the Better Business Bureau and/or consumer agencies as this is plain fraud. One more reason why I don't shop at Best Buy. Well, I do, but only when the deals are better than online after considering tax and gas expense. Screw Monster Cables. They're the biggest fear mongers, after politicians of course.
This happened to me at a Circuit City in Las Vegas.
Actually the salesperson (as he was ringing up my first HDTV I was buying) told me I needed to get an HDMI, so he took me over to the displays and showed me a "monster" HDMI set and a "non-monster" HDMI set. The "non-Monster" looked like total crap. I went with the Monster.
It wasn't until after that I learned Monsters are no better than cheapo HDMI cables. I'm sure now they were either showing me a composite signal or just a really cheap display.
In all fairness, this is designed to get people from buying a $2,000 TV, $500 BD player, and then using the composite video cable that came in the box - rip-off or not (it is, LOL), with pathetically low margins on core products, this is where retailers make the money back up (LOL, its not just cables, every store has similar items).
Most people think that the cables that come in the box are what they need to hook things up, and it is not. This display is to convince people that they do need an HDMI cable.
I once went to a store (BestBuy to be exact) and found the same thing. I told one of the sales people and they found that they had "run out" of the moster cables... Ya right! LAMO!
Unfortunately this is actually a more widespread problem. The major electronics company I used to work for in the UK did exactly the same thing. One day I was fiddling around setting something up and realised it had been completely rigged by management with the worst quality phono lead I have ever seen. The store was empty that day so I grabbed a supplied scart lead (its a connection in the UK that does audio and video in one lead and gives an rgb signal) from an opened tv tuner box and swapped the chicken wire lead over. I then asked 4 staff from the store whether they thought the $90 monster scart cable was justified and showed them the picture. All four thought there was a marginal improvement. Then I told them the lead they preferred was a freebe.
MONSTER IS WORTH IT(IF YOU GET THE BEST BUY DISCOUNT) I've always noticed a better performance out of monster than P.O.S. $5 HDMI. I have a Denon A2808 and Sony Bravia XBR4 and can notice a difference RIGHT NOW switching back and forth from another cable!!! I do agree that it is B.S. that monster has the best discount with the BEST BUY discount (over 70% off) vs. the Bravia and Denon being only 40% off. I do not know why they mark up the Monster so much.
I dunno know guys...I'm not sure I'm convinced of the "either it's there or it isn't" stuff regarding HDMI cables.
I bought a cheap HDMI cable from monoprice.com and used it on my PS3. But I noticed the color was kind of saturated and borders weren't crisp. So I unplugged the HDMI cable that came packaged with my HD DVD player (Costco packaged an HDMI cable with the Toshiba HD-D2) and tried it on the PS3. The picture was WAY better. And I mean WAY better.
So either there is definitely a difference between HDMI cables, or I got a shitty cable from monoprice. So maybe you don't have to spend $100 on an HDMI cable, but I'd be wary about spending under $10 for one.
The Best Buy in downtown NYC on Black Friday was urging everyone who was buying a flat panel TV that they needed a Monster HDMI cable. They had employees hitting on the innocent in line with "do you want to watch that in HD?, if so here is the cable you need" or "if you have a HDMI jack you need a HDMI cable". I barked back when I heard enough. I'm sure he started back after I checked out.
Have used Parts Express cables for commercial installs with no problems. It's obvious that the PE cables are engineered for the duty expected. Longer cables definitely get thicker (heavier gauge) with longer cables.
If you want to look real stupid go to an IT guy and try to sell him expensive CAT6e cables for better throughput. The data/telco guys buy the cheapest cable they can find and do so with few problems. The bulk packaged $.25 3' patch cables work just as well as $4.95 Belkins.
Ken; the wording on the sign attributes the difference to it being Monster brand when any brand of good cable of the same kind will do. Comparing dissimilar connector types and putting that kind of sign up is among the sleazier salesmanship tools I've seen in a while, because it's comparing something other than what they say it is. If they said that "look what HDMI does", then that would be fine with me.
It's really quite shady and I'd alert some consumer advocate groups and whatever government consumer rights enforcement agency that applies.
I have a 50 ft monoprice cable and there haven't been any issues yet. Because of the length, I did go with heavier grade wire but that's about the extent of it.
Actually you're not entirely accurate there is still decent margin on TV's and 100% markup is quite low for cables and underestimating.
Sometimes the Service Plans they offer make total sense like for instance, those of you iPod owners ALL know that if you use yours regularly the battery WILL die within 1.5-2 years and need replaced just like cell phone batteries. I often hear people talk in these forums about that they will just buy a new one when that time comes because it will be a better model but the failed logic in this is that of course you will get a newer one because they won't carry the old one you bought previously as a model anymore. The only way this should fail is if the person isn't up on remembering they bought it or didn't keep the receipt. However this being true, the stores can usually still look in up in their systems but it's not 100% effective. This is of course only one example of a time it makes sense.
This is just plain wrong to have mislead by using composite and HDMI cables side by side. I see minor differences but I mostly try to buy higher up HDMI cables because the cheap ones tend to fall apart with the plug sliding off the pins too easily and they deteriorate faster over time. As for the power bar from Monster I would have gone with Panamax since they are better at their specific function. It's like buying Sony batteries vs buying Energizer Batteries almost. The Monster ones go out much easier when hit with a surge. The reason to have a bar or the box is to clean out surges and unwanted noise in the line to the devices. Depending on the one he got it might also have a T2 disconnect in there which physically severs the power from the the devices. The boxes also keep a more steady flow of electricity to your big power-consuming products such as an Amp or Receiver with a PreAmp or say a TV. There are benefits but in the end the consumer is right on whether or not they want it.
If you've never worked there, then you can't comment on the employee price, or assume you heard the price correctly... go bash someone else with your weak ass Vizio "GV42L" ooohhh big woop, you bought a crap TV that'll burn-out in a year or two...
If you knew how business worked, you sell the cheaper shit thats marked up higher to get a bigger profit margin... Why would you sell brand name stuff that 1. sells itself because of the name, 2. returns the least in your investment, 3. makes stupid people like you giggle when you tell people "I have all monster cables on my crappy vizio TV..." Booo for you loser...
I dont know what best buy you guys shop at, but those employees sound useless... If they are selling you a bunch of BS promises, i suggest you leave and hit up the next one... Not all best buys have retards working there...
I will agree that a well made cable by any manufacturer can outperform cheaply made junk cables, but that doesn't mean you have to pay excessive prices. At Fry's electronics they sell an off brand (very well made though) of HDMI cables in a broad spectrum of various adapter ends and lengths and the most expensive of these was a 20ft. HDMI-to-HDMI cable for $59.95. I have and use their twelve foot HDMI cable and after using it with my HDTV setup I can say comparing it with the Monster cable my aunt and uncle got suckered into paying for, there is NO DIFFERENCE!!
Hm. I have a $6 HDMI cable purchased from monoprice.com that works just as well as the $90 cable I bought from Best Buy when I worked there (obviously not for $90, though). There's no difference.
Anybody who says they see a difference is just deluded and thinks $90 cables makes them somehow superior.
The sales person at Best Buy tried to sell me the Monster cable BEFORE I even purchased the TV. There is a good explanation of the 'scam' at http://damon4.com/Default.aspx?blogentryid=21