The reason consumers keep buying Monster cables isn't because they think they can see or hear an improvement, it's because Best Buy monkeys are trained to convince consumers it's totally worth it to spend $100 on cabling if they're buying an HDTV.
I've had BB employees admit to me that Monster is overrated. I've been pushed more towards Dynex than Monster. Of course, Dynex is still big-time expensive when compared to the Internet, but it's cheaper than Monster. What choice do they have, really? Either recommend Dynex or recommend the Internet. If their manager is nearby, you know damned well they're not going to recommend the Internet. To their credit though, when I've mentioned eBay for cabling I've never received resistance beyond, "That's true if you're willing to wait or pay for expedited shipping." So, even they admit that it's a convenience factor.
I don't know what stores most people seem to frequent, but the three that I go to in Pennsylvania and Maryland regularly seem to have respectable people working for them.
(Disclaimer for the naysayers: I'm an IT contractor who works with Sun Microsystems hardware every day. I've never worked at Best Buy.)
With US sales people on commission it is no wonder they try and flog expensive cables. Most UK stores only sell expensive crap too, largely because consumers won't know they can buy the same thing for much less elsewhere.
Actually, most large chain stores in the US do not work on commission. They may have in the past, but I know for a fact Best Buy doesn't have a commission system. I worked there for a few dim months to make money and get cheap gear when I was in college, and believe me, I'd be rolling in cash if I got a commission.
Now, we were "strongly encouraged" to push the more expensive crap with big markups and the replacement plans, but I always did my best to make sure customers got the gear that was right for them for the least value. I was in the vast, vast minority, though, and from what I've seen on the rare occasion I step into a big box store these days, they still push garbage and/or are completely uninformed. Internets FTW!
The stories from the Best Buy employees in the TV department that I've read was that if they don't sell enough Monster Cables with the TV, they got fired. Monster was the only brand that got that special sweetheart treatment. Maybe that's changed, but it sounds like it was true at one point.
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The reason consumers keep buying Monster cables isn't because they think they can see or hear an improvement, it's because Best Buy monkeys are trained to convince consumers it's totally worth it to spend $100 on cabling if they're buying an HDTV.
Bull.
I've had BB employees admit to me that Monster is overrated. I've been pushed more towards Dynex than Monster. Of course, Dynex is still big-time expensive when compared to the Internet, but it's cheaper than Monster. What choice do they have, really? Either recommend Dynex or recommend the Internet. If their manager is nearby, you know damned well they're not going to recommend the Internet. To their credit though, when I've mentioned eBay for cabling I've never received resistance beyond, "That's true if you're willing to wait or pay for expedited shipping." So, even they admit that it's a convenience factor.
I don't know what stores most people seem to frequent, but the three that I go to in Pennsylvania and Maryland regularly seem to have respectable people working for them.
(Disclaimer for the naysayers: I'm an IT contractor who works with Sun Microsystems hardware every day. I've never worked at Best Buy.)
With US sales people on commission it is no wonder they try and flog expensive cables. Most UK stores only sell expensive crap too, largely because consumers won't know they can buy the same thing for much less elsewhere.
Actually, most large chain stores in the US do not work on commission. They may have in the past, but I know for a fact Best Buy doesn't have a commission system. I worked there for a few dim months to make money and get cheap gear when I was in college, and believe me, I'd be rolling in cash if I got a commission.
Now, we were "strongly encouraged" to push the more expensive crap with big markups and the replacement plans, but I always did my best to make sure customers got the gear that was right for them for the least value. I was in the vast, vast minority, though, and from what I've seen on the rare occasion I step into a big box store these days, they still push garbage and/or are completely uninformed. Internets FTW!
The stories from the Best Buy employees in the TV department that I've read was that if they don't sell enough Monster Cables with the TV, they got fired. Monster was the only brand that got that special sweetheart treatment. Maybe that's changed, but it sounds like it was true at one point.