Cable Price's

[blackraven]

OK, I was over at friends house last night till 3am listening to music and playing Madden Football on his PS3 and new 54" Panny Plasma when his son told me he got a job at Best Buy. He stated that he can buy most things from BB for 5% over the cost to BB. He said that he can buy either $60-80 HDMI Cable (I can't remeber which amount) for $5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[poppachubby]

This is why I don't shop at Best Buy. I shop faithfully at an electronics surplus which sells brand name at roughly 75% less than the usual suspects. Not to mention I can buy Acoustic Research there, never heard of Best Buy selling AR. Just overpriced Monster and the like...

Will you be profiting from this kids job BR?

[blackraven]

Nope! But BB used to sell AR products!

[dakatabg]

When I go to Best Buy I just watch what they have! Everything for me is so overpriced plus there are 10% taxes at the end of the purchase. I can find thing a lot cheaper on ebay or my favorite site craigslist.

[Feanor]

This is why I don't shop at Best Buy. I shop faithfully at an electronics surplus which sells brand name at roughly 75% less than the usual suspects. Not to mention I can buy Acoustic Research there, never heard of Best Buy selling AR. Just overpriced Monster and the like...

Will you be profiting from this kids job BR?
No, mon cher, it ain't just BestBuy. Typically "audiophile" cables' MSRP and distribution strategy provide for a lot a retailer market -- and most retailers tried to grab as much of it as they can.

Are you aware that what's-his-name, the owner/manager at Target Hifi, recommends you spend 30% of the cost of your speakers on the cables? Do you suppose he has an alterior motive?

By the way, I recall BB selling AR cable, but they switched to pushing Monster a few years ago.

[E-Stat]

He stated that he can buy most things from BB for 5% over the cost to BB. He said that he can buy either $60-80 HDMI Cable (I can't remeber which amount) for $5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Two comments from having worked in audio back in the 70s:

1. While standard markup is around 30-35 points, there were lines of products back then that offered such high margins. Since the cost of carrying inventory is around 20 points over prime rate, standard markup is really not as outrageous as it sounds.
2. This high margin situation is not unique to or is always the case with cables.

We sold several cartridge lines, but focused on three: Ortofon, Sonus and Empire. The first two offered the standard markup and we did not discount. A $70 Sonus Green cost us around $45. An Empire 999 PE/X, however, listed for $59.95 and cost us around $4.00. We sold that on low end systems typically for around $19.95 where the customer wanted to buy a discount, not necessarily better sound.

Since list prices are really meaningless numbers, you must purchase wisely based upon real value. Recently, I needed some fairly long IC runs for my computer-driven in house system. I ended up purchasing some low capacitance Belden 1505F which can be found at good companies like Blue Jeans Cable. A pair of 25' runs $85.25 from them. I purchased the raw cable directly elsewhere including shipping for $35.75. I went to Radio Shack and spent another $10 on plugs and terminated them myself.

rw

[poppachubby]

No, mon cher, it ain't just BestBuy. Typically "audiophile" cables' MSRP and distribution strategy provide for a lot a retailer market -- and most retailers tried to grab as much of it as they can.

Are you aware that what's-his-name, the owner/manager at Target Hifi, recommends you spend 30% of the cost of your speakers on the cables? Do you suppose he has an alterior motive?

By the way, I recall BB selling AR cable, but they switched to pushing Monster a few years ago.

I love hangin at Target, Bill has many colorful opinions but at the end of the day, yes he's a salesman. He's also a super experienced audio guru with lots to share. Do you shop locally at all Feanor? I mostly go to Target, once you know them they are quite reasonable and helpful. I also have been visiting London Audio, their resident analog/TT pro, Paul, is a monster of insight and experience. He also loves to listen and I have been hangin with him on his slower days.

Clearly the lack of time and interest put into best Buy leaves me ignorant. Let me restate my position. Even if Best Buy had Acoustic recsearch, I wouldn't shop there.

[mikesmith11]

Are you sure that it was $5 or was that just what he was telling you. Because i think $5 is much too hard to believe. It's possible that its about a 30% mark up but that's just normal. This is where i get mine from <a href="http://www.monstercable.com/">Cables</a> - you might think that these are expensive, but you know what, they last for years and years, so it really is worth it

[blackraven]

Are you sure that it was $5 or was that just what he was telling you. Because i think $5 is much too hard to believe. It's possible that its about a 30% mark up but that's just normal. This is where i get mine from <a href="http://www.monstercable.com/">Cables</a> - you might think that these are expensive, but you know what, they last for years and years, so it really is worth it


I'm still missing an electron so I must be positive!

As a teenager years ago, I worked in a discount store in Brooklyn, NY called RED's, that sold toys, gas grills, bikes, lawn furniture and all other sorts of things. I would get the invoices and then have to price mark the items. I was shocked to see that some things were marked up 1000% and we were still cheaper then every one else in town. So it does not surprise me about the $5 for cables. Prescription drugs are the same way.

[emaidel]

I am very familiar with excessive markups on audio products having worked 14 years at retail for NY-based Lafayette Radio, and then many years later for a series of manufacturers. Lafayette-branded products (those sourced directly from Japan) had enormous markups, but were still values compared to other products. A $90 "Criterion" loudspeaker cost the stores about $30, and the famous LR-1500TA receiver, which retailed at $300, cost the stores $120.

The most outrageous markups were on cartridges by dealers purchasing "private-label" models from a variety of manufacturers. The most outrageous cheat was Stereo Village in Atlanta, GA. Stereo Village would buy at least 1,000 cartridges at a time (quite appealing to a cartridge manufacturer!), but never pay more than $5 for each. They then insisted that a "List Price" of $199.95 be printed on the package, and then the cartridge was sold at a 50% discount to the consumer.

Getting a $200 cartridge for $100 may have seemed like a real bargain, but considering the fact that the cartridge was essentially a piece of junk in the first place made this "bargain" anything but. And the buyer still somehow managed to sleep at night...

[Feanor]

I love hangin at Target, Bill has many colorful opinions but at the end of the day, yes he's a salesman. He's also a super experienced audio guru with lots to share. Do you shop locally at all Feanor? I mostly go to Target, once you know them they are quite reasonable and helpful. I also have been visiting London Audio, their resident analog/TT pro, Paul, is a monster of insight and experience. He also loves to listen and I have been hangin with him on his slower days.

Clearly the lack of time and interest put into best Buy leaves me ignorant. Let me restate my position. Even if Best Buy had Acoustic recsearch, I wouldn't shop there.
I don't hang there mostly because I'm embarrased. I don't buy much -- locally or anywhere else -- so from their perspective I'm just a pest.

Nevertheless Target Hifi is close to where I work so a drop in every couple of months or three on some pretext of other. Some Saturday or whenever we should meeting there and beat up on them a bit. :lol:

I haven't be to London Audio in a long time; they're very much into selling expensive HT custom installations to rich people -- which leaves me out.