Don't buy the hype! Expensive HDMI cables are for suckers!

This is such a perfect example of what I talked about in my shopping guide. I'm convinced that most big name electronics stores make 90% of their profit on huge cable and accessory mark ups. I walked into one such retailer today and saw this:

I felt slightly violated. An HDMI cable for $40 plus tax? Does it come with a massage or a lobster dinner? For that price, it should. These retailers are counting on your ignorance to charge these kinds of prices and laughing all the way to the bank. Check out what I found on Amazon after about 30 seconds of searching:














Is there a difference between what I saw in the store and what I've linked you from Amazon? Sure there is! A pizza and a 6 pack of beer. Oh you meant technically speaking? Negatory ghost rider. CNET's "Quick Guide: HDMI and HDMI Cables" explains it beautifully:

"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. Unless you see something obvious, such as dropouts or a flashing screen, the digital information transmitted by both cables is exactly the same--no cable can make the picture any better or any worse."

I couldn't have said it better myself. This also goes for just about every other kind of cable you can think of. Networking, printer, power supply...I can't even think of an exception. Do yourself and your pocket book a favor and pass on in store cables and buy online.