The price of a cable

[Tim]

Time for a rant on the price of cables. How is it that a 4 pin firewire cable is < $5 over the internet, yet Best Buy, Compusa, and Office Depot all want $20 or $29 for a lousy 6' cable ??? The downside of the internet is that you get socked with nearly as much shipping charge as the price of the cable itself.

Check this out:
4 pin to 4 pin - 3 feet - $24.99 (http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=274246&pfp=BROWSE)
The official sony cable - 59.99 !!! (http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=260190&pfp=BROWSE)
4 pin to 4 pin - 6 feet - $31.99 (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=5697338&type=product&id=1055770044150)
Geeksquad - $35.99 (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6801179&type=product&id=1091099783580) - "Corrosion proof" ;)

Internet:
4pin to 4pin 6 ft - $4.95 (http://www.pccables.com/cgi-bin/orders6.cgi?action=Showitem&id=ID1143212&partno=70908&search=FIREWIRE&rsite=pccables.comcgi&rcode=) - Site appears to be half broken or something :(
4pin to 4pin 3ft - $3.00 (http://www.national-tech.com/catalog/ieee-1394cables.htm) - Minimum order $10 :(
4p/4p 3ft (http://www.compunettech.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=FW-44-3-BK) - $3.49 with $8.42 shipping :(

[Tim]

E-bay to the rescue (http://cgi.ebay.com/4-to-4-PIN-i-LINK-SONY-Firewire-Cable-IEEE-1394-free-sh_W0QQitemZ5865046029QQcategoryZ51054QQrdZ1QQcmdZ ViewItem)- $5.90 with free shipping :)

[Varflips]

Yeah i used to work at best buy. Its nuts how much that stuff is marked up. we would get our discount at like 5% over cost. id get 17 dollar cables for 4 bucks. thats why i dont shop there anymore, im kinda jaded. hahahaha

[Tim]

E-bay to the rescue (http://cgi.ebay.com/4-to-4-PIN-i-LINK-SONY-Firewire-Cable-IEEE-1394-free-sh_W0QQitemZ5865046029QQcategoryZ51054QQrdZ1QQcmdZ ViewItem)- $5.90 with free shipping :)

I ended up going with a 6' 4pin to 4pin firewire cable from e-bay - $5.48 shipped to my door in < 7 days. Take that, compusa, best buy and circuit city. It's unbelievable that these things can't be had for < $25 at these retailers :(

[Chris M]

I'm pretty sure that's how they make their money since they sure as hell aren't making it off computers and other components. Ever buy a laptop from them? They really try to steer you into buying the extended warranty, printer cables, USB hubs, bags, etc., etc.

I highly recommend Newegg for this kind of stuff. They ship fast and are very good about their warranty. Check them out at www.newegg.com.