I just bought a printer cable online for $3, Best Buys-$29

[edhopper]

That was with an Ebay Store (including shipping). On Amazon it was $6.99 (still a good price) But if I went to Best Buys, it would cost me $28.99. I don't care about overhead or rent or any of that crap, almost $30 for a cable I can get for $3 just doesn't make sense. Why would anyone go to a brick and motor store with these prices?

[Renew Deal]

1. There's a great site for cheap, but good cables.

www.monoprice.com

Great place to get HDMI cables.

[rcrush]

2. computer supply stores like altex have cheap cables to

Best Buy is a rip off.

[gmoney]

3. I suspect it's largely "emergency" purchases, or the uninformed.

When traveling, I've found myself having left a cable or charger or something at home, and really need one, so I end up at Best Buy, bite the bullet, and cough up $30 for a $4 cable because I don't have time to have some eBay shipper send it to me.

The other market is people who don't know there are cheaper places, so if they're buying a printer, the BB guy will say "you'll need a $30 cable for that, a $90 UPS backup, and a set of spare cartridges for $120."

I used to work at Camelot Music in a mall, and they had everything at list price, except for a few "sale" items. I just wanted to tell people "Go to the locally owned store and save yourself about $8 on this" but I would have lost my job probably. Seemed a lot of customers were parents buying for their kids who wouldn't think to shop at the local store, and weren't as price conscious as some people.

[hunter]

4. It's like all the stupid "upgrades" car dealers try to sell you.

The one time, and the last time I will ever buy a new car there were so many things like that. Crap, it's just a car. Yeah, sure, you want to sell me a ridiculous stereo for hundreds of dollars? How much is the damned thing without a radio? And really, is the car going to rust away without your magic undercoating? If it is, I'm walking out of here.

People psych themselves up to spend a lot of money on a television or a computer and the the dealers sucker punch them for a thirty dollar cable that cost 79 cents to make. That's why the manufacturer doesn't include a cable -- the dealers want it that way.

[Jokerman]

5. They make more on the cable than the printer.

I used to sell PC parts wholesale and the cables as an add-on are a cash cow for retailers.