Ironically this is the Best Buy business model. Give away the big-ticket items (at cost) and make the margin on the accessories.
They know that people buying big-screen TVs, camcorders, DVD players, etc., shop on price so they offer the lowest price possible. However, most people are going to need cables to go with those items and that is where the uneducated consumer gets it socked to them. Those same price-conscious consumers tend to let their guard down after they purchase the big-ticket item so when it comes to accessories and cables, they end up throwing their money away.
Those $99 HDMI Monster cables at the Best Buy probably cost Best Buy about $10. They are getting a 900% margin on you. And if you went for the "extended warranty" scam - you got hosed - that's 100% profit for Best Buy.
BTW, that $5 USB cable you referred to can probably be had for under a dollar on websites like monoprice.com. That is a website that specializes in cables of all kinds and they are CHEAP! I've saved a fortune going there and the quality of the cables is good.
That maybe used to be their business model, but they no longer do the second paragraph. They don’t have the lowest prices, and more importantly often don’t have it in stock. I’ve given up on BB because the last 3 times I wanted something there they didn’t have it and when I wandered into Target looking for completely other stuff they had what I was looking for at BB for less than BB listed on their web page.
Which is of course why they’re going out of business. Not only do they have a crappy dishonest business model, they aren’t even doing it well anymore.
Seconded! I love MonoPrice. Great, great stuff and it is soooo cheap.