[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Monster "HDMI Difference" scam still kickin' in Fry's Electronics

Not sure if this is news to the community, but it's quite shocking to me that even the largest cable company couldn't resist testing the fine line between marketing and scam.

 

[jilgiljongiljing]

Hmm...I kinda feel that the comparison was between the older composite connection vs new HDMI connection. Agreed that its got Monster written all over it, but thats just marketting.

I dont think there is any foul play involved here unless they clearly state "The Monster difference, on the left, cheaper HDMI cable, on the right, Monster HDMI cable"

 

[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dept_of_Alchemy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not sure if this is news to the community, but it's quite shocking to me that even the largest cable company couldn't resist testing the fine line between marketing and scam.

I wonder if this is Fry's, as opposed to Monster. I seem to recall hearing that ales people often are given extra incentives to sell Monster cables (due the markup), so perhaps since this is happening in the store, and that's where the problem is.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Shocked? Really? You might want to look closely at other manufacturers, too. Monster isn't the only cable maker with gargantuan profit margins.

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Shocked? Really? You might want to look closely at other manufacturers, too. Monster isn't the only cable maker with gargantuan profit margins.

this isn't about profit margins, its about lying in order to push more expensive cables, there is a difference

instead of telling the user they're dumb/inferior/whatever if they can't hear/see the difference between two cables, they're not even allowing a reasonable comparison to take place

unless their intent is similar to what jilgiljongiljing is saying, kind of a "this is what HDMI will look like, this is what non-HDMI looks like, buy Monster!"

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif this isn't about profit margins, its about lying in order to push more expensive cables, there is a difference instead of telling the user they're dumb/inferior/whatever if they can't hear/see the difference between two cables, they're not even allowing a reasonable comparison to take place.

All true, but look at the sales techniques used by other companies, too. Is this any worse than paying someone to shill products on a message board?

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif All true, but look at the sales techniques used by other companies, too. Is this any worse than paying someone to shill products on a message board?

imho yes, because imho only a fool buys something 110% off of message board comments

this takes advantage of consumer confidence in a retail store (Fry's in this case) and manipulates the scenario to make Monster look miles better, when in reality it isn't

...this is why I don't pay for cables (I think in the last 10 years, I've purchased two audio cables total)