Monster Cable lowers prices during recession

[Mark Holtz]

From USA Today:

Monster Cable lowers prices during recessionNow, founder and "Head Monster" Noel Lee is cutting prices on top-of-the-line cables for high-definition TVs, effective in June. An 8-foot HDMI cable that currently sells for $129.95 at Best Buy will be priced at $99. FULL ARTICLE HERE (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-04-27-monster-cable-price-cuts_N.htm)

Funny... didn't Fry's have a 10 foot non-Mobster cable last weekend for $4?

[spartanstew]

That's nice of them. Reducing their prices from absurd to ridiculous.


PS. I don't think the Fry's cable was a Monster.

[pfp]

I think i'll stick with the one from monoprice for $5.

[sideswipe]

I think i'll stick with the one from monoprice for $5.

but your only saving $94, how is that helping monster :rolleyes:

[Hansen]

Now, founder and "Head Monster" Noel Lee is cutting prices on top-of-the-line cables for high-definition TVs, effective in June. An 8-foot HDMI cable that currently sells for $129.95 at Best Buy will be priced at $99.


!rolling

[dave29]

Wow, that company is a joke. Their profit margin has got to be ridiculous. Like 5000%.

[Lee L]

You really should read the article. I am surpised that they actually mentioned lower price cables working fine.

I have to say this quote was hilarious to me.
Lee says that while he offers lower-cost cables, retailers don't want to stock them, and that his customers prefer high-end "performance" cables.

"It's ironic," Lee says. "When people buy Monster, they don't expect to pay (a) low price, so our lower-end cables don't sell very well."

[Mertzen]

That's some monstrous savings on a monstrosity of a cable. :lol:

[BattleZone]

It's hardly ironic when the company spent the last 20 years "teaching" customers that only their hyper-expensive cables were good enough...

[hdtvfan0001]

Looks like Monster's President is going to have to fire at least 1 or 2 of his swimming pool cleaning guys to "cut bacK'.

Unless they drop their prices about 70%....the cutback is more symbolic than substantitive.

[brant]

Wow, that company is a joke. Their profit margin has got to be ridiculous. Like 5000%.

While I despise some of their tactics, I would think the company is no joke.

They've done an excellent job of marketing and selling a product at what we assume to be an extremely high profit margin.


Its like a used car dealer once said; "son, there's an ass for every seat."

[chevyguy559]

Its like a used car dealer once said; "son, there's an ass for every seat."

Exactly, they are going to be in business until there are no more people buying them! There still are non-tech savvy, non-internet scouring, go into the store and get the one the salesman recommends, types of people :D

[roadrunner1782]

Wow! This company sure is full of it!

[Stewart Vernon]

In my opinion, the only real difference between Enron and Monster is that when Monster goes belly-up they'll have a warehouse of $1 cables that they "say" are worth $100... whereas Enron had a warehouse of nothing they said was worth something.

[Marlin Guy]

We, as a nation, cannot allow Monster to fail.
Best Buy would crater! :lol:

[Grentz]

Wow, that company is a joke. Their profit margin has got to be ridiculous. Like 5000%.

Its not just them, they give a huge margin to the retailers as well. Everyone a long the line makes out well except for the customer with monster cables :lol:

[Mike Bertelson]

Wow...just wow...

At best is still $90 too much...I really don't get it.... :nono:

Mike

[Richard King]

Monster is living proof that a sucker is born everyday.

[trekologer]

Monster is living proof that a sucker is born everyday.

Clearly they just haven't found Denon's ultra premium Denon Link cable yet: http://www.usa.denon.com/productdetails/3429.asp

[rhambling]

Clearly they just haven't found Denon's ultra premium Denon Link cable yet: http://www.usa.denon.com/productdetails/3429.asp

geez, that makes monster cables look like a bargain.:eek2:

[pfp]

Clearly they just haven't found Denon's ultra premium Denon Link cable yet: http://www.usa.denon.com/productdetails/3429.asp

money > brains

[Stewart Vernon]

I saw the DirecTV commercial again where Ed Begley Jr and others are workers at a Cable company in a meeting... and one of the guys suggest they "Improve" their prices by making them higher :)

[brant]

I saw the DirecTV commercial again where Ed Begley Jr and others are workers at a Cable company in a meeting... and one of the guys suggest they "Improve" their prices by making them higher :)

those commercials are hilarious.


but what was suggested is taught as a legitimate business practice, and it actually works if done right.

its all about perceived quality. if it cost the most, it must be the best; right?

[Stewart Vernon]

People are naturally suspicious.

I was once at a convention (selling things)... and one table next to me had a bunch of stuff for $1 with no takers for much of the day. The seller decided to try a social experiment.

He placed a $1 bill clearly visible inside the package of one item and put it on the table. People would walk by, pick it up, and then put it back down. No takers to buy a $1 item that came with a free $1 bill!

Eventually he dropped the price to 50 cents! Still no takers until someone finally decided to take the plunge!

I also saw another guy sell a roll of dimes for $4!

[MadManNBama]

Monster is living proof that a sucker is born everyday.


Look guys, when it comes to analog cables, like speaker cables, Monster and others like AudioQuest are dead on. Cheap and thin speaker cables just can't pipe the proper sound through to the speaker.

You don't buy a $2k sound system and run cheap, thin speaker wire and expect movie theater sound.

In this new digital age, you either get 100% of the signal or none, so with toslink and HDMI the Monoprice.com cables are the best bet.

People who are used to Monster, get taken just because they use a past reference for a future decision without doing their homework on sites like this from guys like us. :D

Monster is just trying to hold margins, it is up to the consumer to do his homework. My blu ray player and HDDVR are hooked up with cheap monoprice HDMI cables and both look great. However, my Onkyo is pushing Monster speaker cables to my Polk speakers and I sometimes swear the drywall is starting to crack! :lol: (No I don't have a problem with my foundation, my house is over 70 yrs old and still going strong!)

[Lee L]

Frankly, I would disagree that Monster is dead on about anything. Yes, in things like speaker wires, thicker cables are better than thin, but there is always the chance for overkill. No way will you convince me that Monster is producing some super duper high quality 12 guage wire that is better than other 12 guage wire. There may be some companies out there doing it, but I doubt Monster is. You certainly do not need to spend $250 on speaker cables for a $2,000 system.

Now, you get into teh super high end stuff like $25,000 amps and $50,000 speakers and maybe a $1,000 speaker wire is justified, but for consumer gear it is a waste for the most part as long as the cable is of decent quality.

THe same basinc thing applies to most Compoent Video and also to audio interconnects.

[Mark Holtz]

Look guys, when it comes to analog cables, like speaker cables, Monster and others like AudioQuest are dead on. Cheap and thin speaker cables just can't pipe the proper sound through to the speaker.I thought it was all about the gauge and the distance.

[Richard King]

However, my Onkyo is pushing Monster speaker cables to my Polk speakers and I sometimes swear the drywall is starting to crack!Cracking your drywall has nothing to do with the speaker cables that you use. (by the way, I actually had a friend do that by mistake one time, but that's anther story) There have been many double blind tests with "golden ear" types switching between Monster cables and coat hangers. They couldn't tell the difference. Here's one of those tests: http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/03/audiophiles-cant-tell-the-difference-between-monster-cable-and/ I run a run of the mill 14 guage twisted pair speaker cable for all my speakers including my JBL 4430 studio monitors that I use as my fronts. I really doubt that Monster cables would make any difference.

[Stewart Vernon]

Probably worth mentioning that I was involved in putting together speakers for a movie theater ages ago (JBLs) so I saw how they wired them up before everything was done... and I have to say they really didn't use anything different than I would in my home. So "theater quality" really doesn't require breaking the bank to accomplish.

[Richard King]

I was involved in putting together speakers for a movie theater ages ago (JBLs) so I saw how they wired them up before everything was done... and I have to say they really didn't use anything different than I would in my home.
Here's a nice "movie theater" system that I designed many years ago. We used wire from West Penn Wire Co., West Penn 227, a twisted pair 12 Ga. West Penn was pretty much the most common wire (along with Belden) in commercial applications back then. It was used in theaters, corporate installs, board rooms, meeting rooms, and even recording studios. http://www.pbase.com/rking401/valleyfair

[CorkyMuldoon]

That's nice of them. Reducing their prices from absurd to ridiculous...
Outstanding quote!:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I've developed an affinity for Rocketfish.