HDMI cables, are ‘expensive’ brands a total rip off?

How many readers have walked into a retail store in the UK and been stunned at the price of some of the branded HDMI cables? I remember recently when our dog chewed through our TV cable and I was forced to run into a local Curry's store, only to be presented with a 3 meter ‘ultimate quality' HDMI cable for £50. I ended up ordering one from a UK power seller on Ebay for £5. The quality? well it seems fine to me and i notice no picture quality issues.

We received an email today from Kogan, who have been looking into what they call the ‘UK Cable Con'.

They say:

Kogan will give customers from Currys and John Lewis FREE HDMI cables in a bid to end the overpriced cable con.

Shoppers are currently being tricked by high street retailers into thinking they need to buy an expensive cable to get the most out of their new high definition TV.

In a bid to end this dodgy practice, and bring cable prices down to their proper levels, Kogan is now offering free HDMI cables to anyone who buys a TV at Currys or John Lewis from July 1, 2011. Kogan will even pay for the shipping.

Ruslan Kogan said the campaign intends to shed light on the cable con.

“Some retailers have decided that it’s appropriate to trick unsuspecting UK shoppers into thinking a £100 HDMI cable is better than a £4 one. To prove our point about how much an HDMI cable should cost, we’re giving John Lewis and Currys customers free HDMI cables.

“When you buy a TV from John Lewis, Currys, or countless other high street stores, you will be offered hideously expensive accessories such as HDMI cables. These cables are sold with absolutely ridiculous markups, many multiples of the actual cost of the items.

“What they conveniently forget to tell you is there’s no difference in picture quality between Kogan’s £4 HDMI cable and one more than 20 times its price! It's a digital cable. You either get a picture or you don't. Don't get conned into buying a “fancy” HDMI cable, because it will make no difference!

“While retailers like Currys and John Lewis use rip-off prices on cables to try to increase their margins, we’re selling them for £4, and we’ll even prove to UK high street shoppers what is going on by giving them free cables.

“Kogan is committed to offering value to our customers across all our product lines. We don’t think it’s fair that customers who buy some products are ripped off to help compensate for better deals on other products.

“At Kogan, we think it’s extremely unfair for someone who shells out their heard-earned money on a new TV to be shafted on cables and accessories because of a deliberate misinformation campaign by the big retailers.

“We are proud of the commitment we have made to our customers to offer great value on all products. We believe that what’s good for our customers is good for our business,” Mr. Kogan said.

The Kogan HDMI cable being given away is HDMI version 1.4, meaning it is future-proof for transmitting 3D TV signals, can carry an Ethernet signal, and is gold-plated.

Any UK residents who purchase a TV from Currys or John Lewis from July 1, 2011 can claim their FREE Kogan cable and help expose the UK cable con, by simply emailing proof of their purchase to [email protected].

Currys £100.99 – 2 metre Monster Cable
Currys £99.99 – 2 metre Belkin Cable
John Lewis £99.99 – 2 metre Peerless Cable
Kogan £4 – 3 Metre HDMI Cable

Full Terms & Conditions for this giveaway are available here: http://www.kogan.co.uk/cable-con-t-and-c/

Kitguru says: the first step to embarrass ‘elite' cable makers into reducing their prices? Let us know if you can see a difference between a cable at £100 and one at £5.

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