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Old 26-06-2016, 04:51
Jimmy_Carter
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Why d people buy from Curry's?
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Old 27-06-2016, 10:53
AlanO
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It's just a profit making scheme - an HDMI cable from the Pound shop will be perfectly fine - the reason they push stupidly priced cables is to make obscene profits, nothing else.

On a £5 cable they make £1-£2, on a £20 cable they will make £12-£15, and on an £80 cable they will make £60-£70 - it's just a scam.
It's a little more subtle than that though - a £1 shop cable will be £ 1 for a reason, usually it's not as well made with, for example, weaker plugs or poor shielding which results in interference.

I'm not defending £ 80 HDMI cables, but at the other end of the spectrum you have to ask why they are so cheap - and there is a reason.

In reality somewhere between £ 5 and £ 15 for and HDMI lead is probably about right (depending on the length you need) - clearly you can't expect a 3m cable to cost the same as a 0.75m one.
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Old 27-06-2016, 10:56
AlanO
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Why d people buy from Curry's?
Convenience - they've got over 300 stores nationwide compared with the 50 or 60 John Lewis or Richer Sounds.

The ability to go and look and feel the product (which you can't do on line).

And before anyone says 'what about independents' - they're not all that wonderful - I had an appalling experience on the repair of an Electrolux oven with a Euronics outlet (out of warranty to chargeable repair). They were disorganised, expected me to investigate the parts etc etc. They ended up refunding the repair cost and a bit of compensation, but when the guy who owned it asked me if I'd consider buying from him and he'd do me a deal, he fully understood why I said no.
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Old 27-06-2016, 11:32
barbeler
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Both Aldi or Lidl frequently have them in amongst their 'specials' and they are very well made. From memory, I think they cost around £7 for a pack of two.
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Old 27-06-2016, 11:32
-GONZO-
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Convenience - they've got over 300 stores nationwide compared with the 50 or 60 John Lewis or Richer Sounds.

The ability to go and look and feel the product (which you can't do on line).

And before anyone says 'what about independents' - they're not all that wonderful - I had an appalling experience on the repair of an Electrolux oven with a Euronics outlet (out of warranty to chargeable repair). They were disorganised, expected me to investigate the parts etc etc. They ended up refunding the repair cost and a bit of compensation, but when the guy who owned it asked me if I'd consider buying from him and he'd do me a deal, he fully understood why I said no.
Also quite a few towns don't even have independents locally anymore so for most Currys is the place you naturally go to first.
For me I can only think of 5 places to buy TVs or other entertainment equipment near me.
Currys, Argos, Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda. There is also Aldi & Lidl too I suppose but they're only as and when they have an offer on.
As far as HDMI cables are concerned, I bought 3 from poundland recently which all seem to be working fine.
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Old 27-06-2016, 12:26
Winston_1
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It's a little more subtle than that though - a £1 shop cable will be £ 1 for a reason, usually it's not as well made with, for example, weaker plugs or poor shielding which results in interference.

I'm not defending £ 80 HDMI cables, but at the other end of the spectrum you have to ask why they are so cheap - and there is a reason.

In reality somewhere between £ 5 and £ 15 for and HDMI lead is probably about right (depending on the length you need) - clearly you can't expect a 3m cable to cost the same as a 0.75m one.
You may think that but HDMI cables have to be made to a standard and £1 ones do not seem to let in interference unlike some more expensive ones.
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Old 27-06-2016, 12:30
Nigel Goodwin
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You may think that but HDMI cables have to be made to a standard and £1 ones do not seem to let in interference unlike some more expensive ones.
I don't like to agree with Winston :P - but we see more faulty expensive HDMI leads than we ever do cheap ones.
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Old 27-06-2016, 13:37
Philip Wales
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Well I'm going to defend Curry's (shudder). I bought my LG 4K OLED from them as they were the only place to buy it from, and not once was I asked about HDMI Cables. Now wether it was because form the way I talked and the questions I asked , they knew that I wouldn't fall for their crap, I don't know.

I but my HDMI from Amazon, their not the cheapest ones, £8 or £9 for a 3m, but they're a nice braided cable, gold plated connectors and have a nicer connector body than most. I've replaced all my HDMI's with these and very happy I am.
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Old 27-06-2016, 13:41
Philip Wales
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I don't like to agree with Winston :P - but we see more faulty expensive HDMI leads than we ever do cheap ones.
But that could just be if someone has £1 cable, they're more likely to just replace it, rather than get am engineer out. With an expensive one their more likely to think it's another problem, and call an engineer.
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Old 27-06-2016, 16:27
Nigel Goodwin
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But that could just be if someone has £1 cable, they're more likely to just replace it, rather than get am engineer out. With an expensive one their more likely to think it's another problem, and call an engineer.
Not at all, people call engineers out because they have a problem they aren't competent to fix, they don't generally think about faulty leads.
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Old 27-06-2016, 20:07
alan1302
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Why d people buy from Curry's?
£20 cheaper on the laptop we bought yesterday.
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Old 27-06-2016, 21:19
JurassicMark
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Decent build quality is my main consideration when buying an HDMi cable. Have got one of these from Amazon, there are 7 pictures on the left and the 4th one down shows the different shielding used. Have never dismantled a £1 cable but I'm guessing some use that basic shielding, also don't know if it makes it more liable to faults/failure but it looks to be of lower quality to me. Anyway, don't think pound shops sell 3 metre cables and at £5.49, this is hardly a rip-off.

Why d people buy from Curry's?
Got my last TV from there as it happened to be the cheapest. They are fairly competitive on prices with many goods, they probably make most money selling extended warranties and £80 HDMI cables to the gullible.
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Old 28-06-2016, 07:08
Jimmy_Carter
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Decent build quality is my main consideration when buying an HDMi cable. Have got one of these from Amazon, there are 7 pictures on the left and the 4th one down shows the different shielding used. Have never dismantled a £1 cable but I'm guessing some use that basic shielding, also don't know if it makes it more liable to faults/failure but it looks to be of lower quality to me. Anyway, don't think pound shops sell 3 metre cables and at £5.49, this is hardly a rip-off.



Got my last TV from there as it happened to be the cheapest. They are fairly competitive on prices with many goods, they probably make most money selling extended warranties and £80 HDMI cables to the gullible.
The CS is notoriously bad. Which is why I prefer RS and JL who will price match anyway.
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Old 28-06-2016, 09:22
AlanO
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The CS is notoriously bad. Which is why I prefer RS and JL who will price match anyway.
Richer and JL won't usually price match on line deals though.

And RS & JL have areas of the country where they don't have stores either.
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Old 28-06-2016, 09:35
Andy2
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They are complete d!cks. I had the same type of tussle when I bought a BD player. The bloke was really pushing a £39 HDMI cable, and seemed almost evangelical about it. After a bit of 'yes it is/no it isn't' dialogue, I just went to put the box back on the shelf and he changed his tune.
Can I ask, did he actually refuse to flog you the TV unless you bought the magic cable? It sounds very strange that you couldn't just buy the TV without the lead and you had to walk away.
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Old 28-06-2016, 11:41
Winston_1
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I don't like to agree with Winston.
Why on earth not?
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Old 28-06-2016, 13:09
GDK
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Well I'm going to defend Curry's (shudder). I bought my LG 4K OLED from them as they were the only place to buy it from, and not once was I asked about HDMI Cables. Now wether it was because form the way I talked and the questions I asked , they knew that I wouldn't fall for their crap, I don't know.

I but my HDMI from Amazon, their not the cheapest ones, £8 or £9 for a 3m, but they're a nice braided cable, gold plated connectors and have a nicer connector body than most. I've replaced all my HDMI's with these and very happy I am.
So far I've had no issues with my "Amazon Basics" branded HDMI leads.£5.49 for 3m (9ft). Build quality looks fine. Latest standard too.
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Old 28-06-2016, 13:31
AlanO
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Why on earth not?
Perhaps because you seem to be this board's equivalent of Nigel Farage?

Which means whilst you may be correct from time to time, it means most sane people don't ever want to admit you may be correct...
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Old 28-06-2016, 13:57
blueisthecolour
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I'd just lie to the salesperson and tell them that you already have exactly the same cable in the packaging at home. That will end the conversation quickly.
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Old 28-06-2016, 15:07
GDK
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I'd just lie to the salesperson and tell them that you already have exactly the same cable in the packaging at home. That will end the conversation quickly.
For me the point isn't about "ending the conversation quickly", it's about the salesperson lying in the first place. Currys should be hauled over the coals for encouraging this sort of dishonest practice.
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Old 28-06-2016, 23:58
Winston_1
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Perhaps because you seem to be this board's equivalent of Nigel Farage?

Which means whilst you may be correct from time to time, it means most sane people don't ever want to admit you may be correct...
Rubbish. I'm very careful to post correct information.
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Old 29-06-2016, 00:48
mickmars
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Not this crap again
Their are two things with HDMI cables

A - they work
B - they don't
Everything else is hype and fantasy
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Old 29-06-2016, 00:51
mickmars
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It's just a profit making scheme - an HDMI cable from the Pound shop will be perfectly fine - the reason they push stupidly priced cables is to make obscene profits, nothing else.

On a £5 cable they make £1-£2, on a £20 cable they will make £12-£15, and on an £80 cable they will make £60-£70 - it's just a scam.
Correct
How many people ever watch a film at home and say "that would have been so much better with an oxygen free cable"
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Old 29-06-2016, 10:04
LostFool
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So far I've had no issues with my "Amazon Basics" branded HDMI leads.£5.49 for 3m (9ft). Build quality looks fine. Latest standard too.
I always go for Amazon Basics cables. When one has failed - as HMDI cables occasionally do - they have replaced it without quibble. You can get cheaper on EBay but the quality is often suspect.
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Old 29-06-2016, 14:20
blueisthecolour
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How long before someone posts a link to the £3k HDMI cable
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