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Where to Buy Cheap HDMI Cables

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If you need an HDMI cable for your home entertainment setup, here’s where to buy cheap HDMI cables that still work great.

Many products don’t come with HDMI cables in the box, even though it’s a crucial accessory that’s needed to make the whole thing even work, but it’s possible that many companies believe that buyers already have an HDMI cable to use, and if they simply leave it out of the box, they’ll save money in the long run.

It’s a strategy that makes sense, especially since pretty much all set-top boxes use HDMI, and it’s likely that every household has an HDMI cable anyway. However, it’s unlikely that most households have extra cables just lying around.

it’s almost like the printer industry: companies leave out the HDMI cable on purpose so that you have to spend more money, and since HDMI cables have one of the biggest price markups in the consumer electronics industry, they’re huge money makers.

It’s pretty frustrating when you buy a new set-top box and it doesn’t include an HDMI cable, and the newest Apple TV is extremely guilty of this, especially since HDMI is the only way to connect it to your television. It’s almost like not including the power cable — it doesn’t make any sense.

In any case, if you need an HDMI cable, here’s where you can buy good ones for pretty cheap.

Amazon

There’s a lot of variety on Amazon, and you can buy all sorts of HDMI cables at many different price points, but I specifically want to refer to AmazonBasics, which is a branch of Amazon that makes their own HDMI cables.

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You can get an AmazonBasics HDMI cable for as low as $5, and it will do the trick just fine. You don’t need this stupid-expensive $170 HDMI cable, and even if it is better overall, it’s most likely overkill for pretty much everyone.

Even $19 for Apple’s own HDMI cable is needlessly overpriced. In all honesty, you shouldn’t pay more than $10 for a basic HDMI cable, unless you’re buying an extra-long 10-foot cable to lay across your living room, which could be a bit more expensive, but otherwise, stay away from anything more expensive.

MonoPrice

What was once thought as a maker of mediocre products is now seen as a powerhouse of quality items that are low priced.

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MonoPrice pretty much makes everything, including computer monitors and even headphones, but they’re most known for their cables and other small accessories.

Their HDMI cables start as low as $2.49 each, and they have a huge selection to choose from. There are even HDMI cables that you can get that are as long as 100 feet for commercial usage. However, you’ll most likely want a shorter cable for your living room setup.

eBay

You can find some good deals on eBay, but you have to be careful, mostly because there’s a lot of junk listed on eBay.

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However, if you are careful, you can find an HDMI cable for pretty cheap. You should also keep an eye on where the item ships from, as you’ll see many listings from China. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if you buy something from China, it’ll easily take a couple of weeks to arrive, whereas it would only take a few days for it to get to your doorstep if you ordered it within the US.

I would say eBay is a last resort, though, since you can usually find what you’re looking for either on Amazon or MonoPrice. And it’s a good idea to stay away from big box retailers, as they usually have a big markup on HDMI cables, unless they’re on sale once a year.

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