Amid no-margin $198 Black Friday TVs and $699 blow-out...

Amid no-margin $198 Black Friday TVs and $699 blow-out 50-inch plasma sets, at least accessories makers were giving retailers some price padding during the holiday sales season. Tech news site Slashdot poked a little post-Christmas fun at Best Buy for listing a $1,095.99 three-foot HDMI cable on its website, citing a spate of tongue-in-cheek reviews. “While Best Buy seems to be oblivious to the absurdity of this price for a digital cable, those posting customer reviews are not,” the writer said. One commenter said the four-figure cable could have been the case of a “pricing bot run amok, or a ridiculously over-inflated sense of worth.” The cable, which the Best Buy website said is “sold out online,” scored 91 percent on the satisfaction scale, with 40 of 44 customers saying they'd recommend the cable to a friend. When we zoomed in, though, closer inspection revealed consumer attitudes toward the disparity of pricing between the cable connecting electronics and the products that actually deliver the content: “Saved a ton of money on a new TV on Black Friday and decided to use the extra cash to get the best cable available. At a whopping 3.3 feet in length, this cable is no joke. When all my friends come over to watch football, they always say, ‘Wow, what kind of HDMI cable do you have?’ I proudly tell them about my AudioQuest diamond and its advanced features such as its dark gray/black finish.” Another: “This is the best cable ever! I was so impressed by the 2160p picture and 3D sound I sold a kidney to buy a second one!” One person said after purchasing the cable he could watch shows he hadn’t chosen, including ones from the future. Another reviewer claimed the clarity provided by the HDMI cable caused flashbacks from terrifying scenes that led to PTSD [Posttraumatic stress disorder] and HPPD [Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder]. There were a few positive posts praising the cable, too, but maybe Best Buy had the last laugh, offering 36-month financing to Best Buy cardholders.