Fake RRP on cables. A Joke

Suggested retail price vs artual prices items are sold at is a fact of life. The only exceptions are companires which have rules for it's retail partners of minimum prices allowed. Which usally means new stock must be sold at the suggested retail price. And only demo product can be sold for less.

The notion that some sort of violation of cunsumer trust (for the OPs plaint) is involved is silly IMO.

People who are in the dark (don't know what they are doing' is rampant in any market. And saving the stupid from themselves is a task only governments get invloved in. Usually to everyone's detriment.
So i the op is worried about the price of cables. I suggest he use the adage Buyer be wary. in any and all future cable transactions.

PS the worst offender in the insane cable prices suddenly becoming near worthless was Coconut Audio.
Who was one crazy dude.

No, not all cables are bogus. However this topic is real and important.

If cable can be faked for the same performance and external view, than it's not $500 cable, but something else. Market can do a nice job on that to justify.

I would assume from reading this post that RRP = MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price).

That being said, it is a valid point, but this game is not new. The cable companies are simply feeding off the public's demand to live above their means. Everybody wants a screaming deal. People want to say they have $10K tied up in cables and cords, when they actually only spent $2K. It's called prestige, or vanity, a common human trait that cable manufacturers seem especially willing to appeal to.

There are no major players that don't play this game to some extent. They mark their products price up high enough to leave plenty of wiggle room and still make huge profits. I have found a couple of smaller manufacturers who do not play this game, the price is what the price is. However, they will stay small because they do not play the game. One of them even suggests in his ads that this game is what is killing this hobby. I don't know that I'd go that far, as this hobby seems to be doing alright to me. Sure it is becoming more of a top down hobby, as prices spiral into the stratosphere, but that's merely a reflection of what has happened to our economic society in general.

Yes, fake prices are a joke, and they have been for many years now. There is no substitute for doing your own homework. There is plenty of information available on the web, it's not too difficult to see what any cable or cord has been selling for. If buying from a major player, I always figure in the 50% rule, that means that I know that the original owner paid around 50% of the list price. Sure, some have paid a bit more, but some have paid a bit less too. I think it's mostly the smaller players that get caught up in the really silly pricing, perhaps to impress their perspective buyers, and get their foot in the door. I've seen plenty of $2000 cables available brand new for $300.

We can blame the cable manufacturers all we want to, but the fact is they are simply using an age old marketing scheme that is proven to work on humans, as it plays towards their vanity, and inner sense of getting a "really great deal". We have met the enemy, and he is us. These marketing ploys would fade away if we really wanted them to, and stopped supported companies that offer obscene discounts.

Liz, Coconut Audio has the new for 2015 Alien 2-Stage Crystal Formula cable. (built with Whitewood Tree Fibers) It is pictured with a 1/4" plug. Must be for Guitarists.
List price is $200,000. It is offered for a limited time for only $100,000.
Ebm would say "Jump On It"!!!!! :)