Selling a $220 that you refuse to fix/refurbish is bunk.

[Nick Gardner]

I think you should move your rant to Timmy Rubenstieners FB page. You guys would get along.

[Steve Sherrick]

Ben, I think everyone has given a fair response. I've written in the past about how to prepare for purchasing a RED. You have to figure in the repair/replacement costs. Doesn't matter if you think price is fair or not. If you buy an expensive car but can't put "overpriced" gas in it, then it might be best to not buy an expensive car.

I understand in this economy, things are tough. But you have to be realistic when purchasing gear. No matter how well you take care of it, stuff breaks. Always assume it will and know the replacement costs. Also, know your insurance policy details.

And for the record, I'm not rich and these costs hurt me as well when they come up. But i except it as cost of doing business.

[Meryem Ersoz]

it might be a good time to look around for someone in your area who fixes cables -

[Pawel Achtel]

Good feedback. Here is my problem from the manufacturer's point of view.

I needed to make some custom cables for the Epic. Cost me tens of thousands of dollars in research that took 4 months to find the right cable and connectors from a pool of about 110,000 different connectors. Then, it cost $5,000 to manufacture a batch of 10 cables. The manufacturer took 3 months to make them.

I may be able to sell five or six of them, if I'm lucky.

How much should I be selling them for to customers?

Picture attached. Suggestions welcome.

Oh, and if the customer breaks one, how do I fix it? It has 60 cores soldered and epoxi-ed to the edge connectors on a space smaller than a finger nail.

[Terry VerHaar]

I was flabbergasted to have to pay $240 for an extra cable (18") because my included cable was a measly 7" and didn't handle all my needs. Such is life. They cost what they cost. I wish they were cheaper; they're not. As far as offering a discount to keep you happy, I want a free upgrade to an Epic to make me happy. :-)

[Ben Sliker]

Martin,

This is exactly what I mean. If the parts are indeed so expensive, why weren't these cables built to be repaired? Why can't I send mine back for some kind of discount? If the only answers that I get from my bomb squad rep are 'I can't help you' and 'Sorry, just buy a brand new one', why do I need a bomb squad rep? Will the answers ever be different?

The fact that it's a $220 cable, makes it a NOT-disposable item. It should be built to be repaired. Not thrown away.

-ben

I understand that you are disgruntled but if the parts needed for a certain item themselves cost $220, I don't see how such a specialized cable can be called a high margin item.
Yes, I understand that "a cable" for $220 may seem a lot of money, just as "a camera" for $30k may seem high. But they aren't.

[Terry VerHaar]

... It should be built to be repaired. Not thrown away.

-ben

Labor is labor. How do you do that?

[Ben Sliker]

I pay RED to fix my cable

Labor is labor. How do you do that?

[George Tsai]

Martin,

This is exactly what I mean. If the parts are indeed so expensive, why weren't these cables built to be repaired? Why can't I send mine back for some kind of discount? If the only answers that I get from my bomb squad rep are 'I can't help you' and 'Sorry, just buy a brand new one', why do I need a bomb squad rep? Will the answers ever be different?

The fact that it's a $220 cable, makes it a NOT-disposable item. It should be built to be repaired. Not thrown away.

-ben

Some cables are not so simple to fix. Especially ones like the LCD/EVF cable. The break itself might be simple, but even if it's just one pin it means spending time to remove all the pins and recrimp all of them so the internal wires are the same length. You actually spend more time and money salvaging a broken LCD cable than you do making a brand new one, especially at the price Red is offering them.

what should and shoudln't be disposable is purely subjective, not a fact.

[Ben Sliker]

regardless, it doesn't look like anyone is going to sympathize with my point of view. The complaint department is pretty rough around here. I feel like I've made some valid points that don't have to do with the cost of the cable, and in the future, will know that the most likely answer will be to just buy a new one.

now to get that $220 out of my renter for breaking the cable...