Cables.com

What to know about shopping at Cables.com

Cables.com is the retail arm of Datacomm Cables, Inc., a Long Island company that has been selling network and audio-visual cabling since 2001, and the catalog reflects that history - it is narrow and deep rather than broad. Ethernet patch cables run through Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6A, Cat7 and Cat8 in a long ladder of lengths from half a foot to well past a hundred, and around them sit fiber optic patch cables in single-mode and multimode, power cords in NEMA, IEC and data center configurations, outdoor and plenum-rated cable, and the passive hardware a structured install needs: cabinets, racks, patch panels, 66 and 110 blocks, keystone modules and switches. Custom assemblies are made to order.

The variations are where this store differs from a general electronics retailer, and they are worth understanding before you pick a length. Snagless boots shield the release clip so it does not catch and snap when a cable is pulled through a bundle; bootless leads are cheaper and fit tighter into crowded panels. Shielded cable is for runs near motors, fluorescent ballasts or power conduit, and does nothing useful in an ordinary office run. Slim-jacket cables in 30 and 32 AWG exist to relieve congestion in a dense patch field, but the thinner conductor carries a shorter usable distance and less power, so they suit patch fields rather than long runs. Cat6A is the step that matters if you are running 10 Gigabit or powering cameras and access points over PoE.

Because this is trade-oriented stock sold to consumers on the same storefront, the price ladder is unusually flat - short patch leads start around four dollars, and the catalog only climbs into the hundreds for bulk spools and rack hardware. That makes the free shipping threshold the thing to plan around rather than the unit price. Prices are in US dollars, and shipping is free on orders over 199 dollars, which a single cable will never reach but a cabling job easily does.

Two buying tips. Measure the run and buy the length, rather than buying long and coiling the slack - excess coiled cable is the commonest cause of a marginal link, and this catalog exists precisely so you do not have to round up. And buy patch leads in colors if more than a handful are going into the same panel: color-coding by function costs nothing here, since the colors are stocked at the same price, and it is the difference between tracing a fault in a minute and tracing it in an hour.

— MoneySaverCodes Team