What we learned from 'cost plus 5 percent'

CompUSA held a special sale Sunday night in which desktops, notebooks, digital cameras and various other tech devices were priced at "cost plus 5 percent." That was only slightly enticing because it's hard to know exactly what the retailer considers "cost" (is it like the dealer invoice on new cars that ignores various kickbacks from the manufacturer?).

But in this case I was prompted to abandon a scintillating football game between the 4-8 Detroit Lions and the 2-10 Green Bay Packers because of this footnote: "Qualifying products include...Apple desktops and notebooks."

I should have stuck with the game.

It turns out that CompUSA apparently makes a pittance on Apple (and other) hardware. For example, the 20-inch iMac retails at CompUSA for $1,699. For the special "cost plus 5 percent" sale, it was slashed to $1,645--a $55 savings.

So, according to CompUSA, it pays Apple about $1,567 for a product it sells for $1,699.

The story is similar for a Mac mini and an iBook. A Mac Mini that retails for $699 at CompUSA was on sale for $681.90. That puts the cost to CompUSA at about $649.

And an iBook that CompUSA sells for $999 was reduced to $971 for this special sale. CompUSA's cost: $925.

I asked a salesman if those numbers appeared accurate and he explained, "Yeah, we don't mark up hardly at all on hardware." (I did check a couple printers, and CompUSA's sale price was in line with what could be found online, including shipping costs. A camcorder, however, was cheaper online.)

Where's the big money? Warranties and cables, apparently.

And cables can be had for cheap online.