At the audio wholesale places here in Hong Kong, MOST of the units have their cords cut, almost as soon as they come in the door. In a way, I can understand it, as when you are stacking, unstacking and restacking piles of gear all day, the cords get in the way, take up space, and actually make things very inconvenient and even dangerous. If I were doing the volume of business they do, I would cut the cords, too, as much as it would pain me to do so. They usually don't cut the cords on the REALLY NICE stuff that they know will sell for premium prices, but most of it gets cut, including sometimes even the nice stuff. Sometimes I see big cardboard boxes or large bags full of cut-off cords.
It bugs me for several reasons:
1. Sometimes the gear are things like Marantz 22xx receivers, which always have the distinctive light-grey cords with large molded plugs on the ends (Usually European-style, here). Those are impossible to reproduce; you either find an original, or you can tell at glance that it is a replacement. I always look when I see boxes/bags of cords, to see if any of that type are in there, but as one would expect, I seldom find any. Even when I find one, attaching it to a unit as a replacement leaves me with a cord that is around a foot shorter than the original was.
2. The little 2-part plastic clamps that keep the cords from pulling out (I forgot their proper name) are a BIG PAIN IN THE BUTT to get loosened, and also to re-insert with the new wire, and if they break in the process, there is no guarantee you can find a replacement of the correct size. If anyone has easy techniques for dealing with those awful things, please share them, because half the time I end up with broken ones, pained fingers and/or tried patience when dealing with them.
3. Every cut cord means one replacement cord that has to be found and installed. It doesn't take TOO long, but when you have to do it for nearly every piece you bring home, it adds up to a lot of "wasted" time.
Metal prices are high and going higher for the foreseeable future, mostly because (1) they are denominated in US$, and the US$ is weak and weakening, and (2) greatly expanded demand for metals in developing countries (especially China and India) is pushing prices up. Theft of metal stuff for recycling will only get worse --especially in places and times of recession, when more people at the bottom of the financial ladder get desperate to earn even modest sums for daily survival.