Hosa Cables / Snakes any good ?

How much have they been used? Plugged and unplugged? Hosa is not bad/terrible until you start stressing the cables. They are cheap enough that I would not buy them used IMHO.

I have a couple cheapo hosa snakes and haven't had them fail yet. A couple basic 12' TRS. One I picked up probably 10 years ago in a pinch at a live session. It's been used here and there for all those years without issue. Picked up a second used about a year ago and that's been smooth sailing. Just grabbed a pair of TRS to XLR snakes that arrived in the mail today. $50 for 8 channels of male and 8 female. Can't beat the price, but they aren't something I would plan on plugging in and out nightly.

Im a little rough with cables to be honest but id say roughly half of my (20?) snakes are hosa and ive only had two jacks (individual jacks in the snake) ever die. Or more correctly; need to get fixed. The problem is; you realize that it's only the trs jack comes after you've ripped apart your gear, instruments, console, and are half insane and missing hair from trying to figure out why channel 13 doesn't have audio going through it. Of course in hindsight the jack seems like the likely candidate but while mixing, its one of the last. For some reason (out of fear i guess) i always imagine the worst and think: 'god damn it! wtf is wrong with the 1176 now?'

So yeah IMO Hosa cables are fine to use.

Hosa is simply your generic molded cable, quality wise they suck, but you get what you pay for! They do have a lifetime warranty!

If they're in good working shape, you might get a nice deal. They're cheap enough already I can't imagine how cheap they'd be used. I use a few Hosa snakes and cables, no problems.

If you're looking for good, cheap snakes and cables try MONOPRICE--light years better than Hosa.  

I use Hosa, Monoprice, and build my own Mogami/Canare/Neutrik/Switchcraft. It depends on the application. Live or heavy studio use, build out of the best materials I can afford. Mic and guitar cables, for example. Line level that will sit in one place for months or years, I have had good experiences buying the cheap brands.

I don't think that any Molded cable is any better than Hosa, most probably come out of the same factory, Hosa is just the biggest brand.
I do remember a rep trying to convince us that theory molded connectors were superior to which I responded ,
"So my customers and I share a common problem , we live in the real world?@

I'd say it no longer passing audio after a month's worth of plugging and unplugging is sound quality!

I think in any pro situation you go with the very best. As Tony and others have said, it's not very hard and you get better with practice. Downtime with clients in the room costs more than any price you might pay for wire and connectors.
Btw, very best doesn't mean exotic. I'm not a wire snob. When I worked at Filmways/Heider, it was Belden/Switchcraft. Some pretty good records came out of those rooms. At Maryland Sound, the systems for acts including Pink Floyd, Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder were pretty much the same. Maybe Neutrik by then.