I must have the worst luck, I just started cycling a few days ago and I already need to to take my bike to a shop. Somehow the derailleur cable (I think that's the one, the right one) broke. Any mechanics or anyone on that can tell me how much replacing something like that generally runs, ballpark figure. Its a higher end department store bike, so I don't need anything fancy if the cables come in higher and low qualities. No clue how its even broken, it looks intact, but its just very loose and wont change gears... it gets looser though the higher gear the shifter is set to... the link below shows how loose it is in the lowest gear.

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Prices vary all over the board, but it shouldn't be expensive.

Given the bike, your best be might be a bike co-op, where they'll do it at low cost, or better yet help you do it yourself. Here's a link to a list of bicycle co-ops throughout the USA, but it's not complete by any standards. Search for you in your community under Bicycle co-op, community bike shop, or bike kitchen.

BTW- if you list your city of residence in your profile, someone might recommend a decent bike shop.

Done, thanks for the tip.. I will look into the shop types you suggested.

If you can't find a co-op, look for a smaller shop that seems to focus on repairs, maybe even one where the owner is the chief mechanic. These tend to have better repair prices and consistency than big shops in high rent locations.

Sounds like its not broken but just slipped in the cable clamp. maybe just needs to be tensioned.