Yes, aesthetics and general build quality i believe are big selling points. That's where the cable companies start with the 'low end' products and then move up to the elite car oiled, teflon impregnated, triple 9 OFC stuff.
Hey, i can go outside and poor some engine oil on my wire too but i don't think anyone would buy it at $45 a foot.
I personally have tried to find real bargains on reasonable brand names for cables. I found some
Ultralink Discovery and Challenger series on ebay for about $12 cdn for 3 foot pair. These retailed in stores at $45-60 for the same stuff.
They are nicely built, look decent, but cost alot less than what you would find in stores. They certainly are a nice step up from the crappy bundled cords. The plastic sheathing on those things always seems to crack on me after a short while. Just horrible.
