HDMI Cables: A Scam?

Well, I have recently come upon buying for HDMI cabled again, and at every story I go to, they list some form of cable, either a 720p 2m cable costing $9.99, or higher end cables able to stream 1080p picture, the lowest priced being a 1m at $14.99. I want to know the difference in these cables, so I ask the BrandsMartUSA sales person. His answer? The more expensive ones are a bit newer. I take in this obvious lie (they are in similar, modern age packaging and are by the same manufacturer), deciding not to buy them knowing I have enough already at home. I simply ask the guy how I would know which ones I have at home, if there is some way to know.

"Eh," he begins. "You really cannot."

This peeved me more than enough, so I looked this up. As it turned out, Cracked had an article with a link about this, leading to another blog they have further detailing this. Number 4 here goes over it quite well. I knew the $5 ones I got a year ago were nothing different from the one DirecTV gave us, or the ones I saw while shopping. The only difference I can see is a thicker cable, with possibly more reinforcement. But, this doesn't add up to better quality. The only real factor in pricing is the actual size of the cable, let it be 2 feet, 1 foot, 2 meters, 1 meter, or 20 feet. That is the only true factor that adds to better useability.