why do people feel the need to buy expensive cable

Again....muddled point.  Service after the sale, lunch, warranty, free loaner, etc. are all part of the "quality" component of the equation.  Just like discount, kickback, freebies, etc. would all be part of the price component.

A 2018 Audi without warranty is not the same quality product as an identical car with one. 

I'm telling you, the reason they are making it so complex (when it isn't) is because they must find a reason to disagree.

Since dynaquest4 mentioned in his post “pre-owned” let’s just suppose one of the components was being offered from a local dealer and it comes with a 90 day return or a one year warranty or some other service. Within that scenario the components would no longer be considered of “like” quality and reliability that dynaquest4 mentioned in his basic formula.

I do agree with your statement that “they have decided that it is a good value to them” in which case the basic formula of appearance/performance/quality/reliability still applies regardless of cost to that individual. What does it matter what someone else thinks? 

In other words I have found a cable that costs 10x my current cable and feel it exceeds it in every regard based on the formula. I buy it because for me it is a good value whereas my fellow audiophile friend uses the exact same formula and declares that I am crazy for buying it because he cannot hear the difference. Now do I care about his subjective opinion? Of course not I am building my system not his. But he will still utilize the same formula I used to base his purchasing decision on regardless of what I think a good value is or should be to him.

Sorry posted this right after yours dynaquest4 

My power cable (Schnerzinger 8000t) is $10,000 brand new.  Made such a difference with my system:  eargasm. I'm in a much better mood after each and every listening session.  Was it worth it? Hell yes!  Now the former owner tells me he sold only because he upgraded within the Schnerzinger family which now has me curious ...

Skylinedo. I can appreciate your first post, but I have to tell you this. I could never spend $10k on a power cable. Even if I had the cash, I could not do it.