i think high priced cables are too expensives but the problem is that brands value the result, not the real cost of their design.
In Hifi, you have really nice designed circuitry in cheap electronics. For example, an electronic engineer i know is still really impressed by REGA circuitry. When he uses his measurement instruments on it, it's near perfect! Anyway, REGA is a fair brand but not really excellent.
Sometimes some brand value the innovation like Devialet, not the result (Devialet is good but not a fair deal at all!!!).
My point is that you can create a good design without higher the price but sometimes, when you get a result no one else can equal, you can be tempted to rise the prices for it!
High End business is definitely not a fair business and it's important to be well guided through this maze...