Someone Explain The Need for High-Priced Power Cords

[My_Two_Cents]

Okay, this has bugged me for some time, and I don't mean for this to turn into a cable-bashing thread. My question is this: Why do some insist that specialty power cords costing hundreds of dollars will improve the quality of your system?

I'm sure I'm just missing something here, hence the question. My argument against is simple. Cheap, standard wiring is used throughout your house from the circuit breaker all the way to your outlet. Is a $400 power cable running from your outlet to your piece of equipment is going to magically improve the power somehow? What is it actually going to do for you? Or do folks that spend this kind of $$ use it in conjunction with a power conditioner of some type, and that's where the advantage comes in?

I use the same argument for those $100 gold plated RG6 cables. Do folks really believe that using one to connect your cable/sat box to the outlet is going to give you a better picture than a standard cable? Again, it cannot magically make the signal better than what is being transmitted through stock "builder-grade" cable.