Mulveling- You are correct in theory and I am sure in some circumstances, but I believe that in many cases you are either getting a counterfeit cable or a cable that has been re-terminated under less than optimal circumstances (at best). If the potential buyer is someone who believes that solder type or base metal type or plating thickness or grip pressure (and I take no position on any of those things) matters, then I think you can be nearly certain that you are not getting what it appears to be, a very high end cable at a highly discounted price. OTOH, that is not to say that the cable will not sound great in your system, or even, perhaps "better" than the genuine factory product, since cable interactions are both system dependent and unpredictable.
I do think that Audioquest and some other well-known names have openly used something like your "chop and no box" model. There are one or two retail outlets for AQ cables and wires w/o the "retail" packaging at highly discounted prices, when compared to list.
I do think that Audioquest and some other well-known names have openly used something like your "chop and no box" model. There are one or two retail outlets for AQ cables and wires w/o the "retail" packaging at highly discounted prices, when compared to list.