I hate the idea of Monster cables as much as anybody here. $300 for an HDMI cable you could buy for $2 somewhere else is not a bargain. But in this case, $5 for a cable + 30-pin iPod/iPhone/iPad dock adapter seems OK for a well-built cable with small sturdy connectors and good quality wiring. The connectors are very small so they can be used in recessed sockets, unlike Tikbro and some other brand cables. The 30-pin adapter is attached with a sliding rubber strip, but I have no need for it and was able to cut it off with scissors. You could still use the adapter after it's been cut off if necessary.
This cable shows up on their website for $49.95:
http://www.harveynorman.com.au/monster-mobile-connect2-micro…
Not sure if anybody is idiotic enough to pay that much for one, and the fact they had a wall full hopefully proves there really aren't that many gullible people out there. The price tag on the box says $14.95, but there's a big "$5 Sale" display near the entrance to the Bondi Junction, NSW store. Not sure if other stores have the same thing. I bought one to test and ended up buying a couple more, as they handle a lot of current and it's much easier and neater than making my own cables as I usually do.
Many people will say "USB cables can be purchased for $1 from eBay! No deal!" Yes they can be purchased cheap, but in my experience many of them have extremely poor quality wiring, or poor quality connectors, or both. Cheap wiring often means low charging capacity. The popular Tikbro branded cables are $3.49 on eBay but don't come with the iPod/iPhone adapter, also the micro-USB plug is extremely fat so it won't fit in some of my gear with recessed sockets. Some people have had trouble with poor quality connectors on Tikbro cables in the past, so they're not the be-all and end-all anyway.
I tested these Monster cables with an ammeter and can suck at least 1.65 amps through them. That's the limit of my dummy load so I couldn't test any higher. Some of the crap cables I bought from eBay for $1 will only handle 200mA, and some of the more expensive ones that feel as though they are better quality only handle 700mA with the dummy load. For reference, at the same time I tested an original Galaxy S3 charging cable and 1.4 amps was its limit.
EDIT - I just tried a different set-up and was able to draw 1.79 amps at 4.8 volts through the Monster cable. It's very tricky to measure accurately without specialist equipment, which I can't be bothered to set up right now.
Also good for the novelty factor - I plan to print out the Harvey Norman website, put it on my desk and wait to see how many friends call me an idiot thinking I spent $50 on a USB cable!
Receipt scan added here:
http://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/23340/30778/monster_cab…
Nice!