Cartridges: Complete Scam?

Some think the premise of this thread may be antagonistic given other threads started by the OP. That may be a tad unfair given that this is a forum, and he is asking a question relating to value.
All said and done - what does he call value? Some believe a 'Ghetto Blaster' is the best thing in audio, and in terms of enjoyment one may find it hard to place a value.
Putting things into 'relative perspective' over £2500 there are diminishing returns, likewise I believe that so called top flight cartridges are effectively different flavours so to speak. A good example is that the BenzLP is commonly regarded as an astonishing performer at around £2500 and it can compete against anything out there so to speak.
But a £200MM ain't gonna cut the mustard against a top flight MC - (provided both given equal phono stages).
What value you place on the price is anybody's guess - a Lada Riva and a Ferrari are worlds apart in terms of price - indeed a LAda Riva is more practical than a Ferrari - but what are you looking for??? An ice plough (cheap MM for cheap turntable - phono stage - system) - a fact car (MC race track - great TT - phono stage etc). 
Value is in essence what one would pay for anything - if you think something is not worth it - so be it - you are right - but what are your parameters?

Scam = selling a customer a $2000 cartridge for a $200 turntable, while knowing the the customer has 20 albums without much of a plan to increase said collection. Now selling the same 2k cartridge to a vinyl lover with a growing collection of albums and say a nice VPI TT, then that's a bargain. See, there are too many variables and budgets. If you have a pair of $1500 speakers, and you're happy with them, no plans of upgrading them, then a $400-500 cartridge might make better sense. Not an easy answer that can be answered with a simple yes or no that applies to all end users and situations. Makes sense to anyone? 

Price/value analysis can be a tricky thing.  I have a friend who enjoys cognac, so I purchased a bottle of Hennesey Prestige for about $40 and it's fine.  Later on, I thought I would try a bottle of Hennesey XO at $125 and that it would be worlds better.  Tell the truth, for us it wasn't.   Head to head, I don't think I could tell the difference or whether the XO was just different but not better.  But I think it would be very ignorant of me to post publicly that XO is a scam because I couldn't taste the difference.  The only thing I proved is that I couldn't taste the difference.  And if I couldn't, I would wager that many people couldn't either.   But I'm certainly open to the possibility that there are many who could.  Maybe. 

The variety of definitions being applied to the word 'scam' amaze me. 

Upselling a product to someone who doesn't need it is not a scam.

Expensive products that people willingly buy and work as described are not scams.

Putting a high end component into a mess of system and saying it doesn't work does not count as a scam.

A scam is knowingly deceiving someone either by getting them to pay for goods or services that they will not receive, or that are not, in good faith, what was agreed to or advertised.

Why is it that more and more threads lately are opened with a pretty antagonistic header, what exactly does the op hope to accomplish with that besides a number of equally antagonistic responses or outright derision and the possibility of not being taken seriously at all.

Now I know under current handle I have a low post count and join date of 2013 but aeons ago I was a member but lost all the info and just easier to start again.

Back even 10 years ago the forums ( and the world in general) was a much more civilised and nicer place to be, just go skim through some older threads to see the type of discussion and the general level of decency and politeness involved.
Nowadays I see way too much vitriol and a lot of self important people who come across as it all being about me, me, me, rather than actually wanting any real answers or even to hear partial truths.

Just my 5 cents worth and my opinion only.