RCA or XLR iInput Shorting Plugs or Pins

Cardas makes covers to be used on all unused inputs (made absolutely no difference in my system)

Those Cardas RCA jack covers are just cosmetic---if the plugs aren’t shorting, they do nothing except keep dust off the RCA’s. Why does Cardas (and others) offer such a useless, ineffective product, if not to simply make money off vain, insecure audiophiles? I found genuine RCA shorting jacks on ebay, about a buck apiece. Anyone with a soldering gun can make his own, of course. The cheapest RCA plugs available are fine---no audiophile version necessary ;-). I’ve never seen an XLR version, however.

I've applied shorting plugs to my VAC Ren Sig II's unused inputs, and I sure believe it made it quieter.  Spent all of a $1 a piece off of Ebay, just as bdp24 notes above, so I haven't sweated it much to make dead sure of it...

Guess I was being too harsh :-(. I still question Cardas’ motives, however. George, why not do the soldering necessary to make the plugs shorting, so they provide a sonic benefit? The user will need to know not to insert them in output jacks, though. Perhaps there is a concern over potential pre-amp damage claims.