buying a replacement USB cable? help please

[StoneRyno]

I'm looking to replace the samsung USB cable that came with my S4 but I'm running into an odd situation. My S4 came with a 5 foot white USB cable. Searching amazon I am finding multiples shipped and sold by amazon.com that appear to be the same exact samsung model number USB cable yet have 3 different prices and user reviews are making me leery of buying any of the three. Usually I'm able to determine for sure what I am buying is an official product and not a counterfeit or an incorrect official model. The three listings are:

Samsung OEM Universal 5-Feet Micro USB Charging Data Cable for Samsung Galaxy S3/S4/Note 2 and Other Smartphones - Non-Retail Packaging - White
Samsung OEM Samsung ECB-DU4EWE Universal 5 Foot Micro USB Charging Data Cable For Samsung Galaxy S3/S4/Note 2 & Other Smartphones - Data Cable - Non-Retail Packaging - White
Samsung 5-Feet Micro USB Charging Data Cable - Non-Retail Packaging - White

They all share the same model number ECBDU4EWE in at least one section of the item listing info/details. I spoke with an amazon rep over the phone who assures me the accuracy and legitimacy of the products that are shipped and sold by them are indeed what the product listing says they are. Which in this case doesn't really help. The rep didn't instill any confidence in me that if I buy any of these three listings I'm getting what I am expecting to get. That being a new cable exactly like the one that came with my S4. Any help anyone can provide me here would be greatly appreciated. The casing on my original cable has torn away at the phone connecting end of it exposing the wire all the way around. I assume it is only a matter of time before the cable no longer works and will need to be replaced.

 

[Rukbat]

Why an OEM cable? All that's in them is copper wire and copper is an element, it's not like different cables have different copper. Try a dollar store. If you can find a cable for a dollar, it'll work as well as a $5 cable you buy from Amazon. (Even if you bought a "real" Samsung cable, you'd faint when you heard the markup. They don't cost the distributor $5. Or even $1. The difference in cost between a dollar store cable and a "real Samsung" cable wouldn't buy you a glass of water.)

If you can show me any difference in performance between a cheap cable and a $5 one, I'll show you that the cheap cable is defective. (And it you buy it locally you can bring it back and get it replaced without the hassle of insisting on the seller paying postage both ways.)

 

[StoneRyno]

I guess the reason I was thinking brand was simply because I have had far too many generic USB cables fail just past their warranty. Plus I need to be assured that whatever I am buying is capable of 2A current. Something I have been told on numerous occasions that not all USB cables can do that and so ones that can't will burn out fast. And I have been told typically that is what you get when buy generic cheap cables. Keeping in mind that the people telling me these things are people who have tested numerous cables and have done technical write ups on such things. Having had personal experiences that would indicate that not all USB cords are equal would seem to support that. Thus my predicament which lead to this predicament. I don't really care who makes the cable as long as it is rated to do what is needed and doesn't fail just after the warranty. One expects that something as simple as a USB cable would last virtually a life time.

 

[Guppeh]

Why an OEM cable? All that's in them is copper wire and copper is an element, it's not like different cables have different copper

Yes, the copper will be different. However thick the cable looks like on the outside, a cheap cable will usually contain the thinnest strands of wire possible inside, to save on manufacturing costs. You can get away with it at low amperages and short cables, but as the cable length and current increase, the drop in performance may be subtle but increasingly troublesome.

Unfortunately, buying from Amazon is no guarantee of a quality OEM merchandise either, as bootlegs have become increasingly common on the little stores that pop up there. Amazon will commingle "identical" items from different merchants in their warehouse, so even orders from a high-quality seller could get switched. I mostly try to buy my cables from cheap-yet-reputable companies like Monoprice and Anker, and buy direct whenever I can.

 

[StoneRyno]

I see, so what I need to be looking for is thickness of the cable to identify that the cable is good enough to handle 2 amps. I thought perhaps there may be markings or some sort of other identifiable method of determining that sort of thing. My brother just bought a couple USB cables from amazon made by a company called mediabridge as far as the info stamped on the cable indicates. They are possibly twice as thick as the OEM cable from samsung and are 6 foot long.