EL, you're right. I'm on LinkedIn and almost all of our discussion on lighting get taken over by LED people trying to sell us LED highbays or some other ridiculous, over-priced product. To be honest, I have no idea how these guys are even in business. I don't see their products out in the field, I have no idea who is buying enough $60 LED T8 replacement tubes to keep these companies in business.
Some LED products heavily utilize word-of-mouth marketing. Anecdotes are not necessarily accurate,but if it appeases the buyers, so be it.
So and so(a popular gearhead guy who runs a tuner shop in car scene) has so and so brand ultra super efficient LED shop lights and they're great.
Seeing lighting in their shop is "seeing is believing" but looking at something doesn't establish long term reliability, energy efficiency and anything that's not immediately visible.
If he's a sponsor for the event they like and he's a sales rep, there's a mild social reciprocity to buy products from him....
A lot of crap products get sold on concept of social reciprocity especially to consumer and small businesses.