Yes, I think some of it is simple "sticker shock".
We, as a community, have gotten a bit spoiled in regards to freeware. And the worst of us are probably the ones who have never worked on a mod and do not understand the tremendous number of hours it takes to produce even a simple one.
To be brutally honest I simply can't afford OFF right now. Games are at the top of my "luxuries" list and are the first thing to go when the going gets tough. And I have more sims right now than I have time to play. I recently got back into F-22 Total Air War and it's substantial modding community. I have ODS to play with. I have only touched the surface of MAW for CFS3.
Nice problems to have :)