I guess I hang out with the wrong circle ;). Most developers around me typically would just download something that is free (if it's cross-platform it gets +1 added-value since often we switch between Windows and Ubuntu). Case and Point: Eclipse vs IntelliJ. I bought IntelliJ during the Doomsday discount (75% discount) but people around me still using Eclipse until some event where they decided to move to the "free" (community) version of IntelliJ. I haven't gone back to Eclipse after that...
I'm just amazed with your story. I need to "get out" more and talk to more people... seriously...