I think your argument is rather about your goals. patio11 wants to make money first of all. edv519 wants to make the user happy first of all. Both views have pros and cons, and you will probably both reach your goals.
That's what Patio11 wants. He doesn't want to get paid up front and he's not in "business mode". He's trying to validate his product in the best possible way.
When people value something, they WANT to exchange money. Why? Because they want to take possession of it.
Exchanging money for value on a deep, primal level satisfies this urge.
Not only that, often times people say they want a solution but it's not what they really want. And often times, people are clueless.
But when they exchange money for value, you have a clear indication of just that - what they value.