That's the truth. I think it's better to replace any arbitrary small monetary value with 'Will Actually Open Wallet'. Once you've got the perceived value of someone willing to open their wallet then other things can start to fall into place.

Yep, indeed. We just need to train users to pay for good software. I used to be in the "I don't pay for software, ever" camp, but then I realised people are worth my support and now buy things regularly (especially Android apps, even if the pro version does nothing more than the free version, e.g. Twidroid).