If fortunate enough to get ahead in life, we can afford and go for things that were out of our reach like new cars, a better neighborhood, better restaurants, nicer clothes , nicer vacations, a private golf club, expensive watches, etc. It is a way of rewarding ourselves and showing the world that we have made it.
For the average person this rolls over into golf in that they want the brand name products. They want what So and So won the recent PGA event with. They go to the local brand name seller and he "fits" them into the latest and greatest brand name stuff. Maybe the retailer even orders the clubs built to "custom specs".
Man oh man, look at my custom built Ping irons. The "Pro" at PGA Tour Superstore measured, fitted, and had the clubs custom made for me...me....me. Typically reply is good for you.
Man oh man, look at my custom built Acer irons. I was measured, fitted, and the clubs were made for me...me....me by Tom Smith. Typical reply is who the hell is Acer and Tom Smith? I never heard of either one of them.
Few care about "no-name" stuff. Even those that did are shying away as vendors drop off and the stuff left becomes as expensive as OEM stuff.
The Internet killed a lot of custom clubmakers as the public could find out their cost. Impossible to get $100 for a $30 shaft. Even if you measured and fitted the golfer they still did not see the value.
My own bag is modified OEM stuff. Not one single component club and at one time I was all components.