Yeah. Its around 1300$ to buy into SP with the ability to claim new account 'tokens' - that is a reasonable sum.
However, most of us don't have that much use for 100's of potential accounts, and will likely end up passing them on somehow when they are required. The apps are getting hold of some, and as you say, if one is spotted creating a load that will be seen as a good indicator of them doing well.
Cheers for the comment!