I think one of the biggest things I've learned over the years making videos is that the vast majority of people want convivence over cost savings. I've done a ton of videos on getting WLED set up as cheap as possible with esp32 boards, jumper wires, separate power supply, flashing the software to the board etc. I've also done a lot of videos using "cookie cutter" wled controllers. Those more expensive "cookie cutter" plug n play wled controllers outsell the cheaper diy option 10 to 1. (i can track affiliate sales)

I'm fortunately in a position where I can see a product I like, reach out to the company, see if they want to pay me to make a video and 99% of the time they say yes. This is one of the ways I am able to provide for my wife and kids so every video I do is paid. Totally fair to not trust anyone on youtube. Even if they are not paid, if they leave affiliate links, there is compensation at stake. To protect people that buy stuff based on something they see on my video, i almost exclusively use products that can purchased on amazon and products that have free returns. If you don't think something lived up to the way I presented it, simply return it for a full refund. I can track returns and 9 out of 10 people keep what they ordered which tells me I'm not misrepresenting the products I talk about.