I've seen gear snobbery multiple places but I think a lot of it is because people are just frustrated with the lack of availability of better gear when it comes to shopping in a guitar store now days. Guitar Center has become the Wal-Mart of the music world and compared to when I was playing years ago, their inventory has really changed and has become centered around starter kits and low priced modeling amps like the Line 6 Spider. And this all happened after they put many of the mom & pops out of business. This has also created a change to the gear a lot of companies now manufacturer.