Indeed, a 300 euro threshold is impossible any more without paying for ads first.
Your perspective is biased because you have experience with Google Ads, which is one of the most complex platforms to run on, if not the most.
People can and WILL pay for accounts and methods not because they are stupid, as you suggest, but because they have no experience setting up accounts, their experience may lie on creating campaigns, keyword research, bidding strategies cloaking etc. EACH one of those is a different skill and takes time to master.
If I send you on Pinterest and tell you go and create a 150 euro threshold for me, set up ads and set up pinterest conversion pixel and split test and produce a positive ROI by Monday, you will not be able to. Or if you do it will take you hours upon hours to figure this all out.
People who pay do so NOT because they are stupid but because they are being smart with their time allocation and understand the concept that time is money.
This last point is what you are blind to because you have experience on Google Ads and cannot see it from the perspective of someone who does not.
️ Create Sustainable Threshold Accounts"