Not sure it is - probably just a temporary oversight. Standard UX practice is to get the customer to what they want to buy with as little fuss as possible… then dangle other things in front of them.
It makes perfect sense to me.
People want to see the band. The band can’t perform. This is the next best thing and, as far as I can tell, they’re backed by a live band.
All good.
It's a fact of life - like it or not, there's nowt you can do about it other than politely ask people nicely not to do it.
...but then you'd look a bit prima donna-ish.
'Can you remember the first time you sang in public..?'
'Yeah - that was about two years ago in a pub...'
That's got to be the dictionary definition of a meteoric rise, especially when you consider she was (and is) pretty much unique.
FWIW this isn't a new policy from them. I enquired about buying a new neck for one of mine (for cosmetic reasons) and he wouldn't entertain the idea unless I sent the whole thing back to him.