My vote was: own no books, never played.
I heard about the 4e release at my very first gencon. I got the tshirt with the beholder on it. I liked the beholder shirt. I did not like, however, that 4e was coming. At that point, I had been playing 3.5 since it came out, and had several hundred dollars worth of books. I liked the game. I was angry at WOTC, not for wanting to revise their product, but to do so in a way that would invalidate all of the books I already had and liked. As this was swift on the tail of ending the Dungeon and Dragon magazines, to me it felt like a money grab.
The following year, I stood in a long line to get my PF beta book, while Paizo crew were all over the place helping everyone and being generally awesome. I had no plans to buy the 4e book, partially because of feelings about the timing of the release, and partially because the things I had heard about 4e did not jive with the D&D I wanted to play. But I DID want to look at the book and see if it was something I wanted give a chance. Unfortunately, there were no books on display at the booth, and I couldn't find someone to help me. I later learned they had sold out pretty early in the weekend.
As that year passed, there was plenty of stuff to be heard about WOTC, both with 4e and the company in general. Differing opinions of the game, and a lot of dissatisfaction with the company. Stories of poorly bound books that fell apart, the digital initiative that kind of...failed. Various online things that didn't work or had been promised but fell through. The pulling of all the pdfs hugely cheesed me off, as well as all the hullaballoo with the OGL. Basically, WOTC had stopped being a company that I wanted to do business with.
Meanwhile, my group had been playing the PF Beta, and liked it quite a bit. The next gencon, I stood in an even longer line to get my PF Core Book, signed by the designers, and have been playing with it since. I have a bunch of books, all gorgeous, and various bits of equipment. The combat pad is the best initiative tracker I've ever had. The folding wet/dry mat is great. I love the condition card deck from last year (though it's missing panicked.) This year, I was browsing the decks, picked up the Buff Deck, and my eyes got all big and shiny. I took it to an employee and said "My plan was to find someone and tell them that what I would love to see is a card deck with the different buffs and common spells and such...and here it is! YOU MADE ME WHAT I WANTED BEFORE I COULD TELL YOU I WANTED IT." Also, whether at the gencon booth or in the online support, I have never received anything less than stellar customer service.
In short, WOTC created a product that did not suit me, and during that process became a company I preferred not to do business with. Paizo has created a brand that has never failed to satisfy me, service that makes me feel valued, and is a company that I want to succeed, and want to spend my money with.
Final note: I've friends who play 4e as their game of choice, and really like it, and good for them. I've a friend who's played 4e because that was the game available, and he thinks it's a fine game on its own merits, but doesn't have the feel that he wants. And while our group was forbidden to mention 4e in front of one member, who was pregnant at the time, for the sake of the baby, we were just kidding around.
Mostly.
