>>335095754
Avatar quality is a quick metric of if you are creative or not. Being able to choose good tasteful combos or outright being unique in your custom creation has an aura of being reliable and capable.
In the virtual space where your beauty is not dictated by how you were born but rather by how much skill and effort you place to taking care of your outward appearance to be palatable to others... beauty and aesthetic is at a premium and sought after.

There is also the side effect of knowing that if someone takes that much time and care with their avatar then they have less time to actually be in the drama circles. As it takes quite a lot of dedication of time and mental prowess to create good avatars that are unique.
You can try bypassing this with money but you can't crank them out in a uniquely soulful fashion enough compared to the others. And having money means you are also stable I guess. But a much less preferred metric compared to those who can also share blender and unity knowledge so their expertise might rub off on you as well while discussing with the "beautiful vr people".

There are of course exception to the rule but these are just my observations.