I'm 9 years "late" coming into this conversation(i'm a newbie lol"), but here's my thoughts on this matter, and probably irrelevant now that it's all these years later.
I was just looking at the PSI catalog I got in the mail today and discovered the Aquapearl Acrylic blanks. Pre-drilled (7mm), and pre-rounded.
I don't see this hurting the hobby at all. Not much has changed in the last 9 years since this was originally brought up. You can't buy them in Walmart(as mentioned in the thread).
As a newbie just getting started in pen making, I kinda see these as a jump start to the process. You'll still have to turn them a bit, and you'll have to still drill if using a bigger tube. Sure, they cut out a few steps, like starting from a square block, and using 7mm kits, but still, there's work you have to put in them (albeit not as much time). In a way, I see this as something that will pique interest in the hobby and get a baseline for possibly selling. In other words, make a few slimlines and some specialty (like the steampunk for example) to gauge interest. Obviously, they are only in acrylic (to my knowledge), so the wood ones you'll still need to drill, turn, etc. The acrylic just helps speed up sales(if you decide to sell)
Personally, i'm going to try a few of them, get my feet wet (turning from a square is still tricky for me) and possibly sell for just slightly more than what I spend on supplies. Basically just enough to make a few extra bucks to put right back into the hobby and upgrade equipment (I'm starting off with the Penpal, so I know i'll buy a bigger lathe down the line).
In the end, I'll make pens 100% from scratch. This will just be a jumping point for me, nothing more, nothing less)