Youre right for most of it probably is feel, but heres a thought, if instead of swapping and changing people used a mid range ball for say a dozen rounds that feel with that ball would then become normal as it's what they'd be used to..
I don’t think feel will always be aligned to price though. I use vice golf balls, I like the feel off the putter. When clubhouse had a cracking deal on Nike’s premium ball I snapped a load up. They ended up in dads bag and I stuck with the cheaper ball.