They also buy it because it is marketed for gamers telling them it gives them an advantage. Which it will if you compare it to a shitty router from 2008. Nowadays any mainstream router will do fine as long as you are within its range. If you really care as a gamer use a wired connection.
How would they know that the device sends the SSID and password otherwise? If it was encrypted you would not be able to read the content of the packages.