Well, it depends on your point of reference. You can't always be proficient in everything and if you've never built models in 3d then a good scanner could be a welcomed tool in the kit. I've been doing 3d animation for 19 years and I have to say, that there are still times when I just can't get something modeled the way I want it without putting in hours and hours. I decent scanner could open a whole now world to people who just want to copy items. If there was a good scanner for small items out there I'd consider it.

For example, my wife has been watching me do all of these 3d prints lately and a few weeks ago she handed me this hair clip and said, "this is the best hair clip I've ever used and if you could make it for me it would be fantastic because they charge $25 for them." So, off I went to model it. I have to tell you, it looks simple but its very organic and oddly complicated. I have about 8 hours of modeling in it and I don't have it complete yet. If I had a good scanner that could get me 95% of the accuracy that I need, I love to have it. In a production environment a good modeler will cost you $100-$150 an hour. So 5 hours modeling something gets expensive.

I for one see the benefits of having a good scanner. However, there is no room nor love lost for a crappy one. And the one above is way worse than crappy. But like any emerging technology, you have to start somewhere and selling those crappy ones to the people who just have to buy the "latest thing" generates revenue so that the next iteration can be designed and hopefully be made more precise. Let's wait another two or so years and I bet there will be a selection of pretty darn good hand scanners.