I have done that since day 1. I continue to do that all of the time. It is effective in the long run, but nearly as quick as getting on the trending page. In order to make thoughtful comments, you have to invest time to read, understand, consider and relay your response. I believe this is the driving force of Steem, but the time constraints placed therein can be prohibitive. Buying votes allows me to tap into both methodologies by getting exposure to the trending page and by freeing up time to continue commenting and upvoting others.
I have seen a couple minnows grow to become dolphins. In both cases, they used vote bots quite a bit.
Word of advice, no one who has a vote over $1 every looks at hot or trending. They are known as the bought and circle jerk section. They are a trap for new users.
I don't think that's necessarily true, but it sort of makes my point. Good content doesn't rise to the top. Steemit gives the privilege of curation to the whales and they generally do a shitty job of it. If you fix that problem, you fix the bot problem.
The problem is a new user who comes here from YouTube for example with 500 SBD can repost YouTube Content here buy votes, get the SBD back from the bots +Steem power + Rep and it's all just for reposting content and buying votes. No work done, just money spent.
It would be nice if buying votes got you to trending but did not add Rep to the user buying it. As I study it it is much easier to just come here reposting and buying votes than creating and working at it.
It's difficult to get your SBD back on those bid bots. It's possible, but difficult and never a sure thing. Most often, they're losing money on it.
The rep system is all messed up anyway. The weight of upvotes should have nothing to do with your rep. Rep should be determined by the opinion of people with whom you interact.
Not all of the SBD no, but you also get steem power and a higher rep. Which sadly more people will vote on thinking rep and current vote payout is what a quality post is on steemit. They want the curation rewards. There is a lot broken.
That's true about the perception that rep = whale.
In most cases with those bid bots, you're losing...or paying a lot for rep. You could power up with the SBD and put it to better use most of the time.