Yes, same here too. I don't submit anything until I'm happy that it works as advertised and is reproducible by the majority of members. One of the stumbling blocks these days is the use of programmed devices, AVRs/PICs etc. Few have the facilities to program them and for most the cost of a programmer isn't worth it. So it's up to the likes of myself to make pre-programmed chips available either via the Club Shop or directly to the user.
You can build your own programmer, I did at first, but I found that you almost have to build one for every different flavour of micro you might use. In addition most of the DIY programmers use the parallel port (LPT) on a PC which is rapidly vanishing from most recent machines. You can get USB to LPT port 'cables' (serial RS232 also) from the likes of FTDI in Scotland for around 16-20 quid. I would guess Maplin too.
Steve A.