I believe that it's not intended to be used like that (promo codes are also limited to 100 per application version now).
Also, this would require the developer to find a way to charge people outside of the store. In that case, it's almost half way to setting up a full direct store with a direct version.
There is benefit to having a direct version (all our applications do) but many developers today don't want to set this all up. It's quite a lot of work and perhaps the developer is not interesting in spending time on that. Moreover, he might not even be sure if the app is successful enough to invest time into this work.
Also, this would require the developer to find a way to charge people outside of the store. In that case, it's almost half way to setting up a full direct store with a direct version.
There is benefit to having a direct version (all our applications do) but many developers today don't want to set this all up. It's quite a lot of work and perhaps the developer is not interesting in spending time on that. Moreover, he might not even be sure if the app is successful enough to invest time into this work.