You’re right. Different methods work for different people and different plants. The first Akai Ryu I bought was grown in a green house. I put it directly outside and it had absolutely no problems. A couple of months ago, I purchased another Akai Ryu, but this one was fresh out of TC. I decided not to harden it off before placing it in full sun and it slowed down in growth. Eventually, all the traps and leaves died off quite rapidly. Luckily, it is now slowly recovering.
Also, I put the VFTs that I got from Lowe’s recently (remember my Lowe’s VFT bonus topic?) directly outside after I potted them. These have experienced some shock, but no where near as much as the TC’ed Red Dragon. I am seeing new growth appear every couple of days, which is a good sign. Once you get yourself established in the hobby, it’s good to do some experiments with the VFT’s from Lowe’s, Wal-Mart, etc. You never know what results will come up…