I have pieces from original sets, but there are also many imitations, such as Chinese sets, which were bought for me as a child, because small Lego sets used to be very expensive at that time, while large craft sets were cheaper.
Honestly, with the price of lego and their own deviation from the "Lego" aesthetic in recent years I wouldn't fault anyone for sticking with the clones. I have used quite a few of the "compatible" sets from China and other than the logo on top of the studs they are identical. Even the colors are on point these days.