From a developer point of view, you're able to compile your own applications for up to 100 devices (as long as you have the device unique identifier (UUID) for each of them). There's no easy way to do this for the public however.
On the other hand... there's no easy way to charge. The provisioning profile is all that's needed to run the app.
Also, these profiles are intended for "internal distribution" (inside a company). I'm sure Apple will blow up your certificate if you try public distribution.