What do you people even mean by "protein powders don't work"? They don't put on muscle by themselves?

They supply a macro nutrient. Whether you take in 200g of protein from powder or beef doesn't make the tiniest difference in terms of muscle gain or fat loss.
And for those folks claiming they're a waste of money (compared to what?)... Maybe get out a calculator or make an excel spreadsheet or whatever and compare the price per g of protein from protein powder vs. meat. Unless you buy retarded brands like Weider you can get low carb, low fat, 80-85% protein powders starting at around 13€ ($18 as of today) per kilogram.