Is there any way to purchase from the marketplace while away from my desktop that has MSFS installed on it? I’d like to buy a plane while on sale but probably won’t get back to my desktop until after the sale!
Well, yes, and no.
No, you can’t directly buy marketplace addons from the marketplace. But Microsoft’s rules don’t preclude the authors from offering their wares elsewhere even if they are on the marketplace (https://flightsimulator.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015914839-Marketplace-Partner-Program-FAQ), so if you have something particular in mind, you may be able to pick it up either from the developer’s site, or from a site that the developer uses to market his/her wares.
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I for one, have had several transactions lost and lost the chance to buy at a discounted rate because there was no other way to buy the product. Recently, (like, last night), I tried to purchase the Carenado Seneca II.
I spent nearly an hour trying to understand why Marketplace said something like, (I’m paraphrasing because I don’t recall the exact words), “Cannot Download & Buy because You have an uncompleted transaction…”
I went into the Marketplace manager and it indicated 3 items awaiting installation. However, they were all installed already. In fact, two of them were purchased from Orbx Direct via Orbx Central and one of them was a Marketplace GPS Garmin mod freeware.
I selected each of them, (all at once and again one at a time), in an attempt to follow through with the installation or delete them from the list. I would have settled for either choice. I couldn’t find any way to delete the selection, and no way to ‘reinstall’ it.
I can confirm that my MSFS was online and my O/S was up to date. In fact, I always run the Windows 10, Microsoft Store, and Xbox updaters BEFORE I start MSFS.
However, after I run the Update checks, and before I start MSFS, I make a point of shutting down my background programs, manually turn of specific Startup Apps, and routinely uncheck about 12 Services in the MS Configuration panel.
Then when I restart my computer, I go to the Task Manager and “Stop” all the non-essential services not related to the flight sim. Among those is Dropbox and Google Chrome Updaters. When MSFS Starts up, it checks for updates and automatically applies them, (that’s how I have it set).
So MSFS IS Online and I can’t explain why I’m unable to run a purchase on Marketplace anymore. I was able to complete transactions in the past, but it has been a while. I think the last transaction I made in Marketplace was just after the big MSFS update in December 2022.
Back then, I did nothing different before starting MSFS than I do now, but I suspect that the reasons for the problem now have something to do with a few changes I made in Google Chrome. I turned off or limited the ‘Web& App activity tracking’ and even the History tracking, (or it may have been a change I made in the Windows 10 activity/app tracking… Not sure which).
Anyway, I’ll need to try again tonight to see if the issue is still happening.
Rich
PS The Carendo Seneca II can’t be purchased directly from Carenado’s website!
UPDATE 4-10-23:
I should have posted this update sooner, but I found the advise given by someone, (or several), and mentioned to close MSFS and restart it via the XBox app, actually worked! I thought that I may have caused the problem because I always close superfluous programs that run in the background, (and stop all those that run at start up), just before I run MSFS.
However, after making sure that I didn’t stop the background programs that involved Microsoft Store, MSFS and XBox, I still got the same message from the Marketplace claiming that there was a transaction in effect when I tried to make a purchase.
Of course, there were no such transactions taking place. It was then that I closed MSFS and restarted it via the XBox app. It seems that this solved the problem but I can’t remember who it was that made that suggestion in one of these posts. If I find that posts (or posts), I’ll mark it/them with a kudos.
All that being said however, I would still prefer to get the addons directly from the developers rather than the present method that allows purchases ONLY through the MSFS Marketplace.
FWIW,
Rich
I own quite a few games on Steam and some have DLC which I purchase without having to start their related games and then they just automatically download and install into the appropriate game that I purchased them for.
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This goes hand in hand with being able to choose what marketplace items are loaded into the sim before loading it.
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In MSTS (my other guilty pleasure), there are ways of loading only the route you want to drive on, rather than the whole sim.
It makes little difference on a modern machine, but it did 20 years ago.
Not necessary to have the Market Place on this site but also have all the DLC in the Microsoft Store. and it can be tagged whether it is for PC or Xbox. The reason is say for example that sometimes you may not feel like flying but want to have a look at what new DLC is available without waiting minutes for the game to load up.
In my opinion, the ability to buy add-ons not only in the game would be great. No need to buy an addon to go into the game all the time. And if you don’t want to miss some discounts, and the game is not installed, then you don’t need to wait for it to be permanently installed on your PC or Xbox
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This is the way Steam distribution service operates. It’s incredible there isn’t something similar for MSFS.
The whole Marketplace experience is just so clunky.
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That’s something I really miss.
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You could also be notified of price changes when stuff you’ve added to your Marketplace wishlist is on sale.
Something else Steam does, DCSW notifies users of sales also.
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Have it in a similar way to what Steam does for your games. Maybe have a marketplace web page where you create an account to view what you own and also purchase new DLC.
Some good ideas here.
My own feeling is that having the MP on a website or an App would be a great idea for all concerned. In fact, the more I think of it the more I think that an App could be a better (more modern?) way to go. Maybe incorporate other ‘stuff’ too e.g. product reviews and so on.
It would be convenient for simers to browse and buy add ons when they are chilling out (always a good time to part with some money 
) and it would be a real money spinner I suspect for MS too. MS could even charge payware devs for advertising too etc etc. My guess would be that the initial set up costs and running costs would soon be covered.
Maybe MS just don’t want us to know when stuff is on sale… 
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I don’t why this is such a difficult feature to implement.
Clearly a lot of in-house discussion goes into to producing a public face for the sheer volume of material both in and expected to be in the Marketplace. And clearly manifest problems with optics are not carefully scrutinized–consider the most recent solution to that line of communication, the strangely labelled “Backlog” (which I read as, “Despite the size and legacy of this franchise, we’re going to provide weekly updates on the number of things we haven’t been able to process”–talk about a “deficit mindset”!).
That being the case, why can’t the weekly update balance the negative of the “Backlog” with the positive of a quick link to a stripped-down gallery of all current Marketplace offerings? Today, for example, I was of a mind to check out whether the Flying Iron Easter Sale is also reflected in the Marketplace, but, it being a busy day otherwise, I simply do not have the time to boot up the sim to find out. The result will be that my mood will pass, other events will come to occupy my mind, and I will not make that purchase. I’m sure I’m not the only one lost in Microsoft’s Customer Journey Map, an oddly endless work-in-progress.
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I don’t see why this isn’t done yet.
Are MS/Asobo not “greedy” (or clever) enough to see the vast profitability in this?
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They could even use the Steam platform to sell their software.
Would it be possible to create an entrance to MSFS Marketplace from outside MSFS?
Looking to myself, I think it would increase the amount of sales…
Kind regards
Bram
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ED have a store inside and outside their DCSW software. They do also sell via Steam, although they have far fewer items than the MSFS store, although it is increasing. DCSW knows what you’ve bought when you next start the software even if you buy outside the software completely.
I do find it odd that there is no web based MSFS marketplace, even if only for the PC version.
Don’t do this, I’ll buy even more than I’m doing already 
No kidding, would be nice indeed!
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