Hello, other than the in game store, where do you guys like to buy your third party content? Looking for some good planes/liveries.
I generally buy directly from the developer if possible.
In cases where it isn’t, I personally like to use Simmarket, they have a good selection.
Bear in mind, buying from an internet store doesn’t mean you will getting better products, or better help if you have an issue with the product.
Checking out a product first, here, or on other internet sources, is a must.
There are a lot of products out there that may not be as good as they seem to be.
If you do have issue with a store purchased product, you will often still need to deal with the developer.
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I typically just google what I’m looking for, if it’s an airport just
KMSY MSFS for example,
Then multiple sources will come up (SimMarket, Contrail, ORBX, etc…)
I just check which one has it the cheapest and purchase there.
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Mostly from Just Flight and ORBX
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My first point of call is always Just Flight. I have bought many addons from them over the years (Xplane and more recently MSFS) and my purchasing experience with them has always been very positive.
If not available there then usually the developer direct.
My last and final point of call is the Market Place but this is, for me, a last resort.
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1 From developers.
2 https://store.flightsim.com
3 Simmarket.com
4 ORBX, iniBuilds, Contrail etc.
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I’m not a huge fan of software that demands that you install a downloader program.
I tend to avoid buying aircraft from those sites.
Give me a downloadable ZIP file on a server, let me save it myself and extract it to my Addon_Linker folder. I’ll worry about updates myself. I don’t need a nanny program to handle it.
The Marketplace forces that on me as well, but I’ve come to accept that Microsobo gives me no choice if I choose to buy there.
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JustFlight is my preferred storefront. Otherwise I buy directly from the developer IF they support the use of PayPal. Some of them are HORRIBLE at notifying you of updates though.
I liked SimMarket ok until they started requiring the use of their application. I won’t buy anything from them anymore. The same goes for Orbx. I don’t like having a bunch of 3rd party apps to keep my products up to date.
I was starting to heavily favor flightsim.to until they became so hostile and unfriendly. I won’t purchase from there anymore, either.
Just Flight is by far my favorite. They promptly notify you of updates, the website is easy to navigate, and your orders/downloads are well organized.
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I bought my add-ons where ever was the cheapest, but after I bought Xbox X too, I’m ’forced’ to use Marketplace, if I want them to be available for my PC and Xbox at the same price.
-eelis-
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I’m not a fan of doing this but, store.flightsim.com has the poorest update and customer service of all stores that sell addons.
My first complain is that they have a bad habbit of not updating the products nor inform you about it if they somehow did update a product.
Second and most important, their customer service is pretty non excistent. They wont respond to tickets or react on send email.
Even if they are buzy, they could at the least send a automated message/email that they are buzy or something else.
There are links to products I’ve bought (Like FSDG - Rhodes for MSFS) that are not working so you can’t download nor use the serial on Aerosoft One manager because it is an old serial key format.
So, be aware if you plan to purchase there. I wont anymore and i’ve bought a lot there.
One time, the flightsim com tech help guy almost sounded like he had a buzz on, slurring his words a little bit. 
I have addons from all over currently. A lot from the Marketplace. A lot from SimMarket. Quite a bit from Orbx, Aerosoft, IniBuilds, etc. Then there are the one offs. The direct from A2A, FlyInSide, etc. A couple direct from one of the Ukrainian developers.
As you are buying them, its easy enough to install them in a place where AddonLinker can put them in the sim. But recently, I had to do a complete reinstall of Windows, then reinstall the sim.
Having addons from all over the place, you end up forgetting where you got some addons.
The Marketplace used to have 3-4 month lead times, which was ridiculous. But they have got better. Now updates can get through in 1-2 weeks. I can wait that for an update. So I think for FS2024, I’m going to stick to the Marketplace where I can. But I realize, sometimes that may not be possible. Like I have no idea why IniBuilds Heathrow and FlyTampa’s Boston aren’t in the Marketplace. But I imagine there will still have to be some combination of Orbx, IniBuilds, and SimMarket
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I don’t want the latest updates to addons breaking my game. I’m happy to wait while MSFS is the guinea pig testing them.
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I love that MS gets a piece of everything sold in the marketplace. I’m guessing that more profits means more years the cloud servers stay open.
I prefer to buy my addons directly from developers website (support the developers) or dedicated flight sim addon sellers like simmarket. I have used marketplace in the past but as a PC user - it ain’t for me, I try to stay away from it.
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I prefer to buy from stores that offer loyalty reward programmes. Contrail I find very good, as a UK buyer. But I will buy from just about any reputable site, dev’s own or otherwise. I tend to avoid Simmarket as they offer no rewards and, for UK buyers. they tend to be pricier than the competition. Same with Aerosoft.
I like using JustFlight as their prices are competitive and they offer rewards; but I do find their selection of products sparser than other stores. I have a similar opinion of Orbx, although they have a better range of products. Their rewards programme, however, isn’t great, taking practically forever to build up sufficient Orbs for a freebie.
IniBuilds also tend to be a bit pricier but their store is perhaps the most user-friendly and professional-looking. And, like Orbx, it often features exclusives. But again, no rewards programme.
I must be one of the few to go against the grain in saying that I do buy a lot from the in-sim Marketplace. Again, no rewards (unless you accumulate Xbox points) but the ease of use is commendable and prices are often equal to or better than the other stores. I don’t personally understand the community’s general reluctance to use it, save for airports that benefit from configurators. And even then, there are many products you can simply transfer to other stores once purchased. The big motivator to use the MP for me is its funding of the sim — while I understand the will to ensure as much as possible goes to the dev, without MP commissions, we likely wouldn’t have so many free sim updates.
I rarely use developers’ own sites but I’m beginning to more and more now. I’ve used Verticalsim, Flightbeam and Samscene this past few weeks, and have had positive experiences with all three. Both Verticalsim and Flightbeam have loyalty schemes that are almost instantly rewarding — presumably because they can afford to offer discounts with not having to pay commission.
I buy an enormous amount of third-party add-ons (typically 4-5 per week) so getting the best deal is more often than not the determining factor.
Since I live in the EU, most stores add 20% VAT. Sometimes when buying from the developer directly (such as with Flysimware or Flightbeam to give an example) they don’t add the VAT. I guess they forgot to implement it for EU users. But in that case yes I go to the developer’s own website.
The FSW C414 is 40 euros from their website and 47 euros on simmarket.
A small update on the store.flightsim.com issue. I asked a mod on the flightsim .com Discord and they can’t get anybody to respond either.
So… buying anything there (for the time beeing) seems a bit risky. No support reaction on their website form nor emails.