The Sims Resource vs. The Store

@Symb10sis I always enjoy your posts. :) I've been meaning to reply to this, but have been busy irl.

I'm sorry I can't help you with any opinions on paying to join TSR because I haven't been there in about five years, with no plans on returning. That's mostly because I don't enjoy busy blinking shopping experiences. ;) I know, I know, that's hard to avoid anywhere.

All I can do is tell you how I feel about owning TS3 content.
We probably have different views on the store because I try to avoid buying points whenever possible, for the most part, that is. :D I have bought points in the past, no way to avoid it, and plan to buy points for a venue and a world for the next time they come up on the DD. There are plenty of items I still want for the future and don't have, but for some of us johnny come latelies, owning the store is just not going to happen and for me, that is perfectly ok.

There is just so much stuff available to us, that if I stopped buying things right now (er ... I mean after I get that world and venue that I've been hankering for, because I really really want a couple more things very badly, lol) there is plenty to keep me busy and plenty to play with and keep me from getting bored, for quite some time. Not only that, but like you, some of the store stuff doesn't appeal to me and I don't want to bog down my game with that stuff, if at all possible. Luckily, the good stuff far outweighs the stuff I find incredibly unappealing (to put it mildly) lol.

At this point there are three expansion packs that I don't own and might not ever buy. Part of that is because there isn't anything in them that I'm absolutely dying to have (though sometimes I'm tempted and will never say never) but the other reason is because I worry about bloating/breaking my game. I'm not so tech savvy, so don't want to take too many chances. You will do better with that than I ever will.

I only own one stuff pack and I've been totally ok with that too. I use discs only and do not want to patch up to 1.69 so that kind of limits some of the stuff packs for me right there and again, there's so much in the store, I don't need any more stuff packs. I kind of like the outdoor living stuff but not willing to pay 49.99 for the disc on amazon lol.

I own 4 worlds out of 11, including Riverview, (just got a new one for Christmas, yey!) soon to be 5 worlds owned come next month. There are two or three more worlds I'm interested in, but there's a big chance I won't ever get them. That's OK. I love the worlds I do have and there's enough to keep me busy. I own 6 venues out of 21, which I'm very lucky to have, and after I buy one more next month, I will be completely happy. Any venues after that will be icing on the cake.

I guess I have learned how to whittle down my list of wants. Things that I thought were 'must haves,' months ago, have become 'would be nice to haves.' My plan is to Daily Deal my way through the sets I really want and already have plans for, for my neighborhoods, businesses, and my ongoing dramas/stories (which are a top priority ;)), when I find time to do so, and then eventually curtail it or stop buying/plotting altogether regardless of how far I have gotten. I just don't need absolutely everything in the store.

I'm not sure if anything I said helped you in any way, but good luck with your TS3 shopping experiences! There really are some wonderful goodies out there! :)