I purchased The7 theme a while back which had WPBakery Visual Composer and DT LayerSlider plugins bundled within it.
Both plugins have stopped working and are prompting me to purchase a license to update. The statement from both is that they do not see a revenue from their plugin that has been bundled with a theme and whilst I understand this, why do they allow their plugin to be included in the themes in the first place then?
It is simply not right to hold the customer to ransom to purchase a license as the plugin’s have stopped working and require an upgrade. We cannot edit our site anymore and the pages are showing plugin errors. This looks terrible for our customers to see.
If someone can offer a suitable solution, that would be fantastic.
Whenever a theme bundles premium plugins, you will receive all relevant plugin updates from the theme author, usually whenever a theme update it published. So check that you have i fact the most current theme version installed and update if necessary.
As long as the theme itself is still maintained and regularly updated (as it is definitely the case with The7 theme), there is no need to purchase direct licenses for the bundled plugins, UNLESS you want faster access to plugin updates and direct support from the plugin author, instead of from the theme author.