The Za theme came bundled with the Revolution Slider for $50. I would like to use some of the included revolution demo sliders as a starting point. The Za theme said it was included. I mean, what good is a plugin if you can’t update it, everyone knows this. Aren’t the plugins that are packaged and used to help sell the theme suppose to be all inclusive? They should be. So when I try to load a demo slider I get a window asking me if I’d prefer to load the slider from online or local. Neither work because online needs to be registered cha-ching$, and there are none included with our local download. If you ask me, these tactics are very sneaky and should be looked at closely by Envato. However, being that Envato is making a percentage of these sales I will assume that will never happen. After spending $50+ we expect everything to work, like anyone else would, especially since they are marketing these plugins as if it were theirs, meanwhile only a percentage of it is. This is a shady attempt at profiting from something that is not 100% theirs, yet they are charging us 100% of our money. So after several attempts at registering so I can get auto updates and the demo sliders, it tells me my Purchase Code Invalid. Of course it is, now I can be sent to Revolution Sliders and spend $19 so Za and can get their cut? Anyway, I’m assuming my next step is to spend another $19. Anyone have a better idea?
Thanks… 
When premium plugins are bundled with themes you get the plugin as is. That means no access to updates and support from the plugin author. This is why many people on the market place believe this practise should not be allowed. If you want to update the plugin when you want, rather than when the theme author provides an updated version via the theme update, you will have to purchase your own license for the theme.
When themes are bundled you do not get your own stand alone copy or unique purchase code.
What you need to do to get updates and/or demo XML (giving you this is at the authors discretion but seems unlikely that they would not) is email the author if the theme.
As the author will have had to buy an extended developer license you won’t get the purchase code for auto updates. In most cases authors bundling these plugins create theme updates with the latest version regularly anyhow
As long as they do get updated when they are suppose to, I have no problem with that. Thx.
So in order to get the plugin updates I would have to check in with the author of my theme?
Exactly. Most authors release an update of the theme with the latest version as and when the plugin author does so.
It should not be a hassle for them to send you the XML so definitely worth asking about that one too.
I think this just happened to me too. Selling a theme with bundled plugins only to find that you can’t update them seems misleading to me, at best, and flat-out fraudulent, at worst. I smell a CLASS ACTION lawsuit in the making here for Envato and any authors who participate in the scheme.
It could start with an inquiry by any state’s Attorneys General, or a referral to plaintiff litigation firm. I suggest everyone raise awareness of this issue by sending an email or two to the Attorney General in your state. If you know a partner in a litigation-oriented law firm, by all means, contact them too.
Either way, freely repost a copy of this post on Facebook, Twitter, anywhere else others might see this and that should help get the word out!
Good luck!
Whenever plugins come bundled with a theme, you simply do not receive your own license for that plugin, as the plugin is provided to you via extended license through the theme author. As such, only the theme author can provide you with plugin updates. There is no misleading or fraud here, as the use of plugins via extended license is clearly outlined in the rules and guidelines as set forth by Envato.
By buying a theme that includes bundled plugins, you acknowledge that you don’t have direct access to plugin updates and support from the plugin author. If you have a problem with that, simply don’t buy themes that include bundled plugins and/or purchase your own license of the plugin, which will then give you access to plugin updates and support.
But you can’t expect a plugin author to give all that to you, if s/he never profited from you, when you purchased a theme that bundles their plugin. An extended license for a plugin is only 5x its standard license costs; in the end, plugin authors already do you a favor by agreeing to an extended license for the theme author, so you don’t have to buy the plugin yourself. But in return, you simply have to wait on the theme author to provide a theme update, which also includes an updated version of the plugin.
But “crying wolf” and “threatening” unfounded legal actions for something that should be clearly understood by every buyer is utterly pointless and simply shows that you actually never read any of Envato’s regulations. You can’t have a “free” plugin and then expect the author to give you “free” support and updates on top of it. Simple as that.
It sure is funny how they tell you how it works AFTER you give them your money… Sneaky by both parties…
“something that should be clearly understood by every buyer is utterly pointless and simply shows that you actually never read any of Envato’s regulations. You can’t have a “free” plugin and then expect the author to give you “free” support and updates on top of it. Simple as that.”
This is a bit disingenuous on your part, and you should apologize to pcfitness for being condescending and unsympathetic. It is pretty standard for many types commercial software to include some type of free bundling of accessories or plugins, but when the accessory or plugin is not a full or licensed version, that is called out upfront. “Free” demo or partially licensed inclusions with software are typically included for the benefit of the accessory or plugin developer, in order to get their product out there and let people try it out, and are typically labeled as such in other segments of the software industry. Sometimes they are both free and fully functional. It is normal to assume that when something is not labeled as a demo or partial license that it will be supported and upgraded. This relates to ethics and good business practice.
Clearly the plugin/theme business does not operate under the same ethical and business practices as most of the commercial software industry, and you appear to be defending what really does seem like an unethical practice, whether it is spelled out in the middle of an obscure regulation or even commonly understood.
It is easy to imagine that pcfitness spent 5 or ten hours to develop content with the plugin, assuming it had been purchased legitimately and would be upgraded at some point. It is also a pretty normal reaction to be upset when you realize you have been misled by people with questionable ethics. It is hard to understand, though, why someone would defend those people engaged in misleading practices using the justification that “everyone does it.” It might be more helpful to suggest that theme developers state upfront that a plugin will not be a fully supported or trial version.
With all due respect and for no other reason than to clarify this and avoid any further confusion: (not getting into the rights and wrongs of bundling plugins)
The plugins included in themes are not a trial, they are fully functional and are updated just by the author of the theme not the author of the plugin.
If they choose to stop supporting it then they can do this (with the exception of it being in the mandatory support period). This is exactly the same as if the plugin author chose to do so or if the author chooses to stop supporting or updating the theme.
Not sure what part of my reply is condescending, but if so, I of course apologize.
But that doesn’t change the content and intent of my statement … Envato makes it very clear that if one purchases a theme that bundles plugins from other authors, the theme buyer can’t turn around and expect the plugin author (that didn’t benefit at all from the theme purchase by the buyer) to also support the buyer and provide direct updates to the buyer. The buyer purchased something from the theme author, and NOT the plugin author, so any claims of support/updates a buyer might have can only be directed to the theme author, who decided to bundle his/her theme with plugins. And yes, we all hate to read the fineprint, but that doesn’t make the fineprint any less valid.
Anytime you purchase a product that includes parts from 3rd party suppliers (and that’s all plugin authors are in that case), you go through the end-seller of the final product when needing support or repairs (“updates”); for example, you don’t go out and contact a supplier for your car manufacturer if you have any problems or questions about the car you just purchased, you contact the car manufacturer/dealer instead. Why should theme’s and bundled plugins be any different?
Also, and as @charlie4282 already stated, any plugin bundled with a theme is a FULLY functional version, without limitations. Not sure where you assumed anything about trial plugins. And the plugins are FULLY supported and updated; just not by the plugin author directly, but by the theme author that bundled the plugin. Of course, that means the buyer might have to wait a little longer until support or an update is received, since the theme author in many cases will have to go through the plugin author first.
Theme authors can also modify bundled plugins to better suit their theme (take the popular “Visual Composer” plugin as example, which is oftentimes modified by theme authors), and how is the original plugin author supposed to provide support or updates for that? Therefore, support and updates can only fall back to the theme author. Putting that burden on the original plugin author would in fact be unethical and potentially illegal.
But as things stand, there is nothing unethical or illegal going on here … all that is made perfectly clear upfront, if one were to bother to actually read the marketplace regulations; Envato doesn’t make a big secret out of it. But to make any complaints afterwards, claiming that one didn’t know about it, if all the information is easily available upfront, is simply not okay either.