bitflipper
How one feels about IK's shopping experience may be a generational split. If you're over 40, most of your life's retail transactions have been simple: choose a product, hand over the money. No games.
 
Like most consumers, I prefer that model. It's worked for thousands of years, serving every market from Wal-Mart to your pot dealer to buying a book on Amazon. Vendors who think they can improve the process by re-inventing the wheel do so at their own peril.
 
 

this.
 
Especially in a market where there are competing guitar sims and effects. I'm sure the IK stuff is as good as the competition, yet I have never bought anything from them. My loss I suppose!

I don't find the cash/JP/GC trio all that confusing.  And I'm well over 50.  If you mentally associate JP with the online store, and GC with Custom Shop it's pretty easy.
 
I think JP and GC both provide a way to get decent discounts on stuff you're planning to buy anyway.
 
I'm sure there are plenty of things I find confusing that other folks find simple.  We just have to match ourselves up with whatever/whoever makes us the most comfy, giving us what we believe to be good value in return for our dollars and time.
 
There are two things I WOULD lobby IKM for changes to.  One is having to pay to reenable downloads.  This one isn't huge for me as I keep multiple copies of installation media.  The other is the license keys.  I would LOVE to have Waves style licensing where I could put my keys on a generic USB stick to freely move from machine to machine, also avoiding reactivations when my machine config changes.

Sibelius19
I have an issue. I bought a keyboard controller for 79$ just so I could get Sampletank 3 for free. Problem is, I hate the controller, but I still want to at least keep the free software (Sampletank 3). Can I sell the controller without providing the buyer with the serial # and such? In other words, can I at least recoup the cost of my lousy controller I paid way too much for? It's really worth like 29$ It's the I-Rig MINI which works with Android. Utter piece of crap. I-crap.

I suppose if your buyer only wants a mini keyboard, and doesn't expect any software, you can make a clean sale.
 
I tossed my mini in a drawer, and will probably give it away...
 
But getting $300 worth of software for the price of a cheap piece of gear?  Priceless!!! 

Mini keyboards can be handy for key switching. I use a AKAI 25 to supplement my NI S61. 61 keys is not enough for some key switched instruments. The mini keyboard is transposed to the range of the key switches so all 61 keys on the main board are available for "playing" The action and key size do not matter in this application.

The first thing I have to say that I like many 
instruments of IK a lot:
- Amplitube-the Fender Amps
-ST 3 ,which I got for the price of a mini keyboard.
Has every sample and more  I can think of in it´s library
- the tape echo , most  compressors and the stealth limiter are awesome.
 
- the group buys are a good possibility to save money.
- the support team is quick and reöliable answering questions in the IK forum
 
But  the authorisation and installation process of some products like stealth limiter and tape echo is ........... indescribably.
 
Don´t understand why IK does not change it cause it has been criticized many times .
It does not fit to the attributes of IK mentioned above.
 
regards to michael of IK