For a beginner, PW subscription is a high-octane jumpstart. In general, it's the best, most reliable source of "real stuff" I can find, and the subscriptions are all (I am Lifetime) incredible bargains.

One thing that sets PW apart is that they do custom stuff on request. It takes more than a single email, but if a member says, "How about [Apache clothes|dropped clothes|collars for the MDog]?" and a few others chime in, there's a good chance that Steve will go make some. Amazing.

Another is that PW supported a wide spectrum of meshes. Try to find G2 stuff in PoserPro's "We're DAZ but rilly naughty" store, much less DAZ3D itself. If a figure exists, chances are, Steve has done accessories for it, usually in the form of an items that supports multiple figures. RDNA is the only place comparable in breadth of coverage, but their offerings tend to be fickle. ("This week, everybody sell something for Koji 2.0!!") It's a bit like the difference between a department store and a boutique; there's room for both and thank Dog for both.

As for Alan -- He had a "rough patch," customer relations-wise, some years ago, but I've had to deal with him a couple of times in the last year, and that, it seems, "is in the past!"

The shortest subscription will pay for itself in 10+ CDs of downloads on the first weekend.
M