To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to formally raise a complaint regarding Autodesk's purchasing process for Flex Tokens, Design Extensions, and other short-term usage-based software options in South Africa. One of the major advantages Autodesk promotes is the flexibility of purchasing software capabilities on demand, whether through Flex Tokens, daily usage, monthly access, or specific extensions such as the Fusion 360 Design Extension. However, South African customers are effectively prevented from accessing these benefits because we are unable to purchase these products directly through Autodesk's online platform using a credit card. Instead, we are required to work through local Value Added Resellers (VARs). In practice, this creates significant delays, additional administrative burden, and often requires minimum purchase commitments that are completely contrary to the purpose of Autodesk's flexible consumption model. As a recent example: On 1 June 2026, I contacted a reseller to purchase access to the Fusion 360 Design Extension, specifically to use the Volumetric Lattice functionality. As of 9 June 2026, more than a week later, I am still waiting for the transaction to be completed. During this period, our project work has been delayed despite being willing and ready to pay immediately. This experience raises several concerns: The current process defeats the purpose of Flex and on-demand licensing. If a customer needs a capability for a day, a week, or a month, waiting multiple days or weeks to obtain access makes the offering practically unusable. Customers lose purchasing flexibility. Many resellers impose minimum order values or purchasing requirements that are inappropriate for small, short-term software needs. The process creates unnecessary delays and administrative overhead. Modern software purchasing should be immediate. Customers should not need quotations, purchase orders, manual processing, and multiple email exchanges to activate a short-term extension. South African customers are placed at a disadvantage compared to customers in regions where direct online purchasing is available. This creates an unequal customer experience and limits Autodesk's accessibility in our market. I respectfully request that Autodesk review and revise its South African purchasing policies to allow customers to directly purchase Flex Tokens, Extensions, and other consumption-based offerings through Autodesk's online store using standard payment methods such as credit cards. At minimum, Autodesk should provide a direct self-service purchasing option for: Flex Tokens Fusion 360 Extensions One-day, one-month, or short-term usage licenses Other consumption-based Autodesk services The current reseller-only model is incompatible with the flexibility and immediacy that Autodesk advertises for these products. I hope Autodesk will seriously consider this feedback and take steps to improve the purchasing experience for South African customers. Sincerely, Ben Nel 3DDFM Workspace South Africa
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