From time to time, I find people that throws very passionate opinions about the lack of original content and a general feeling of "cheapness" if someone uses pre-made assets that everyone can potentially own on their projects.

Meanwhile I cann't agree most of times (well, I'm a creator, and seller of these kind of assets), sometimes it touches very legit bases. And I do know how frustrating, time consuming, and lots of emotional energy are invested on creating a project (big or small, videogames, prototypes.. you name it)

Maybe you, as the project manager or lone indie dev, are also compeled to build all of it from scratch! even the engine!. And these kind of journeys are statistically very brave to put it softly.

To all of you, I can only say: much respect, and wish you the best of outcomes. 

Now, if you have a more "pragmatic" aproach to this field, then, using premade assets (being 3d assets, frameworks, whatever tool to help you on that).. is a must!, specially if you're having budget constraints, tight deadlines and a very small team (99% of the real gamedev world, hello!).

Because videogames needs to be funny, first and foremost, and later, you can add visuals, mechanics, sfxs. And using custom assets or premade ones will not make the difference on that first checkbox. I bet that PUBG is so funny that having pre-made trees, tables, etc.. doesn't make a mark on the big success of this game. Sure that would be better to have custom trees and so.. maybe. But we're not dealing with UBISOFT, EA.. that have virtually unlimited resources and a small army of 3d artists focused to create all the stuff. They're playing on another league, don't try it if you don't have tens of millions in a bank and willing to spend.

So, my answer on this is rather simple: do it! purchase content to help you to archieve your goals!, but on a good measure.. 

let me explain:

• Don't abuse, try to avoid to fill your project with pre-made assets, find a good balance between custom stuff and pre-made assets. If you fill your project with too much pre-made content, then, you're essentially making a showcase of other's work. 
• Find areas of low interest (like trees, stones, tables.. not hero assets!) and leverage your pre-made stuff there.
• Try to add some customization to textures and so, that will make wonders and definitively add a custom look to the prefabs.

Other use cases that I find particulary interesting to use pre-made assets:

• You're developing an internal prototype, so you're not publishing that stuff. Then, go ahead and use some exciting stuff rather than included classic meshes
• You're tired to see the same assets (hey Epic Mannequin, you rocks but after thousand of hours, I'm a bit tired to see you there), and you can use another placeholder character, until you develop your custom. bad ass character. This also can help you to be more "character" agnostic meanwhile develop your game mechanics.

As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to go ahead and purchase some pre-made stuff. I can only backup my words being one of the most cost effective sellers on the marketplaces. Not because I don't think these are cheap assets (some of then have would cost $2.000 or more if were a custom exclusive character),  but because I know how bloody difficult is to develop a project, and I'm commited to make my stuff totallty afordable to not be a source of finantial stress. "Many are called but few are the choosen" unfortunatelly, so lets make the bag lighter, shall we?