WPCandy has a very interesting post today about the future of premium themes. The post has some very valid points and certainly taps into many of the changes going on in this space at the moment. Go check it out. I posted my thoughts on future of premium themes in the post comments and also reproduce them below for your convenience in edited format.

Yes, the quality of free themes has sky rocketed.
Yes, users now have much more choice.
Yes, WordPress users now expect more for less.

But there’s a really big big difference between 2010 and 2007 – the size of the market. WordPress has grown exponentially in that timeframe. The percentage of users who buy themes …

new kid on the block ThemeWarrior today released their new Premium WordPress Theme Picture Box.
Yogi dropped us a line today to tell us about Picture Box and we have been impressed with the features and design of this new WordPress theme.
With Photography exploding online, Picture Box will suit any budding photographer who wants to showcase their photos via their own hosted WordPress site.
What’s interesting about Picture Box is that it showcases the power of the default WordPress media gallery rather than relying on other third party gallery plugins.
The theme is available on Standard Package (USD29) and Developer Package (USD49).
Go check it out on themewarrior.com

We’ve been fans of Obox guys for quite some time and today they’ve launched a fantastic new wordpress theme called Inkdrop.
The guys have really put a lot of effort into creating quite a diverse wordpress theme that provides 3 different homepage layouts catering for even the most diverse website requirements, including a great “Unique Inkdrop Layout” which includes a featured posts slider, a standard blog layout and a business layout.
From the Obox blog:
It’s been a while since we have been this excited to launch a new theme. InkDrop is probably our most diverse Premium WordPress theme when it comes to page templates and features.
We have tried to pull out all the stops with this blog/portfolio/business …

Right so now that we’ve covered the different types of wordpress themes there are , we hope you have a clearer idea about which type of theme is right for you. In Part 2 of the 2010 WordPress Theme Buyers Guide we’re now going to take a closer look at why should even consider buying a premium wordpress theme.
Dude, why should I buy a wordpress theme? – there lots of free ones out there already!
Yes there are lots of free wordpress themes out there. Free wordpress themes are one of the key building blocks of the vibrant wordpress community. The fact that you can install wordpress and get your hands on some world class quality …

In late 2009, Mike Alex Wasylik wrote two excellent and thought provoking blog posts about whether or not the GPL license is applicable to premium wordpress themes. Mike was quite clear and very articulate in his views in favour of the right of premium wordpress theme developers to reserve the right to charge for their works and copyright same.
If you’ve not read the posts and have any remote interest in premium wordpress themes and the future of this fledgling industry I suggest you go read them immediately.
The first post from November 2009 is still generating debate in the comments to this day and has drawn comments from heavy hitters in the WordPress ecosystem including Matt …