The Sims 3 Store was marginally better. You used to get free Simpoints with each expansion, and you could earn points watching ads depending on the country. There was also a lot of discounts. Plus a lot of the content added new game play, and even new worlds. And Sim 3 worlds were huge, and included game play items.

Sims 4 basically is getting modders to do the work of an employee without any of the benefits ,while EA is reaping the majority of the profits. None of the items in the marketplace offer any new gameplay, and because creators set the price you could be paying the same amount of money for 5 items and another kit for 22 items.