@buyfontsordietrying:

Consider this: would you find normal if a company hired 100 graphic designers for a project, and then paid only the one they choose.
Then they would say "Should I pay all the graphic designers I need in this elaboration process ?"

That is the rule in most of communication market, as in architecture... and even in custom font design! it's called a "call for tender".

If you train your eyes, you will not need to test hundreds of fonts for a project. 3 or 4 will do. If you buy a few typefaces regularly, you will get to know them and you will be able to know for which project they will fit.

Are you saying my eyes aren't trained ! Just let me a moment to ironically laugh...
Ok, test only 3 or 4 fonts for a project, and only have a few hundred fonts you always use, is the best way to work with recipes that kill creativity and to always serve the same old soupe without regard to the client specificity.
(and moreover it's not my eyes matter, but my clients ones)

Also, the end user is not the client. Foundries request that you have a valid license to use a font, for every computer where the font is installed. So if your client will also use the font, he will need another license. But buying a license for your client does not mean you don't have to buy a license for you, when you design a project.

I know the licence terms. Hypocrisy, again.
Who can afford it? Even big international agencies doesn't pay for a licence per computer. These terms probably lasts since the time when there was only one computer per agency which was the equivalent of a heidelberg press for a printer. But are no longer coherent with the nowadays business realities (a lot of people/computers working on a project).

So, no I'm not ok with the foundries license terms. But They're not dupe: the recent FontFont photoshop plugin aims to fill the gap between real life and a "perfect" copyrighted world, it is not perfect, but an encouraging first step. I assume if foundries continue to adapt to the digital world we're in, providing us efficient tools we won't be in need to skirt their inadequate rules.

+this

What an hypocrisy!
I'm a graphic designer, so I have to use fonts in order to craft brand identities, campaigns, etc. for my clients.
In one hand, I have to use fonts in the conception process, a lot of fonts, try things, eliminate some, to finally choose with my client what is the best choice.
Should I buy all fonts I need in this elaboration process ?
If so, I probably will never get a buck from my work.

In the other hand, each time I used a font in production, on screen or printed, I always made my client buy it (end user !) , so it appear to me that for make good design (on the web it means stop using systems fonts), and also make the typedesigners make deals, my only option is to find commercial fonts on forums like this one, then make my clients buy it.

So downloading commercial fonts for free doesn't mean necessarily a loss for typedesigners, the problem would be to use it for commercial without buy it.

This is my ethics.