I really like the pounce pads for a lot of reasons. They definitely (for me at least) work best with the screen type stencils although I have experimented with various ways to make stencils and I can get them to work -- probably not worth it to me to do that way. But for the right stencil -- oh yeah, even cheap me will buy what I need. I did move a number of stencils/pads/supplies so it was worth it to me to do that when other stuff got culled from the collection.
It does take a bit to get used to the process and setting up your pad correctly. I do recommend some trials first, with solid fabrics or simple pieced squares to see how it all reacts. I have all three colors (white, pink, blue) and the pencil. I use white the most.
For long arm quilting, I could mark the entire top first and would do while putting the sandwich together. For quilting on my domestic I did get too much rub off to do the entire thing, but it still held up very well for up to half the project at a time.
You can buy from other sources, but I like to go to Full Line Stencils. Been using them pretty much since they started and I saw it at a show.
https://fulllinestencil.com/
edit: One I have used before was this for me intricate Pumpkin Motif, don't think I could have done it any other way except with the stencil. I quilted a collection of small halloween quilts a friend of mine made. The stencil is still in perfect shape and was used for three different projects each about 3x5 feet, so hold up to repeat use.
https://fulllinestencil.com/products...bright-3-width