Anyone else seen the new C# .NET CommandBars beta from Codejock? I think I like it :)

Third party components are a great way to cut down you development time; I don't know if I  would be inclined to use a beta in a production application but there is nothing wrong with using good third party toolkits in your application.  The only issues are cost, licensing, and distribution.  I would attend to the licensing model they use to make sure that you either have royalty free distribution rights, or at least get enough seats to cover your requirements.  I would also assess the cost prior to deciding if it would be cost effective to use the product.  I would not discount some of the free toolkits either, some are pretty nice (steepvalley.net and the XPCC project come to mind).