I've used both commercial and my own. I prefer to use my own rubs. I feel the fresh made rubs add more to the flavor of what I'm cooking. A lot of commercial rubs have a fair amount of salt in them and I'm not much for a lot of salt or salty taste. I purchase my ingredients from Penzey Spices. The cost is not much more then a grocery store and the freshness and flavor can't be beat. For sauces I use a combo of both. One of the most common sauces used in competition and otherwise is simply KC Masterpiece mixed with honey. About a 2-1 ratio. For my chicken I make a sauce out of imported French peach preserves, butter and ketchup. For ribs, I prefer to use a sauce called Blues Hog as a glaze for appearance and flavor. Blues Hog is widely used in competition. Blues Hog is sweet at first then a kick grabs you on the backside. One of the best places to buy rubs and sauces to experiment with is www.hawgeyesbbq.com Great service and has just about anything you want in a sauce or rub.