hello there
One simple question 
What are benefits of premium weapons and ships?
Early access…
Blue stuff = Gold stuff; meaning, instead of gaining reputation with relevant faction to unlock those blue stuff, you can get them “faster” by paying it.
Ships on the other hand, some are weaker than its counterparts. Some of those premium ships will be having 1 less active/passive module (apart from Steam DLC ships). But if you are Rank 4 for example, you can get Rank 4/5/6 premium T2 ships. Also, unique modules won’t be having faction bonuses (like Legion/Warden Microwarp Drive; you’ll get the pure Microwarp Drive without the faction bonuses I mean). Synergy level is maxed out on these premium ships however.