I don't understand why people feel like cash shops should only have non-essential items. I think that for a steady game like WoW, GW, DDO, LOTRO, WAR, EVE, it would work to do a F2P with a shop if they do it where you need to buy things in the shop to make it work. I think the key is to make it feel like what you are buying is worth it. I feel like so many games have frivolous shops...just a bunch of junk...why would I spend real money on that. But stores that have stuff that I need to buy if I want to continue to play and be competitive such as purchasing dungeons/bag space/mounts/etc.

You figure that someone playing WoW for a year has put in $50 for the original purchase (assuming adopting early), paying $15/mo = $180, so $230 for an average first year. If you figure if you are playing in an average manner (not hardcore to the end), you spend $8-10 for a dungeon or a zone each each, you spend $20 that whole time for bigger bags, etc. If you're hardcore, you might end up spending about the same (possibly more if you like things like potions/etc), but if you're not so hardcore, you could end up getting out easier.

I think where shops get lame when they have stuff that only 1% of the people will buy. That means that your stuff is meaningless. And I will never pay for that. And I generally hate anyone who does.