$$$ to unlock an item/emote for 1 character = awful, but per ACCOUNT..?

[Naunet]

That's not poor design. That's designed to ensure that rollbacks are not an issue if you get disconnected.

I can't recall ever disconnecting in other MMOs and losing items or progress I'd already made. They are definitely doing something different, and I really don't think it's helping them in ways that are worth it.