Price Reduction =)

[Betelgeuzah]

So the people who enjoy the vanity part of games should pay out the rear for it?

I don't care about the moral standpoint, but the fact is that this is how it's done industry wide. Vanity content is not always free, and the prices aren't correctly proportionate to the effort it takes to develop and maintain them. A shiny pony in WoW costs 20 bucks, alternate costumes in SFIV cost 5 bucks per 2 characters.

And how does one choose wisely without exploring other options?

The first month is free.