One oddity I've observed is a taboo to call it a cash shop in chat.  Sparkle points or red diamonds makes the cash connection less visible.  But everyone, including the guy with $800 in armor knows the connection anyway.

There has been a strong shift in F2p especially in the west to market solely cosmetic/novelty/convenience items in the store, though obviously, disconnecting the currency from monetary values obviously helps at a subconsious level.

 Personally I am all for the shift in F2P as long as they are able to maintain game quality. Even the freemium's seem to be doing OK, but personally Riots business model is my favourite example of successful F2P and a number of companies are following their example such as Hi-Rez.