What Real Money Buys You

(I'm a proud owner of the Quaggan backpack, and I'm not afraid to show it.)

Let me tell you a tale. A story about gifts, the power of money, and the ever elusive line of "pay to win". 

For Christmas and my birthday, my brother was kind enough to provide an in-game gift of gems. I was growing a little bored of thieves and decided to level up a new profession. Using these gems, I was capable of leveling a guardian from 10-80 in about 7 hours of game time.  I then spent a little bit of money on my own, to completely deck my freshly dinged guardian with full exotics.  I was able to do this in one weekend of moderate play.  

Is that okay?  I'm having a hard time deciding whether it is or not.  Many would argue that the "pay to win" line has become so commonly used in debates, that it's been twisted to each author's own view points.    

It appears as though "Pay to Win" has adopted many forms over the years:

-Cash providing an exclusive benefit, that other players cannot achieve through in-game means

-Cash providing a time advantage over other traditional players

-Cash providing the "best" gear in line with other players

I am a PvP player at heart, and thus most of the above statements can appear biased. For many PvE players these phrases can be substituted for "Cash allowing you to  overcome the system"

A person's opinion on shops such as Guild Wars 2's infamous Black Lion Trading Company (specifically talking about the Gem store and Currency exchange, is the qualifications of the term advantage or benefit.  How much is too much?  What is considered fair?  I don't have all the answers, and I'm still trying to determine it myself.  When did game philosophies get so complicated?