good faith question: why do folks keep calling neopets pay to win?

for context: i’m back on neopets after 20 years away. i basically got sucked back in by all of the cute merch and the mobile games and escapism for…..the world rn lol. i’ve been using neopets as just a fun part of my daily routine, i do the daily quests, ive been collecting stamps as my “buy something from a shop” quest and keeping any i get as weekly quest rewards. i started to collect jelly for my gallery, i just started a new category of space themed stuff. it’s scratching the “collect crap” part of my autism brain without creating more stuff in my house (ok that’s kinda a lie bc i have bought the stuffies, have my old ones from 2000, and just bought the monopoly game lol).

in my head neopets isn’t a “win” game? like i don’t perceive it as something you can inherently win? i’m curious what exactly folks consider “winning” when it comes to neopets? even as a kid i interpreted it as something you just casually did for collecting stuff and making cute pets.

i don’t really see the big deal in them selling merch and stuff? i also don’t know if i have a different opinion on neopets as a company as someone who has worked at [various low budget, world positive] tech companies, knows how difficult it is to program stuff, and how expensive all of it is. i am a capitalism hater but there are also financial things to consider to keep neopets operating.

so tldr: from a naive player, what is “winning” on neopets? pls keep it friendly and also i dont always open reddit (this is my first time in months) so hopefully i remember to open the app and check replies 😅