Hey Orion, yes presets can become visible, to your friends, if you send them the file. You don't need to pay for that. c: But, if you want your preset to be visible to everyone while running around in a map, then you gotta pay for that.
I read through others' posts and I have to say I might have gotten to a conclusion too fast. It might actually be a good idea to pay a little, so Kovu and improve the game/the servers even more. It's very kind of him to pay all that by himself. He does it for us guys, and judging from that, then yes I change my opinion, maybe paying for showing off presets might be a good idea, at some point.
Although I still have to say it doesn't sound like such a big deal to me, personally, I wouldn't pay [nor I would ever be allowed to] pay to show off my character online. But... for some people, who can be really creative with presets, it might prove a good idea. :3