One of the most interesting ones I've come across recently was a DM who told us to submit a "wish list" that approximated 80% or so of our expected wealth, with a "Really really want", "Would be nice", or "It's a thought" ranking.
Then a day or two later he returned us a list of what we actually had.
Some of the things I asked for (Bracers of Archery, say) didn't appear. Some of the things I gave a fairly low ranking to were there, with an extra ability (Battleaxe +1 came back as a Spell-Storing Battleaxe +1). A couple of items showed up out of the blue (Boots of the Winterlands).
So I didn't get exactly a cherry-picked shopping list, but I got essentially the bulk of what I wanted, with some nice surprises, and the DM fitted the theme of the character nicely.
Based on how cool it was getting the list back (like a kid on Christmas morning really describes it), it's definitely how I'll handle items for the next high-level game I DM.
-Hyp.
