using eBay  [or any service for that matter] and not checking upfront what it is going to cost you is just madness.

would you get someone in to paint your house, or build a deck, and not ask what the cost is going to be???

sorry, i disagree with your asumption that ebay is expensive.  try selling thru Auction and paying 22%+  or buy a decent size advert in a newspaper... lots of $$ and very limited exposure.

you used a service, and got a good result, the costs involved should have been reckoned into the starting price.