Thanks springyzone,

a genuine response to my question at last!

I might have had more success if I hadn't let me self got drawn into discussions about the rights and wrongs of ebay, paypal, bank deposit, etc, which aren't relevant (not criticising you for adding a note on that), and losing my temper a bit as well.

Much of that stuff was even more irrelevant because driven by a business perspective. It's true, as phorum and others have stated, that the climate here has become more tolerant of ebay's monopolistic practices (which they manage to endorse using free-trade arguments!), but the main reason is probably that the businesses who have suffered most damage have indeed left. Despite the we-all-love-paypal arguments, I notice that there are still business people talking about leaving, in threads that phorum and others have followed. 

If I had thought the paypal for purchase, bank deposit for post was a good solution, I would have implemented it rather than posting here. I mentioned it just by way of illustrating that I'm looking for a better solution. All the same, the idea never involved a buyer actually having to split the payment. I would never have refused bank deposit for the item. I merely wondered whether I would be complying with ebay policy if I accepted paypal for the item but required bank deposit for the postage.

In my view as a solution it is too complicated and would confuse and annoy potential buyers and, as you say, risk unexpected outcomes like a buyer only paying for the item.

The initial problem is not that paypal fees are excessive. They're very reasonable, unlike ebay fees. But ebay fees come out of income--the buyer's purchase. When the item as cheap but bulky and/or heavy, postage is expensive and paypal fees add a proportionally massive overhead to a small sale. I thought posting a question here would work because thousands of other people must have faced the same problems, and maybe some have found better solutions than I.

The obvious solution is to sell elsewhere. On the whole, I'm comfortable with that. Still, there's a reason for wanting to persevere with ebay with books despite it not being business-wise a good idea. It would probably be better if I threw them all or gave them to op shops, but I would like them to reach people who value them. Whatever its faults, I'm sure ebay is the best place for that.