If they're an established company, but only new to eBay, it could have been a feedback building exercise, or even a way to get their sold numbers up to look good to other buyers. Their marketing people could have thought it was a good idea, despite the loss they would have made on those items. Spend money to make money type of thing.

It always feels good when you know you've got a genuine bargain. Cherish it!!! If it was a small seller, I would have offered more money (in fact I did a few years back with a new seller that didn't seem to know any better and listed everything with a start price of 1c with free postage and most things sold for under 10c), but a large company, they would have a strategy to absorb the costs, so it's their loss in my eyes.