Just sold my first item on ebay last month, thinking that free listing meant no fees on my side. I was blind big time. First I got the paypal fee then the ebay end of month invoice.
Anybody else was a bit surprised by the fees ?
Not surprised really. Between eBay and Paypal, you lose 13% of the sales price. Though, now you've got to keep in mind that you'll be charged 10% of whatever you charge the buyer for shipping as well. That all might not seem like a lot, but it adds up quickly in my experience.
Don't feel bad about falling for the "FREE LISTING" trick though. You're not alone. Lots of folks have fallen for that. They send out those e-mail blasts to lure new sellers to the site, but you've got to click through a page or three in order to read the fine print on that offer. People who've never sold something on eBay are the exact audience they're trying to reach with those offers because they don't really know any better (almost every eBay user gets 50 free listings a month anyway, so it's really nothing special). Chalk it up to a learning experience and know that you'll know better next time.