To be quite honest, eBay actually lowered their fees in February of 2006. They sent an email to every member stating that the fees were changing. At first, I assumed they were going up. I then read the email through, and the rates went down on some things!
EDIT: Like someone above said, I also have never shipped anything through eBay. Depending on the item, I use FedEx or USPS. FedEx has rather cheaper rates here than UPS. For two packages that UPS wanted to charge me ~$80 for, FedEx shipped it for ~$50...that's a big difference.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE whatever you do, whether it's a Christmas calendar to your mother or a set of PI heads, ALWAYS get deliver confirmation/tracking. This will save your arse if it ever gets lost or if you need proof of shipping for some reason *::cough:: Paypal receives a reversed charge from someone's CC company and you need to prove that you actually shipped the item ::cough::*