Auction houses typically charge anywhere from 10% to 25%
Seriously, I know eBay isn't Christie's, but it's not that terrible.
I guess I just don't sell as much on Ebay these days. I remember when it was a few cents to list, then relatively low percentage basis on the final sale. I would be okay with the final value fee on shipping if I wasn't already paying fees for Paypal. If you're only going to get $70 for an $85 item, and then have to collect payment, communicate with sellers, pack & mail it...just not worth it now with these crazy fees IMO.
Sure, an auction house charges more, but they're dealing with an incredibly small amount of volume versus a company like Ebay. They can't spread their fixed costs as easily, and have to pay staff to accept, inspect, handle, price, sell, and ship the items. Ebay has advertising and service center costs, but that's an infinitely small admin cost versus what they're taking in.
Anyway, to each their own. If they're going to charge that much per item, then IMO either the seller or the buyer is getting screwed with every transaction. I'll buy from them if the price is right, but there's little chance I'll resort to selling there again anytime in the near future. I'll stick to craigslist or forums and either net more per item or at least pass the savings on to buyers instead of Ebay.