Hmm. If your inbound toner cartridge doesn't fix that, I would call that a tad dubious.
Perhaps a little - or on the other hand a seller not understanding the difference between "Installed memory" and "Total memory" in System Profiler. It's a mistake I've seen genuine n00bs make before. The fact that a 1400 can only take 56MB of RAM might have been a small giveaway
Not overly. Considering the productive set-up you have assembled, that seems like a fair total, especially given that you didn't want to wait forever for bargain basement specials. IMHO you got a mix of genuine bargains (those eMates!) slightly over the odds (second IIci - unless that included shipping?) average/fair price, and a spot of bad luck (the Laserwriter). Seems par for the ebay course to me, and you have what you want at a price you're OK with, so .. yay.
No more so than everyone else who bid on those items. Such is the market. And no, not at all, that was a very interesting and relevant post. Thankyou.
/EDIT/ And thanks to everyone else who has posted about their experiences here. Most helpful and informative.