Totally disgusted with my first shipment through fedex

Sorry you had to learn that lesson the hard way. :(

I work for a company that does shipping every single day, so I've always been aware that there's actual weight and dimensional weight. If the package weighs less than the dimensional weight - you'll be charged the dimensional weight. If it weighs more than their pre-sent dimensional weight, you'll be charged the actual weight.

When getting a quote for shipping, you should ALWAYS enter the dimension of your package as company like Fedex and UPS both charge dimensional weight.

I guess you learned the hard way, sorry.