"Doug Miller" wrote:

... you really don't have any reason to question
whether the charge was reasonable or not -- you already
agreed that it was.

I agreed that it was reasonable for ME, at that time, that
place, those circumstances. What I was seeking from others
here was THEIR opinion as to the reasonableness of the price
in the situation described.

If several posters replied that it sounded more like a $100
job to them, I wouldn't use again or recommend to others
this particular plumber. If the consensus of replies was
that a more typical cost was ~$500, then I'd certainly use
this plumber again, and recommend him to my friends. As I
interpret the responses so far I don't think I got either a
bargain or a rip-off. I received confirmation that others
think the price was reasonable, thus reinforcing my own
original opinion.