The $35 fee will be assessed by the FCC to successful applicants receiving a license. The club offering the test can continue to charge $0 (up to $15 to cover costs) and only those passing the test will get an e-mail from the FCC requiring payment within 10 days in order to keep their new license valid. The payment process can be done online.I'm also looking into this HAM stuff.
I have a neighbor that has been into amateur radio for a long time. He agreed with the others that said the radio in your link wouldn't be a good radio to start with, but it was a very well built, 10-watt radio.
He actually has a couple of the HD1 radios like in your link and said you can get a much better deal from here; HD1GPS+IP67 Speaker Mic+Programming Cable+Long Antenna+Battery .
He also said there is a local club called SCARS that just started a new study class for an amateur radio license.
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Welcome to SCARS - W5NOR - SCARS
He advised the test was free thru SCARS, but next month the government was going to start charging a $35 fee.