I think it is perfectly normal that you pay more when you get more. That is how our world works. Do you also complain when a restaurant charges you higher service cost when you have a more expensive dinner? Cost of bringing a more expensive dinner to your table is the same, but service costs are a percentage.
consequences maybe not when exiting, but next visit to immigration might have a surprise for you. Exiting resets counter of 90 days, but will certainly not reset your violation.
The definition of "in person" is a bit strange, any person with passport and signed documents is considered as "in person", so you don't need to do it yourself.