Clipless pedals/shoes I bought...bad deal?

I wouldn't worry. You got genuine Shimano SPD pedals, and good ones at that. From comments of others in the forums, the poorest performing pedals tend to be the cheap SPD knock-offs, like what comes in that $70 combo deal.

The 520 and 540 are the "new design" Shimano SPD pedals, which are head and shoulders better than the old 515-style retention mechanism (which the performance pedals are copies of.)

The shoe is not going to be the most stiffest, most mechanically efficient ones out there, but they will be well constructed and so long as they fit you, they'd be a nice and comfy option for non-competitive riding. Especially so if you have to walk in the shoes for any period of time. (From experience I can assure you that you do NOT want to walk very far in stiff-soled cycling shoes if at all possible :p )

My first set of clipless shoes were the M037s (like the shoes you list, but with a velcro strap at the top) and they were fine. One thing you might want to watch for with those shoes, though, is that the laces don't catch on anything -- maybe tuck them into the shoe or something.

Enjoy the world of clipless! You'll never want to go back to standard platforms 🙂

Ok, I looked more closely at the bag, they are PD-M515 pedals!!! Mountain bike pedals at that!!!

So I bought some Elan Forte shoes that have velcro, and the forte forza classic road pedals, for $81 which includes shipping. So, it sounds like I made a good choice right?

As long as you like them thats all that matters. Just get out and ride with them. Some people get better deals and end up not using what they bought. As long as you get alot of use out of your combo and enjoy them you can consider them a good deal.