Adam, in my opinion, short shifters are the bee's knees, but it call comes down to the quality of the welds, locations of the pivot points and the actual length of the shifter.
I've driven a handful of cars with short shifters, some good, some bad. Personally I would choose one over a standard shifter.
There are even some short shifters out there for some cars which have adjustable length and throw. (COBB WRX shifter comes to mind)
Yes you get what you pay for, but in some instances Ebay shifters are fine! (my old forester had a $38 Ebay special and it was identical to a Kartboy one retailing for $150!)
Lastly, bear in mind that as a short shifter does decrease the time and effort needed to change gears, you will be placing more strain on the synchros in the gearbox, as they need to disengage and engage at a faster rate, and higher RPM than usual.
Regards,
Nigel.