Dear Pat,
I guess that it is a dilemma for all eBay sellers.
If they set a high starting price either the item does not sell at all or usually sells for no more than that price.
If they start at 9.99 with a reserve, very often the item gets a few bids but doesn't sell.
For those two options – Many buyers think the item is being offered at “high Market price” and won’t bid.
If they start at 9.99 with "No Reserve" and no “shill bidding” very often only the “smart” buyers get interested, then the item will get 3-5 bids in the very last seconds before closing. That often results in bad news for the seller, but most of those sellers aren’t very knowledgeable so they don’t realize they missed out on hundreds or even thousands of dollars more.
So many successful eBay sellers start their auctions with 9.99 and use “friends of the house” to get an item up to 10, 20, or more “bids” by the last day of the auction. If an item has lots of bids and is deserving of a good price it will have lots of watchers. eBay posts those items at the bottom of other listings from that category and heavy buyers with limited time will find them. The results are usually good for the seller, but still bargain prices versus big auctions.
The problem is that even the eBay sellers from China with fakes have noticed this trick and are doing the same. They will start their auctions at 0.01 – 0.99 and then have a bunch of 0.10 increases so that an item will have 30 or more bids at a price of only a few dollars.
Successful eBay buying has to be a numbers game for knowledgeable buyers. The more often you bid on something you like, all the more often you will be successful.
Best regards,
Tom B.