I start all my auctions at 99p for the reason above. I also never ever use reserves – let the numpties bid the item up to somewhere close to its true value and the serious bidders get involved in the last three minutes…
I also never sell off ebay – although this tactic has seen me have to refund in full for the last two items I’ve sold (cameras worth about £300 total, Grrr!). There was nothing at all wrong with them – I suspect buyers’ remorse and a bit of damage inflicted followed by the old ‘damaged-in-the-post-guv’ thing.
But over 750 transactions, I’ve only had perhaps a dozen problems as a seller, so can’t complain really…