Believe me.. I HAVE tried the route you've suggested as well in the past (placing an opening bid near what I want), but that rarely works as well.. simply because it scares a lot of people off as well (usually resellers).. because they look at the price and don't see a chance to snatch up what they consider a "bargain". It IS a good way to weed out dealers though, and end up with collector's who are buying for their own personal satisfaction. I should know.. that's how I procured 85% of my stuff
. I usually didn't waste my time with "bid wars" (and now I'm paying the price by having to let most of my stuff go for less than I paid for it.. oh well).Let's face it.. the majority of eBay bidders nowdays (and realize my only field of experience is video games) are just plain cheap. Those who didn't jump on the eB bandwagon from the start are now drawn by nothing but OLD stories of how one USED to go on eBay and buy stuff for 1/4 it's "real world" price.. but that's NOT the eB I see anymore. People still WANT to find a bargain.. but we.. the sellers are getting tired as well of making them; and having to cater and answer to people who are sometimes outright rude, demanding, want "perfection" for next to nothing.. and just plain (to put it bluntly).. stupid; (remember MY audience demographics). Maybe it's a sign of the times but what was once a "semi-hobby" for lots of us here on eB.. have now had to increasingly rely on it more and more to REALLY supplement just our modest "living expenses" alone.
I once tried to auction a very nice mint Turbo Duo on eB (You know what they're worth). I watched the market for this item on eB for weeks to try and get a reasonable "value" of my find. I'd see boxed units w/no peripherals or games sometimes end up at $800.. but sometimes not. My lot had a boxed unit w/7 games. First time I started bidding at $99.99 w/a reserve of $650.. after 7 days the auction ended at $125 with only about a half dozen bids. Second time I tried your route and started bidding at $375.. result? No bids. In the meantime.. I saw a couple other units go for around $600. Third time.. I waited until NO one had a Turbo Duo up for sale on eB. I even waited two more days to be certain. Then I listed (I don't remember what method all I remember is I had a reserve of $350). 2 days into the auction other people started listing theirs.. throughout the course of my auction about 6 people ended up with TDs on eB at one time (a record.. and MY luck)! After about 3 days into the auction someone hit my reserve.. there was next to NO bidding after that and the gentleman who hit my reserve of $350 ended up getting it for $375! While I saw other units once again end at $600 to $800 with no games bundled! I will agree with you though.. some of these people DID start at $0.99 and no reserve.. but a couple of people whose units ended at little over $100.. did too. I was happy.. not elated.. because my auction ended on "middle ground". I also learned about the importance of "presentation" then. A dealer who consistently sold his units in the $600 to $800 range filled his ads with pictures and bubbled over with dialog enthusiasm touting the unit (It almost bordered on fantasy.. made me want to puke.).
Which is why I use Auctiva now; and appreciate this free service. I spent TEN hours composing the copy for this auction.. even on Auctiva. Will it help? Who knows.. like I said the retro-gaming market is "fickle".. but I have to pull out all the stops when it comes to it.