... Jim? <g> I posed the questions generically without reference to eBay specifically to avoid the "eBay has a rule against it" response because what I'm looking for is, if there is such a rule, WHY?

>> in my opinion, there are only two reasons to start the bid at a price
lower than you are willing to accept.
1. To pay a smaller insertion fee,
2. To deceive the bidder. <<

The insertion fee comment is almost certainly valid, but is a matter strictly between the auctioneer and the seller; I'm not concerned here with the ethics of eBay sellers trying to screw eBay out of their insertion fees (the seller will, of course, pay a higher sale fee if the item sells for a higher price, even if it's higher because he bids it up himself or through a shill).

HOW is a starting price below what a seller will actually sell for "deceptive"? Does the starting bid imply that the true value of the item is whatever the starting bid happens to be? I don't think so, otherwise there wouldn't be much point in having the auction; you might as well just offer the item for sale at that price because everyone would assume it is not worth anything more. That being the case, any potential bidder must realize that the true value is something higher than the minimum bid; therefore, no one is being "deceived" by the lower starting bid. In fact, the lower starting bid would seem to imply a lesser value for the item, which would tend to DISCOURAGE higher bids (at least for unknowledgeable bidders; knowledgeable bidders would simply ignore the starting bid and place their bids based on what they know the true value to be).

----- jim o\-S