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E, DanielAnd here's where I always end up.
When you set an opening price, or buy it now, it is difficult to not set the price at the very top end of what you might hope to get for it. Even if its reasonable to expect a great card to find that price, an opening at this point discourages many buyers who hope to get the card at the best possible price through the auction process. Therefore, they tend not to bid in the hope they will get a similar card for less. Even long time collectors with decent budgets follow this pattern to some extent.
And pricing the card MORE than fairly, or right in the middle of expectations, is such a hard number to discern. Usually it is a number below recent results and if that were the only bid you got you might find yourself disappointed. It's hard to do....
For myself, the hardest call has always been to sell with reserve, or with no reserve with a $9.95 opening. My general feeling is that reserves discourage activity, often resulting in lower final bids than the excitement and frenzy of a free and clear auction that makes everyone feel they have a chance. I'm always impressed by the balls out auctions some run for great cards with no reserves, and nearly always bookmark them and try and establish some way to dream up winning them. It definitely has the most upside as I see it.
But my own cards, hell, I can't afford to take the hit of a lowball result, so reasonable reserves are the way I usually end up going.
Daniel