Auction
"When I sold "Beyond Counting" on eBay, I started the bidding at $1.00, no reserve. That is if you REALLY have the balls and want the market to determine its' value; otherwise, you're trying to influence the market with a high beginning bid."
For this tactic to be correct, the seller assumes that enough people are watching e-Bay and are ready to bid, to the extent that your initial asking price will be indeed increased until it reaches "market levels".
But suppose I wanted to buy the book you offered at e-Bay. I did not want nor expect to buy it at some very low, bargain price, but neither did I want to pay some very high price, way above fair. I simply wanted to buy it at "market price".
At the same time, the level of my discretionary income, along with my desire to own the book you offered, dictated that I could not pay more than approximately $4-500.
By your logic, if I have no idea what the "market price" would be, then I should not bid until the other bidders define the "market price" range. (Apparently the other bidders did not study enough Economics!) But perhaps the Seller not stating his desired minimum price and Bidders waiting for other Bidders to state their buying bids, are simply wastes of time. Perhaps I should rather get involved in the bidding when the price hits my approximate range and, thus, influence, the "market" as much as I can -- or I should even start the bidding with an offer at the lowest end of my range, eg $100, below which I consider the book a "steal".