I don't know what the big deal is about 'no reserves' when it comes to big-ticket items....
Most people who are serious about selling their vehicle, will list it as a Buy-It-Now, because most Motors auctions on Ebay these days end with non-paying bidders, regardless of price. At least with BIN, the seller can require that a deposit be made immediately before the ad will be snuffed.
Secondly, even in true no-reserve situations.....even starting at a dollar (We actually used to do most of our vehicle listings that way, until the non-payers became ubiquitous and Ebay did nothing about it), any vehicle that looks at all worthwhile, will be brought up to market price by the bidders. If not; if you think you are going to get some screaming deal because the seller listed without a reserve, think again, because either there is something terribly wrong with that vehicle, or the seller will not sell it for a bargain price- so why even waste your time? You're not gonna get the deal of the century just because there's no reserve.
Quite the opposite often happens: Once, we had a commercial vehicle listed- no reserve; started at a dollar- and we had someone offer us $8K for it, which is about what we were hoping to get, and thought that it would go for- but we let the auction run it's course.....and ended up getting $13K!!!!!-and the guy actually even paid!
Ever go to a real(live) auction? People are competing to see who will pay the most for something.....and the psychology of the competition tends to make most boobs overpay; having no reserve just ads to the fervor and tends to incite people to bid way beyond what the reserve would have been had one been used. That's why we loved listing no-reserve start-at-a-dollar auctions...if only Ebay would do something about the no-pays, we'd still be doing it, because it was EASIER to get MORE than what we wanted for a vehicle selling it that way, than it is to get a lower amount with Buy-It-Now. People tend to pay more when they're competing against other bidders; less when they think they're only competing with the seller.
(tl;dr version) Want a deal? Make offers on overpriced Buy-It-Nows; or bid on auctions with reserves, and watch how the seller contacts you when his reserve isn't met, or when the first 5 high bidders don't pay.
