Reserves annoy me too. Either put a higher starting bid at the reserve figure, or put a low starting bid with no reserve.
I never bid on anything with a reserve. Its like you have no idea what to bid etc - with start prices or things where people have already bid, you know what price its at at the moment and you can pitch your bid accordingly. With a reserve its like a shot in the dark.
I always start stuff at 99p regardless of what I think the value is. But then I've never sold anything like a frog.
The lower you start off, the more interest and watchers you will generate, and the more watchers etc, the more bids = higher end price.
higher start price and/or reserve = less interest and watchers, less bidders, lower end price.
People like to think they have a chance of a bargain on ebay, so start it as low as you can.
Rather than put this item on at 99p, why not start it at £50, I am sure you would get a lot of interest if you did that?