Why do they even do that?
They do it because ebay tells them to.
Ebay goes to great lengths to tell sellers that bidding wars only start low, and that the lower they start, the higher they go. Like when you list an item "Fixed Price" you immediately get a pop-up that says "Sellers get higher prices in auctions"
Ebay wants buyers to see it as a place for bargains. They want you to feel confident that you might get a $20 item for $3 sometimes.
I am very glad. Most of my bids are lowballs on items at far less than their real value. When I get that great deal, I am elated.
But of course what is good for sellers is bad for buyers, and vice versa. Ebay knows that where there is demand, supply will usually step in to fill it. (And, of course, "demand for $150 SSKs" is very different from "demand for SSKs" so the former is waiting to be filled by Unicomp)
Reserve is a way for the seller to make sure that he does not get screwed while playing along with ebay's charade. So ebay charges for it as if it is an "extra value feature" instead of yet another junk fee.
The problem is, as clearly demonstrated here, that it only creates confusion and frustration for everybody involved.
