I feel for you.
I had someone expose my reserve, then back out. I felt so used.
But I agree, if it is an item you won't let go for more than $X, set that as your starting bid, or random stuff start at .99. Over the long run, I think you get more bidders and close higher when you start at minimum, but with valuable stuff I get a warm fuzzy by starting high. I mostly list "no returns" to limit objections to claims of outright fraud "not as described" on my part.