Well, that was several years ago when the economy was better. I always started my auctions at a penny and let 'em rip with no reserve. I'd gotten those gauges for the Wiener Dodge, but when that truck went away I no longer had need for them, but I'd tested them and knew they worked (easy enough). However, the way eBay/PayPal works these days, you should decide what you want to get for them, add 20%, and make that your reserve. There's not as much money in it now, due to the exorbitant fees--both even take a percentage of your shipping now--and how people are spending their money. Also, if you don't mind the hassle of doing so you should ship to Europe, etc. There was a guy in Germany that bought my AM/FM/CB/8-track out of a parts Cordoba for $550+. He was in Germany and wanted it for his Li'l Red Express, working or not. I sent it with the original microphone, the dash bracket for the microphone and the original dual-lead antenna. I hadn't even tested it to see if it lit with power. Li'l Red fanatics will kill each other over stuff like that and those gauges.
I used to let people get "auction fever" over my stuff. "Wow--a factory tach for my truck for a penny?!" They get it in their heads that they're going to steal it, and once that's in their minds they'll keep bidding even when it's no longer a good deal. Seriously, I took mirror-remote nuts out of late-'70s B-cars and got as much as $35 for them once I'd polished them. I sold about 20 of them. $50 for a "Mirada" keychain? Damn near, and the one before that brought about $40. After taking it in the shorts on a couple of items lately, I still start the bidding low, but I consider the reserve a must. It adds to the fees, though, so keep that in mind. With items as rare as those, you should do well though. Parts like that get more rare every day.
