I never bid on "reserve" because I know it's more then I'm willing to pay.
Shipping is suppose to be the actual amt of shipping not extra because a person wants more money...That's why on buyers Feedback you have to state if shipping was accurate. If not, your percentage goes down from 100%. People can complain to ebay if they see you are charging more then the actual shipping...and ebay will kick you off.
If I have a large item I use ebay calculator that asks for the size box, weight etc...and then they automatically figure out shipping costs for each bidder...
If I saw 40.00 shipping that's an automatic no bid from me even with .99 starting price because I know your adding costs into your shipping...
I've sold heavy sewing machines and shipping was no more then 27.00 via the post office...shipping from NY out to CA...And another machine was 18.00 to FL...