Nope you're not dense,

I start the bids at .99 because i have found i get more hits when the bid starts low. I have started a few auctions at the reserve price and the chips didn't sell. I started the same chips at .99 cents and they sold for more than the original reserve price. I don't know why this happens.

As far as why someone would bid .99 cents on an auction they know what the reserve is, i can't answer that either.