"If I put a starting bid, it doesn't count as an actual bid if I get no more bids during the auction?"
The start price is NOT A BID. If you get no bids it does not sell. If you only get one bid it sells at the start price
You must NEVER bid on your own item, apart from being foolish as you don't want to buy your own item and pay a selling fee, it should also be picked up by ebay's robots and you might get suspended.
