I've got a mixed answer to this question. Has this happened to any of you?
At least twice in the past, I've "indicated an interest" to different sellers by asking enthusiastic questions about the bauble (which in my case is usually green and prickly) -- and the seller has responded by answering my email and RAISING the starting bid on the auction -- one time it went from $19.99 to $39.99!
So my answer would be that yes, I sometimes place an early proxy bid on items that seem underpriced, just to fix the opening bid where it is. Then I email my questions and wait to bid my max later (manually, until now!), but ONLY if the seller has a fantastic feedback rating...
That's dangerous, though, if it turns out that the answer to my email question is something like "well, no, actually the item in the picture isn't REALLY the item up for bid, it's just kind of similar maybe to what it will grow up to be in ten years or so... well, that is, unless my six-year-old mixed up the seeds when he planted them in his dixie-cups... Oh, but don't worry, I'm sure the plants won't freeze during shipping becaue I do all of my packing in the greenhouse!"
Bidder Beware?