I can't answer your first question, because I've only ever done it once/item.
I've left items up for 6 months after lowering it to my bare-minimum. Patience is a virtue (if you don't need the money).
It happens. I've seen plenty of $20 books go for $1-5 at auction. That's usually with no BIN option, though. Some people forget about low-start auctions.
You can't really force anyone to buy your product. You have to wait for an interested party to see your item(s). If you're talking about in-demand items that people aren't viewing, then make sure your listing title is complete with any/all relevant data. Like, "Spawn Origins #1" wouldn't have worked for me. "Spawn Origins Collection Vol. 1 Signed Limited Edition" adds more search terms that people are less-likely to completely omit.