[auggiedoggy]

Originally Posted by ChiSoxCardboard

I don't think making offers is against the rules...but offering to deal off of eBay is against the rules. Some sellers don't care, but most medium- to high-volume sellers won't entertain such offers because they don't want eBay to ding them.

If I were you, I'd just drop him a note that says if he dropped the price on eBay to such and such a price, you'd hit the BIN immediately. Only risk for you is that you don't hit it in time and someone else gets it. No risk to the seller if he's willing to part with the card at that price.

I did something similar to that once. The seller had a card listed with a BIN price but no Best Offer so I sent a message suggesting that if they relisted with a Best Offer I would offer $x for the card. I never suggest off-line transactions. The seller messaged me back and shortly thereafter the item was relisted, I made my offer and it was accepted. The card had been listed for quite some time at $1400.00 with no takers. My offer was $1000.00.

As far as sellers that continually list items at high BIN prices, I've found that it helps if you know the seller's tendencies. There is one seller on eBay that lists items at high BINs. I've purchased many cards from him because he periodically discounts his items 20%. Even with the discount his stuff is a bit pricey. When a sale is on, I offer him 80% of his asking price because I know that is his comfort zone. A few times I've offered 75% of his asking price but they are typically rejected with a few exceptions.