I always see a price like that as a starting point. Heck if I'm in no hurry I list things for a top dollar in case someone does bite, but often you get people willing to negotiate. I would be surprised if the seller wouldn't come down quite a bit if you sent him a message and he didn't get any bids. He even says to make him an offer at the end, it might have just been a number he threw out there. Always worth a shot, bartering, especially on Craigslist is expected, could always give him a fair price and the reason behind it and see what happens...