Interesting to hear this from a seller's view point. I generally wouldn't ask what their best price would be. However I would ask if they can be flexible if the item has been for sale for a while. Interesting, I approached somebody on this forum (who by all accounts is a top bloke) about a watch and asked, what I thought was politely, twice about if they had any room in the price but no reply. I didn't what to make an offer that would cause offence. Clearly it was probably taken, like Steward is suggesting, so maybe I need to take the direct approach and make an offer?