I didn't get a chance to read this entire thread, sorry, just the first two pages but here is my experience.
The opposite approach works well too (at least for me, when I was buying domains). Start high, say the name is worth $25,000, offer $45,000 and negotiate down from there. A high offer gets the sellers attention, and at the end of the day, EVERYTHING is negotiable, especially domains since their values are very subjective.
I've started negotiations at $20k+ and bought the names for $4k-10k, then flipped them for mid five figures.
Of course, it's harder to negotiate with domainers, and hard with great domains like wifi.com, but this is where filtering known domainers e-mails comes in. I NEVER buy domains from domainers, simply because it's hard to negotiate with them, especially on quaility domains, since they become very attached to them. That's what end users are for.
Honestly, I can't blame this guy for trying to "steal" these names for those prices. Cut throat business we're in. Compared to some of the shady crap that goes on in this industry, this guy is still a saint.
Good luck to both, amazing domain BTW!
Luc