Does that mean he wouldn't sell had you won the item at the start bid? Of course not, it just means the seller believes the bidding may go higher than the start bid. There is nothing wrong with that, that's why many sellers have both a starting bid and a BN price, the BN price is what they are happy to get for the item, the start bid is just that, a starting point for the auction. We always hope there will be a bidding war and we will get more than the first bid, and in some cases it does happen and sometimes the end price exceeds the BN. That's the way auctions work. The fact that the seller countered with a higher price than the start bid means he is putting the ball back into the buyer's court, pay the counter price or start the bidding and hope you don't get outbid.
