fwiw... if one clicks on "contact seller" on the page of an ebay auction you will be presented with a "select a topic" pick list that includes a "make an offer" selection. If you select it and the item does not already have a "make offer" option you will be informed that "The seller hasn't enabled offers for this item. See if they'll consider — send a message with your best price." So, ebay is not discouraging making offers (though they will expect the seller to consummate any sale via ebay - they'll also likely not permit any exchange of email addresses via their messaging unless well obfuscated).
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